Following Wednesday's session away from the training ground, the Werkself were able to put their football boots on again this morning. Due to the continuing heatwave, Heiko Herrlich and his coaching team brought training forward by half an hour to 10.00 CET – However the thermometer at the training ground was already showing a sizzling 33° early in the day. And it didn't take long before all of the total of 21 pros (plus 3 keepers) were sweating. No wonder the Werkself took regular drinks breaks. And after the training session there were other measures for cooling down. In terms of personnel, Jonathan Tah, Dominik Kohr, Paulinho and five U19 players (Ayman Azhil, Jan Boller, Kevin Bukusu, Cebralis Makreckis and Adrian Stanilewicz) were joined by Panos Retsos in full training. At least for the first part for the Greek. After that, he worked with Charles Aránguiz with the ball on the neighbouring pitch. In addition to Karim Bellarabi and the two long-term absentees Lukas Hradecky and Joel Pohjanpalo, the Bender twins (both picked up ankle problems in the recent friendlies against Siegen (3-0) and Wuppertal (2-0) were both absent at the start. Lars did appear 70 minutes after the start of training for an individual session on the pitch. By the way: The final session of the week is at 9.30 CET tomorrow morning.
In the Monday edition of the sports magazine 'kicker', Sven Bender, Jonathan Tah (both central defence) and Bernd Leno (goalkeepers) made it into the rankings of German football thanks that there performances in the second half of last season. Today's edition (#61) reveals that five other Werkself pros have earned recognition. In the position of 'Wing backs', Bayer 04 captain Lars Bender was ranked third by the editors behind Nico Schulz (Hoffenheim) and Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) out of a total of 13 under the heading 'International class'and left back Wendell was thirteenth in the 'Up-and-coming' group. In defensive midfield, Charles Aránguiz held off the competition to finish top ahead of FC Bayern's Javi Martinez – team-mate Julian Baumgartlinger was ranked sixth out of a total of nine. In addition: Fritz Walter gold medal winner Kai Havertz was ranked eighth out of ten candidates in the offensive midfield category. Applause all round for the Werkself quintet.
Three weeks after the official start of the pre-season, Saturday marks the end of the special break for World Cup participant Julian Brandt. While his team-mates take part in the last friendly before the training camp in Salzburger Land (29 July to 5 August) away to the Dutch team Fortuna Sittard (Kick-off 18.00 CET), the Werkself number 10 will be going through the obligatory pre-season performance tests. The 22-year-old will undergo examination of heart and kidneys by the medical section at the Werkself. The day after that, Brandt will join the rest of the Bayer 04 squad In heading off to Austria. World Cup runner-up Tin Jedvaj will return to the Werkself after the training camp – he will probably return to full training on 8 August.
The Golden Boy Top 100 traditionally lists Europe’s most promising young players. In the latest update, published to mark the start of the new season, four current Werkself players – alongside loanee Francis Onyeka – feature on the list. This means Bayer 04 have the most players in contention of any Bundesliga club.
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Goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe will continue to play for Bayer 04 Leverkusen next season. The loan of the Germany U23 international, who joined from Liverpool in the winter, has been extended by a further year.
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The Bayer 04 delegation, led by Fernando Carro, CEO, concluded their multi-day trip to Brazil with a visit to the community-based organisation Bola Pra Frente in Rio de Janeiro – founded by former Werkself player Jorginho. During the visit, Bayer 04 committed to extending support for the Bola Pra Frente project for a further five years. In addition, Jorginho, a member of the Brazil 1994 World Cup-winning squad, was named Bayer 04’s second official club legend. With the visit to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the club has strengthened the relationships built up over the years in one of Bayer 04’s most important international markets.
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Ten years after retiring as a player, Kristina Sundov is returning to the Bayer 04 Women’s team as assistant coach. The 39-year-old former Croatia international takes over from Remzi Kahraman, who has taken up a new challenge abroad. She has been given a contract to 30 June 2028.
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The training pitches at the BayArena are already buzzing with activity again, even before training officially begins next week. On Monday morning, a small group from the Werkself first-team squad completed a session lasting around an hour. Both new and familiar faces were present.
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