Julian Brandt, Kai Havertz, Jonathan Tah (all with Germany), Charles Aránguiz (Chile), Aleksandar Dragovic (Austria), Lukas Hradecky (Finland), Tin Jedvaj (Croatia), Isaac Kiese Thelin (Sweden), Paulinho (Brazil U20s) plus Jakub Bednarczyk (Poland U20s) are away with their national teams: The international fixtures will be played from Thursday to Sunday (6 to 11 September) and the majority of the Bayer 04 pros will return to Leverkusen at the start of next week; only Charles Aránguiz and Tin Jedvaj will head back on Wednesday.
Head coach Heiko Herrlich had eight outfield players available for the training session on Monday afternoon in the shape of Lucas Alario, Leon Bailey, Karim Bellarabi, Sven Bender, Dominik Kohr, Sam Schreck, Kevin Volland and Mitchell Weiser – Rambo Özcan and Tomasz Kucz worked with goalkeeping coach Daniel Thiel on the training ground. Julian Baumgartlinger (knee), Panos Retsos (thigh), Joel Pohjanpalo (ankle),Wendell (knee) and Lars Bender were absent for the first session of the week; the captain did complete an individual session in the gym at the BayArena.
The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day three (Tuesday 4 August) begins with a thorough open session on the pitch. After lunch, some players have media engagements at the team hotel, and then the team come together for a barbecue in the evening.
Show more
Nine matches against teams from nine countries, two penalty shoot-outs won, and encounters that went far beyond football: As with last year, the Inklusionswerkself enjoyed an extraordinary week at the Genuine Cup 2026 in Houston, USA, and made memories that will last a lifetime. This year, the Leverkusen side took part as Germany’s official representatives and, accordingly, took to the pitch in Germany kit. Together with 53 teams from 53 nations, the Black and Reds once again sent a powerful message of inclusion and participation – and also impressed on the pitch by winning their group.
Show more
The Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog, you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme for day two (Monday, 3 August) centres on two training sessions – one in the morning (open to the public) and one in the early evening (behind closed doors) – at the nearby training grounds. In the afternoon, fans can look forward to a big fan meet-up with club legend Paulo Sergio at Schloss Blankenhain.
Show more
“Say hello to the Werkself!” – With this request, Loïc Bade gathers everybody in front of his GoPro: Including team-mates like Ibrahim Maza, Lucas Vázquez, Aleix Garcia and Ernest Poku, or Bayer 04 CEO Fernando Carro, head coach Carles Martínez, or even the reception team at the Spa & GolfResort Weimarer Land. In between, there are glimpses of the pool area and the Werkself’s team quarters. Enjoy!
Show more
