
Roger Schmidt led a two-hour training session on Tuesday that included many youngsters. In the absence of the international players they were able to join first team stars Lars Bender, Stefan Kießling and Chicharito.
Following an energetic session, Stefan Kießling took a tour around Leverkusen on the new Bayer 04 Schwadbus. Bayer 04 TV will feature an interview with the striker tomorrow but the first pictures are already available on Instagram. Just look for bayer04fussball on the Instagram app.
Mehmedi scores for Switzerland
Congratulations to Admir Mehmedi. The Werkself striker was the centre of attention in the 2-1 victory for Switzerland in the World Cup qualifier against Andorra. First, he was fouled for the penalty before going on to head his country into a 2-0 lead. That was the third win in three qualifiers for the Swiss.
Robbie Kruse is currently further afield. He was in the Socceroos side for the World Cup qualifier against rivals. Kruse came on at the start of the second half in a 1-1 draw that was a fair reflection of the match.
Germany clock up another win
Bayer 04 players were also on international duty on Tuesday night: Already qualified for next year’s European Championships in Poland, Jonathan Tah and the Germany U21s celebrated ten wins on the bounce with a 4-1 victory against Austria. That was followed in the evening by success for the senior team with Germany securing a 2-0 win against Northern Ireland. Julian Brandt, Bernd Leno and Kevin Volland started on the bench as Julian Draxler and Sami Khedira scored the goals in the opening 17 minutes. Volland replaced Jonas Hector with nine minutes to play.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning there will be World Cup qualifiers in South America. Charles Aránguiz and Wendell are in line to play for their countries. Aránguiz and Chile take on Peru with Brazil, including newly selected Wendell, away to Venezuela.


In glorious sunshine and temperatures of around 30 degrees Celsius, the Bayer 04 Women have begun their preparations for the new season. With a relaxed first session at the Kurtekotten training centre, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team became the first Bundesliga side to resume training after a 37-day break.
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Black and Red stand out. Under the slogan ‘Diversity under the Cross’, Bayer 04 took part in Pride on the Rhine at the weekend alongside the queer fan club “Bayer 04 Junxx”. The club mascot, Brian the Lion, and several members of staff were also in attendance, championing diversity and solidarity.
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Centre-back Melissa Friedrich is set to remain at Bayer 04 for another year. The longest-serving player in the squad, who joined the club in 2016, has extended her contract to 2027.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Portugal U21 international Afonso Moreira. The 21-year-old winger joins the club from French top-flight side Olympique Lyon on a contract to 30 June 2031. In France last year, the left-winger made 37 appearances in Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and the UEFA Europa League, scoring a total of eight goals and providing eleven assists.
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