"It feels good to get going again. And, of course, it's even more fun with this weather and on these pitches," said Peter Bosz after the almost exactly 60-minute long foray into the new season. With pleasant summer weather conditions and under the eyes of sporting director Simon Rolfes, Bayer 04 CEO Fernando Carro and numerous fans, the three new signings Kerem Demirbay, Moussa Diaby and Daley Sinkgraven showed what they could do. "You can't say too much about the lads after just one hour on the training ground. But I think you could see they are good players," said the 55-year-old Dutchman who put the Werkself squad through their paces with sprints and stamina work plus passing and shooting drills before rounding it off with a practice match.
The Werkself international players Lukas Hradecky, Julian Baumgartlinger, Aleksandar Dragovic, Kai Havertz, Tin Jedvaj plus Charles Aránguiz, Leon Bailey and Jonathan Tah, who captained the Germany U 21s in the European Championship final on Sunday, were unavailable for the first training session. While the first mentioned are due to return next Monday, Tah, Bailey and Aránguiz will be away a little longer – and are only expected to return to Leverkusen after the training camp in Zell am See-Kaprun (15 to 21 July). "They need rest. We are trying to give all players – including Jonathan Tah, Charles Aránguiz and Leon Bailey – three weeks holiday. If we don't do that then they could get injured or go into the new season tired," explained Bosz before adding: "That gives other players the opportunity to show what they can do."
For example in the first friendly on Saturday (6 July, 17.00 CET) away to Regional League side Wuppertaler SV. The head coach said all players available to him will play for at least 45 minutes. Until then there are two other open training sessions this week (Tuesday and Friday each at 10.30 CET) plus the obligatory medical performance tests on Thursday.
With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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A successful fourth preseason friendly ahead of the start of the training camp: The Werkself secured a 3-0 victory over Rot-Weiss Essen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The goals in what was a commanding and dominant performance by Leverkusen from the outset were scored by Ibrahim Maza (8'), Patrik Schick from the penalty spot (23’) and, in the second half, Montrell Culbreath with a header (79’). The team set off for their training camp in Blankenhain in the Weimarer Land region after the game.
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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You have voted – your ‘Team of the Quarter-Century’ has been decided! This historic selection, covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024, features honorary captains, Bundesliga champions, double winners and Champions League finalists. Edmond Tapsoba is the only player from the current Bayer 04 squad to make it into the starting XI, while his team-mate Patrik Schick is on the bench. Simon Rolfes, the current managing director sport, is also in the lie-up. A truly special team that brings together a quarter of a century of Bayer 04 history – and has left a decisive mark on the club.
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Following Patrik Schick, Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Kerim Alajbegovic earlier this week, the next World Cup participant is back on the training ground in Leverkusen: On Thursday 30 July, Malik Tillman rejoined the squad, completing his first training session under head coach Carles Martínez.
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