"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.
Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
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Fun, games and promising talent: At the fourth Bayer 04 Junior Girls’ Talent Day at the Kurtekotten training centre, 90 football-mad girls had the chance to put themselves forward for the Werkself youth teams. During a 90-minute training session, children born between 2011 and 2019 had the chance to demonstrate their skills.
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Despite the international break, numerous Werkself fans turned up at the BayArena on Saturday 3 October. The occasion: Bayer 04, together with Bayer Vital and main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer, organised a Health Day. In the stadium’s Premium Lounge, guests listened to fascinating talks on the subject of cancer, featuring, amongst others, Bayer 04 record appearance holder Rüdiger Vollborn and former Werkself player Hans Sarpei. Afterwards, young and old alike enjoyed interactive stations such as a grip strength test and eye pupil test.
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In issue #56 of Werkself Magazine, Afonso Moreira offers some interesting insights into his home country, Portugal, as part of the ‘Sag mal’ (Tell me) feature. Among other things, the 21-year-old talks about his favourite places in the country on the Iberian Peninsula, the local cuisine and music, as well as heroes and historical figures beyond the world of football. ‘Sag mal’ with Afonso Moreira!
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