Head coach Roger Schmidt and his players can look forward to the best possible conditions and plenty of work in Austria. “We’ll work on all aspects of our game at the training camp and that includes the physical and tactical areas. And we know we’ve got the ideal conditions we need,” confirmed Schmidt, “I’m looking forward to the stay and working with our players.” Kevin Volland is also positive ahead of the hard work in Salzburger Land. “It’s particularly important for me as a new signing at the training camp to get to know the team better,” said the striker signed from Hoffenheim who has already scored five times in the pre-season.
The Werkself will have to make do without Lars Bender and Julian Brandt in Zell am See-Kaprun as the duo are at the Olympics in Rio with the Germany squad. Danny da Costa is also absent after undergoing an operation in Krefeld on Thursday to remove a metal pin inserted to provide support after he broke his shin in October 2014. Stefan Kießling, with ongoing hip problems, and Julian Baumgartlinger (groin) will start with individual training sessions in Zell am See. The youngsters Sam Schreck, Atakan Akkaynak and Kai Havertz are also on the tour. The Germany players at Euro 2016, Bernd Leno and Jonathan Tah, are set join the group in the next few days.
Two friendlies
In addition to the numerous training sessions, the Werkself have two friendlies arranged in Austria: The first is against South-West Regional League Teutonia Watzenborn-Steinberg on Saturday followed by a game on the penultimate day of the training camp against Fiorentina on Thursday 4 August. The matches at the Alois Latini Stadium in Zell am See kick off at 18.00 CET.
Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without goalkeeper Mark Flekken and forward Nathan Tella for the time being.
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After a week in the Algarve, the Bayer 04 Women returned home on Saturday afternoon. The Werkself had six training sessions, two friendlies and a lot of time together as a team. Roberto Pätzold's team will be back in action in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga next Friday for the start of matchday 15.
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"We didn’t make the right decision at the right moments," said captain Robert Andrich after the 1-0 defeat away to TSG Hoffenheim, where Bayer 04 endeavoured to control the game but failed to score. The Werkself also had two enforced substitutions due to injuries. Nevertheless, the coach, captain and debutant Janis Blaswich are positive about the coming weeks. The Werkself review.
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