Paulinho was on the training ground long before his team-mates in wonderful spring weather conditions. After Kevin Volland, Karim Bellarabi and Co. arrived and had completed the warm-up routine, there was more intensive work with the ball. After just more than an hour, Bosz let the U19 youngsters Herdi Bukusu, Ömer Tokac, Ayman Azhil, Marc Lamti, keeper Marcel Lotka plus U17 player Yannick Schlösser go and he concentrated on working on moves with his players with breaks from time to time to explain tactics.
Dominik Kohr spent the final session working one-on-one on a neighbouring pitch with assistant coach Xaver Zembrod and Sven Bender did not complete the training session either but instead returned to the dressing room a few minutes early. Joel Pohjanpalo, who returned to full training for the first time this week, carried on to the end. The Finn certainly did not take it easy in the session – the 24-year-old clearly enjoyed every challenge.
Panos Retsos, who returned to full training last week, is ready to play in tomorrow's friendly against Ajax if required: "It will be a while before I'm fully fit again but I'm back in full training and perhaps I can play tomorrow." The Greece international has been out injured for a long time but he is now on his way back again – not least thanks to the support of his team-mates over recent months: "It's been a difficult year for me. The team have got behind me and really helped. That was important for me – particularly in getting my head straight."
The Werkself will be able to take a short break after tomorrow's friendly with no more full training sessions before Saturday. The next open session is on Sunday at 10.30 CET.
In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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Black and Red talent development at the highest level – even off the pitch: Apprentices Jule Suermann, Leandra Bellia and Julia Niederheide have successfully completed their two- or three-year apprenticeships at the club. Bayer 04 honoured the trio at the BayArena on Tuesday.
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Following the summer break, most of the players are back in Leverkusen. While two Bayer 04 first-team players are still in action at the World Cup, the players present officially kicked off the new season with fitness assessments. At the Werkstatt, the Bayer 04 rehabilitation and training centre, Robert Andrich, Edmond Tapsoba and the rest of the squad worked up quite a sweat in the sweltering summer heat. New signings Afonso Moreira and Kennet Eichhorn also successfully completed the day’s sessions alongside their new team-mates.
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The Werkself return tomorrow, Tuesday 14 July (from 11:00 CEST at the BayArena; live stream on bayer04.de, the Bayer 04 app and YouTube), with new head coach Carles Martínez leading his first training session as part of the Bayer 04 set-up. His coaching team comprises a mix of new and long-standing colleagues.
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The FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico is underway. A total of eight Leverkusen players are taking part in the 23rd World Cup, with 48 teams in the tournament for the first time. Bayer04.de brings you all the latest from Werkself players at the World Cup.
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