
Monday and Tuesday involved the obligatory performance tests at the BayArena; the players were tested on the speed court, at the Werkstatt and in the stadium for speed, balance and the capacity of their cardiovascular systems. The first full training session took place on Wednesday evening with familiar and eleven new faces. With the exception of Pauline Wimmer, who successfully underwent the second of two operations on her torn cruciate on Wednesday, and Nicole Banecki, who was absent through illness, Feifel had all his players available for the opening session.
The first challenge comes on Sunday morning, 9 August: In an internal friendly against the Bayer 04 Women's second team, Feifel is looking to get a first impression of his team after the summer break. A week later (16 August), the Werkself Women have another friendly against relegated FC Köln. The Feifel group then have a one-week training camp in the Westerwald from 17 to 23 August before a final friendly ahead of the opening league fixture (Sunday, 6 September, 14.00 CET at SC Freiburg). A visit to the Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven is on the cards. All friendlies are played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Photos from first training session:










Bayer 04 Leverkusen have loaned U19 midfielder Jeremiah Mensah to Dutch second-tier side Roda JC Kerkrade for one year. The 18-year-old Germany youth international has a long-term contract at the club to 2031.
Show more
Bayer 04 kick off the final phase of their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with a friendly against Premier League club Nottingham Forest. Head coach Carles Martínez’s team will take to the pitch at the City Ground today, Wednesday 12 August (kick-off: 8.45 pm/7.45 pm local time). Werkself-TV will broadcast the match live and in full exclusively for Bayer 04 members via livestream from 8.35 pm...

Villa Fiorito, River Plate, Ligue 1, the World Cup final and now Bayer 04: Facundo Medina’s life story so far has been shaped by special places, clubs, matches and names. One of them is Diego Maradona, who, like Medina, hailed from the south of Buenos Aires. Another is Exequiel Palacios, his former team-mate at River Plate, who was raving about Bayer 04 to him as recently as the World Cup in North America. Medina has now taken the plunge into the Bundesliga and, as an Argentine World Cup runner-up, has joined Bayer 04 from Olympique de Marseille this week. It is set to be the next successful chapter in his career. Leverkusen’s new number 2 brings with him a South American mentality and passion, a wealth of experience from many years in Ligue 1, and a fascinating story to the Rhineland – and to a club where the 1.84-metre-tall left-footed player will be reunited with Palacios and several other familiar faces.
Show more
Shortly after signing his contract with Bayer 04, new signing Facundo Medina spoke to Werkself.tv about his first impressions of the club, his expectations and his conversations with his Argentine compatriot Exequiel Palacios. The defender also reveals what the fans can look forward to. Welcome to Leverkusen, Facu!
Show more
Welcome back! On Tuesday morning, 11 August, Jarell Quansah and Exequiel Palacios – the last of the Werkself’s World Cup participants – returned to training. The two medallists and their team-mates are set to play their final two pre-season friendlies in England this week before the start of competitive fixtures.
Show more