The team bus set off early in the morning at 07:30 CEST from the BayArena with 27 women players on board. The destination was Rieden situated 500 kilometres away in one of the most beautiful areas of Bavarian countryside. The Werkself are staying at the Hotel Gut Matheshof this week to work on the key part of the pre-season preparations.
With three weeks to go before the start of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga with the opening match away to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, the team are looking to complete the necessary fine tuning at the training camp. There are six training sessions on the pitch with the addition of two sessions on strength and regeneration work. On Sunday afternoon at 17:00 CEST there was the first ten minute walk from the hotel to the training ground of SV Vilshofen.
There is a real test as the sporting highlight of the training camp on Friday, 22 August (14:00 CEST, Stadion Grüne Au, Hof, live stream on Werkself TV and on the Bayer 04): The Werkself play VfL Wolfsburg in the first pre-season friendly against a rival team in the league.
Youth players also have the chance to show what they can do in Rieden: Angelie Martens, Amelie Sosnik, Jana Lindner and Jolina Heltemes are with the squad in Rieden for their first valuable day-to-day experiences with the senior squad. The following players were unable to travel: Selina Ostermeier and Amy Wrigge (both with muscle injuries), Caroline Kehrer (rehab training after knee injury) plus long-term absentee Shen Menglu (torn cruciate).
Away from the pitch, the idyllic surroundings provide an ideal setting for focused preparation. The Hotel Gut Matheshof is in the countryside surrounded by woods and meadows between Regensburg (55 kilometres) and Nuremberg (85 kilometres). For the Bayer 04 Women these are the best conditions to prepare for the new season in peace and calm.
After the return to Leverkusen on Saturday afternoon there will be the two final weeks of training ahead of the start of the Bundesliga campaign. The last game in preparation for matchday one is a friendly against Belgian club Standard Liège on Saturday, 30 August (16:00 CEST, 3 x 45 minutes, Kurtekotten). The new season starts a week later on Saturday, 6 September (17:45 CEST, live on ARD, MagentaSport and DAZN) with the official opening fixture away to the champions of Germany Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.
Bayer 04 are through to the second round of the DFB Pokal after a 4-0 win at Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday night. The game was paused after only 18 minutes due to a storm over the ground. After a lengthy delay, play resumed and Patrik Schick opened the scoring. Arthur, Christian Kofane and Alejandro Grimaldo made things more comfortable in the second half, as the fourth-tier side had two players sent off.
Show moreThere were no goals across 115 minutes of football between Bayer 04 Women and PSV Eindhoven in Friday’s friendly. Roberto Pätzold’s team played two 45-minute periods before an extra 25 minutes two days prior to heading to Rieden for their training camp. Their Dutch opponents were preparing for their UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifier in 12 days.
Show moreThe first round of the DFB Pokal takes Bayer 04 to Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday. The amateur club have just gained promotion to the fourth-tier Regionalliga Südwest and kicked off their campaign with two impressive wins. Here’s all you need to know as Erik ten Hag makes his competitive bow as Werkself boss at the WIRmachenDRUCK Arena (kick-off: 6pm CEST).
Show moreAfter two months preparing for the new season, the Werkself play the first game of the 2025/26 campaign on Friday, 15 August (kick-off: 18:00 CEST) away to SG Sonnenhof Großaspach in the first round of the DFB Pokal. Ahead of the tie against the team newly promoted to the Regional League South West, head coach Erik ten Hag talked about his approach to the knockout game and his soft spot for cup competitions.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen has a new Premium Partner in its ranks in Düsseldorf company LumenHaus GmbH. The leading provider of networked home energy solutions has initially agreed a one-year partnership with the Bundesliga runners-up to the end of the 2025/26 season.
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