At 08:00 CEST on Monday morning, the journey began on the team coach from the BayArena to Rieden, some 500 kilometres away, set in one of Bavaria’s most beautiful landscapes. Following last year’s positive experience, the Leverkusen Women will be staying at the Hotel Gut Matheshof until next Sunday to lay the foundations for a successful new season. Before last year’s departure, Pätzold raved about the “fantastic conditions” there.
After arriving and having a light lunch in the afternoon, the first training session was already on the agenda at the training ground, a ten-minute walk from the hotel. With football tennis and various small-sided passing drills, Pätzold and his coaching team took it easy after the six-hour journey. A total of five further sessions on the pitch, as well as two stamina and yoga sessions, are scheduled before they leave. Thursday afternoon will be devoted entirely to team-building.
As the sporting highlight of the training camp, the Werkself are set to play a friendly on Saturday 18 July (16:00 CEST, Fenstertechnik-Weinfurtner-Arena in Rieden), consisting of four 30-minute halves, against Czech first-division side Slovan Liberec. Following the two matches against Mainz 05 (2-0) and PSV Eindhoven (0-1), this will be the Werkself’s third pre-season friendly.
Twenty-nine players have made the trip, including all eleven new signings from the summer: Justine Brandau (Feyenoord), Natasha Kowalski, Paulina Platner (both SGS Essen), Lobke Loonen (FC Utrecht), Lumbardha Misini (Servette), Marlene Müller (RB Leipzig), Carolin Simon (Bayern Munich), Maja Sternad (Werder Bremen), Paulina Tomasiak (Gornik Leczna) and Emily Wallrabenstein (Eintracht Frankfurt II), as well as Rafaela Borggräfe, who is once again on loan from Liverpool. The only player missing from the first-team squad was striker Amy Wrigge (torn cruciate ligament); in her place, goalkeeper Lea Egbers and Jana Lindner from the U23 team were included.
Away from the training ground too, the Bayer 04 Women are finding the conditions in Rieden ideal for intensive pre-season preparation. The Hotel Gut Matheshof is situated in the heart of a peaceful landscape with woods and meadows, between Regensburg (55 kilometres away) and Nuremberg (85 kilometres). The idyllic surroundings provide the perfect conditions for the team to focus on getting in the right frame of mind for the coming campaign.
Back in Leverkusen, pre-season preparations for the new Bundesliga campaign will pause for a week. The second phase of the preseason begins on Monday 27 July. There will then be just under four weeks until the start of the new Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season. The first matchday will take place between 21 and 24 August. The Werkself’s opponents will be confirmed on Thursday, when the German Football Association (DFB) publishes the fixture list for the 2026/27 season.
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.
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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...
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Argentina international Facundo Medina. The defender, who can play both at left-back and in a more central position in the back line, has signed a contract with Bayer 04 to 30 June 2031. The 1.84-metre-tall World Cup runner-up, who will wear the number 2 shirt, joins the club from French top-flight side Olympique de Marseille.
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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.
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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!
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