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.
The Germany U19 team were beaten 2-0 by record champions Spain in the final of the U19 European Championship in Wales. Bayer 04 players Montrell Culbreath and Francis Onyeka (on loan at SV 07 Elversberg) were in the starting line-up and played the full 90 minutes.
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Bayer 04 Women have boosted their firepower with the signing of Poland international Paulina Tomasiak. The 24-year-old striker moves to Leverkusen from Gornik Leczna in her homeland on a two-year contract.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed France U17 international Kenan Doganay. The 1.90-metre-tall defensive midfielder, who has Turkish roots, joins Leverkusen from the U19s at French top-flight club Olympique Lyon. He will initially train with and play for the U19 team.
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The Sports Tribunal of the German Football Association (DFB) has fined Bayer 04 Leverkusen €185,000 for spectators setting off pyrotechnic devices during a total of five competitive matches. This relates to four Bundesliga matches and the DFB Pokal semi-final against Bayern Munich. The highest individual fine relates to the away match at FC Köln at the end of April.
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