You've just finished an intensive week's training camp. How would you sum it up?
Pätzold: We had fantastic conditions here on the training pitch and in the hotel. We had a very intensive week with lots of sessions and a challenging friendly. In lots of one-on-one meetings and individual analyses, we were able to raise awareness of the players' different job profiles. We got to know our new players better and communicated our playing philosophy to them. And off the pitch, we had plenty of time to get to know each other better as a team. In addition, the visit to Auschwitz was a very important aspect that created an awareness of things outside of football that are much more relevant.
How important was it for you to have the entire squad together at the training camp?
Pätzold: Many of our players joined in pre-season at very different points. This is another reason why the training camp was important so we could improve the quality of our sessions and bring everyone up to a similar level in terms of both content and athleticism.
How far along is the team just four weeks before the start of the season?
Pätzold: We've seen a lot of good signs and already implemented the content we developed in training in the friendly against Sosnowiec. Of course, we still need time to fine-tune our interplay. However, we're very satisfied with the intensity, willingness to perform and fitness levels.
What was the main focus of the training camp?
Pätzold: We worked a lot on set-piece situations, on defending in depth and on playing out overload situations. We also repeated attacking patterns through the centre and via the wings. We had a very good balance between intensive workload and good regeneration. My compliments to the players for the way they all pulled together and showed their resilience.
How happy are you with the new players so far?
Pätzold: The new players have increased the quality of the team in terms of football, character and commitment. They're investing a lot to assert themselves at their new club. The friendlies so far have already shown we'll have a lot of joy with them. Fortunately, the team makes it very easy for the new arrivals to quickly settle in.
What will you be focusing on between now and the start of the season?
Pätzold: The remaining three friendlies will certainly show us what we still need to work on. We want to be very awkward, physically strong and difficult to predict opponents. It will be important to maintain the pace from training and the friendlies on the pitch for 90 minutes. It's also about refining processes so our game works against different systems. We want to make what we already do well even more varied so we're less predictable. We developed a very good foundation for this at the training camp.
Issa Traoré is moving from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Slovakian top-flight side AS Trencin. The club has loaned the centre-back out for one year to this year’s ninth-placed team in the Slovakian league.
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Assistant coach Remzi Kahraman is leaving the Bayer 04 Women’s team with immediate effect to take up a new challenge abroad. The club has agreed to the 31-year-old’s request to leave, although his contract was originally due to run until 2027. A decision on his successor will be announced shortly.
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At the U19 European Championship in Wales, the Germany U19 national team lost their third and final group match 4-0 to Spain. Several regulars, including Bayer 04 players Montrell Culbreath and Francis Onyeka (on loan to SV Elversberg), who had combined for four goals and assists in the two previous victories, did not feature,. Germany had already secured their place in the semi-finals with a game to spare.
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Two weeks into the preseason, the Bayer 04 Women have secured their first victory. Coach Roberto Pätzold’s team won their first friendly 2–0 against Bundesliga newcomers Mainz 05. In front of 160 spectators at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, the two summer signings, Maja Sternad (80’) and Justine Brandau (90’), scored for the Black and Reds.
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