U19 centre-back Andrea Natali was called up to the Italian U19 squad and joined up with his compatriots near Madrid. In a friendly against Spain on the final day of the camp, the Leverkusen youngster played the full match and more than held his own among team-mates who were mostly two years older. It finished 1-0 to the Spaniards.
No fewer than three players from the Bayer 04 academy were named in Marc Meister's German U17 squad. Ben Hawighorst, Jeremiah Mensah and Nebe Domnic took part in the first ten-day camp of the new year on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, where two friendlies against Portugal were also held.
Hawighorst and Domnic started in the first game and were brought off at half-time as planned after pleasing displays. At the start of the second period, Mensah came on and caught the eye in attack, converting a penalty in the subsequent shootout - which Portugal won - among other things.
Friendly number two began with all three Leverkusen boys in the starting line-up. Hawighorst was forced off with an injury during the first half, while Domnic and Mensah were replaced at the break.
Germany's U16 head coach André Pawlak also counted on Leverkusen personnel in his roster. Elia Datené and Ivan Massek travelled to the Spanish Mediterranean coast for 10 days and, like the U17s, took part in two friendlies against their Portuguese counterparts. The Bayer 04 pair came on at the restart in the first encounter, with Massek scoring the equaliser for 1-1. Both were on target in the concluding penalty shootout. The second friendly also ended in a draw after regular time (2-2), with Datené and Massek playing the first half.
Coming up in February are the U17 Algarve Cup in Portugal as well as an U16 UEFA development tournament.
Kicking off the new season with a fresh look: Bayer 04, in collaboration with sportswear manufacturer New Balance, has unveiled the official kit for Leverkusen’s e-Sports players for the coming season. The jersey is now available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt.
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Paulo Sergio and Bayer 04 have enjoyed close ties since the Werkself training camp in his native Brazil last summer. The club legend is in charge of the Bayer 04 Soccer Academy, which opened in the summer of 2025, and he has also been at this year’s training camp in the Weimarer Land. As well as interacting with the many fans who travelled to the camp, the 1994 World Cup winner used the time to plan the next steps for the Academy together with club officials. In an interview with bayer04.de, Sergio spoke about the project’s future development, the upcoming visit by young Academy players to Leverkusen, and plans for the coming months in Germany and Brazil.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day five (Thursday 6 August) is as follows: The squad have the final open session of the training camp in the morning. After lunch, there will be a team event.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day four (Wednesday 5 August) is all about training. The day begins with a gruelling open training session – new signing Miguel Gutiérrez also takes part. A second session follows in the afternoon, this time behind closed doors.
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At the training camp in the Weimarer Land region, Bayer 04 head coach Carles Martínez and his long-standing assistant Pol García talk about their first few weeks with the Werkself, their expectations of their own work, the coaching staff and the squad, as well as the style of football they want the team to play. They emphasise the importance of a winning mentality within the team, comment on cultural and personal differences in the world of football, and outline their goals for the coming season...
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