Bayer Leverkusen and Erik ten Hag “looking ahead” as new era begins
After an unprecedented period of success under the guidance of Xabi Alonso and players such as Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz, a new era began on 7 July at Bayer Leverkusen under the watchful eye of new head coach Erik ten Hag.
In a training session that lasted just over 75 minutes, Ten Hag and his team put a group of 20 players through their paces in what was Leverkusen’s first pre-season training ahead of the 2025/26 campaign. The group involved a mixture of both new and familiar faces, including Victor Boniface, Aleix García and summer signing Ibrahim Maza.
The workout, run by Ten Hag and his new assistant coaches Andries Ulderink and Rogier Meijer, was a mixture of intensity training and possession-based activities. It included a series of runs and several rounds of football tennis, along with a practice match.
Watch: Erik ten Hag unveiled as Bayer Leverkusen head coach
To say that Ten Hag has big shoes to fill is an understatement. During his time at the club, Alonso created a culture of winning at Die Werkself as the Spaniard’s side was transformed into one of the best teams in Europe, winning an unbeaten Bundesliga and DFB Cup double during the 2023/24 season before once again challenging on all fronts last term.
The challenge has only been added to in recent weeks with the departures of Tah and Wirtz, who have left the club for Bayern Munich and Liverpool, respectively. Despite this, the 55-year-old Dutchman was upbeat and full of enthusiasm when asked about the upcoming season by media representatives.
"We've prepared intensively for this start over the past few weeks. So I'm really looking forward to finally being on the training ground and getting to work with the guys," Ten Hag explained.
"What the club has achieved in recent years is outstanding. But that's now in the past. We're now looking ahead, together with many people here at the club who have a great deal of expertise. I'm confident we will continue to compete at the top and build a new, very promising team. It is still very early in the preparation phase, but my impressions so far are very, very good."
Watch: Erik ten Hag's first day at Bayer Leverkusen
Speaking to Werkself-TV, the club’s own media outlet, the former Manchester United and Ajax tactician also spoke in more detail about the team’s pre-season plans and his early training sessions.
“First and foremost, it’s all about possession. By the end of pre-season, we’ll need to bring intensity into our game, because intensity is incredibly important.”
“We need the courage to play, and we must be bold. We need to be in control of the ball; we have to command it.”
Ten Hag went on to express his excitement ahead of the club’s pre-season tour of Brazil that will take place between 14 July and 24 July, as last season’s runners-up visit Rio de Janeiro.
“I think it’s going to be fantastic. It’s Brazil; it’s more or less the country that has shaped football, and it’s where so many great footballers come from, he said. "We’re really looking forward to the trip, to coming together and taking those first steps in building team spirit, so we can really grow as a group. It’ll be a great trip and we’re really looking forward to it."
Ten Hag’s first competitive match in charge will be in the opening round of the DFB Cup on 15 August, and it could prove a potential banana skin too, as Leverkusen travel to newly promoted fourth-tier side Sonnenhof Großaspach. That game will be followed the weekend after by the team’s first Bundesliga game of the season as Bayer host Hoffenheim.
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