
After the 16-year-old Iker Bravo made his first senior appearance in the DFB Cup game against Karlsruher SC (1-2), the young Spanish striker made his Bundesliga debut on Sunday, 7 November in the match at Hertha Berlin (1-1). Bravo was, for a few minutes, the youngest Bundesliga player in the history of Bayer 04 – until Zidan Sertdemir came on from the bench. Now comes the next highlight for the top talent who joined Leverkusen from Barcelona in the summer: His goal from an overhead kick in the U19 match against Fortuna Düsseldorf has been nominated for the October Goal of the Month on the ARD Sportschau.
The Spaniard scored his first two goals for Bayer 04 in that match at the end of October. And his second goal on 75 minutes was a real beauty: With the score at 1-1, he did an overhead kick to put the ball in the back of the net and turn the game round in favour of the Black and Reds (final score 3-1). You can see his remarkable feat again HERE. Bayer 04 fans can vote for Bravo's outstanding strike now online at sportschau.de or by calling 01371/36900 (€0.14 /call from German landline).
Also nominated are Breel Embolo (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Katharina Naschenweng (TSG Hoffenheim), David Blacha (SV Meppen) and Sebastian Klaas (VfL Osnabrück). The vote closes on 27 November at 19.00 CET.
Another important step in the professionalisation of women's football: The streaming platform ata football has acquired the rights for the current and coming 2022/23 season to show a large number of games from the FLYERALARM Women's Bundesliga.
Selected matches from the FFBL will be shown in their entirety on atafootball.com and on nbcsport.com. Matches will also be shown in full after games have ended and there will also be highlights.
Prick up your ears: Radio Leverkusen will report on the Werkself charity match against a City of Leverkusen team in their morning show tomorrow (Tuesday) morning from 6 a.m. that will include an interview with Bayer 04 honorary captain Stefan Kießling and a Werkself fan who was involved in the clear-up work in Leverkusen and surroundings following the terrible floods in July.
The Bayer 04 first team are playing at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Wednesday, 10 November from 18.30 CET to provide support for the victims of the flood disaster. All profits from the event will go to the Leverkusen Community Foundation. Tickets are available at the Bayer 04 online shop for five euros.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen have appointed Carles Martínez Novell as the new head coach. The 42-year-old Spaniard worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. Martínez finished last term in ninth place with the club from the south of France. He will take over the Werkself on 1 July 2026 and has signed a contract to 30 June 2028. Martínez, whose contract with Toulouse expires at the end of the month, succeeds Kasper Hjulmand at Leverkusen, who is leaving the club after one season.
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Welcome to Leverkusen, Carles Martínez Novell. Bayer 04 have appointed the 42-year-old Spaniard as the new head coach on a contract to 2028. Martínez most recently worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. He previously spent four years at Barcelona's legendary academy La Masia in his home city. Bayer04.de introduces Martínez in more detail.
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Bayer 04 plans for the 2026/27 pre-season continue to take shape. The Werkself will kick off the new season in mid-July with the return to the training ground. The highlight will be the official season opener on 8 August at the BayArena, including a friendly against La Liga club Sevilla. Friendlies in Germany will take the team to neighbouring Monheim, Offenbach and Jena.
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Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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