Matchday 9 in the VBL Club Championship against FC Köln started at 15.30 CET with a 2 vs 2 encounter between Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr and Furkan ‘FURKY’ Kayacik against Denis ‘DENIS’ Müller and Tim ‘THESTRXNGER’ Katnawatos. The derby was appropriately exciting from the start: Leverkusen levelled after going 2-0 down before the Black and Reds e-Sports duo turned the game round late on with a winner at 3-2 (88’).
As the 1 vs 1 game between Landwehr and Köln’s Müller ended all square at 1-1 the final result came in the third game. Mario ‘BULJI’ Lovrinovic lost 2-1 against Katnawatos. That meant the derby ended in a draw with one point for each team.
The following fixture on matchday 10 against top-of-the-table Hansa Rostock lacked a similar intensity and excitement. The match began at 17.30 CET with the opening two vs two again involving Landwehr and Kayacik this time against Levy Finn ‘LEVYFINN’ Rieck and Henning ‘FCH_HENNING’ Wilmbusse. The Leverkusen eSports players ran out 3-1 winners clocking up the fourth 2 vs 2 victory in the current season.
Landwehr and Rostock’s Rieck then drew 1-1 in the 1 vs 1 clash. Once again, the final result came to down to the third match with Furky securing an impressive 4-0 win against Rostock’s Wilmbusse. Leverkusen thereby picked up three points against the league leaders from the Baltic coast. It was the first defeat for Hansa Rostock in the VBL CC 2022/23 campaign.
The #B04eSports team can now go into the next double matchday in confident mood. The fixture is on Tuesday 6 December. Leverkusen first play FC St. Pauli on matchday 11 at 18.30 CET and that is followed at 19.30 CET with matchday 12 against Hannover 96.
The results on matchdays 9 and 10:
FC Köln vs Bayer 04 (1 point)
Two vs two: 2-3
Müller against Landwehr: 1-1
Katnawatos against Lovrinovic: 2-1
Bayer 04 vs FC Hansa Rostock (3 points)
Two vs two: 3-1
Landwehr against Rieck: 1-1
Furky against Wilmbusse: 4-0
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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