
Continuity in the head coach role with the oldest youth team: Sven Hübscher, working under the Bayer Cross for the past 18 months, will again be responsible for the Leverkusen U19 team next season, his assistant coach is Markus Daun. The Hübscher team missed out by just one goal in the semi-finals of the U19 German championships last weekend. Bayer 04 finished third in the U19 Bundesliga West.
The U17 team will have a new head coach for the 2022/23 season: The Spaniard Sergi Runge, who speaks fluent German and is currently the assistant coach of the team, now takes charge of the Bayer 04 U17 squad. "Sergi has made a very good impression on recent months. He has quickly settled in to his new role and he has everything required to be the coach in charge," said Thomas Eichin, head of the Youth and Women's teams at Bayer 04.
Runge came to Leverkusen at the beginning of March from the world famous Barcelona academy. The 28-year-old was assistant coach of the U16 side at the top Spanish club. Before that, Runge was assistant coach of the first team and head coach of the U17s at the top Costa Rican club Liga Deportiva Alajuelnse.
In addition to assistant coach Thomas Zdebel, Runge will have a new fitness coach from the summer: Philipp Walther joined Leverkusen from the Fortuna Düsseldorf U17s. The Fortuna U17s qualified for the semi-finals of the German Championships last season with the 28-year-old in charge of fitness.
Coaching line-up for 2022/23:
U19: Sven Hübscher, Markus Daun
U17: Sergi Runge, Thomas Zdebel
Academy team/U16: Benjamin Adam, TBA
U15: Mirko Casper, Marvin Schmitz
U14: Pierre de Wit, Fritz Vosen
U13: Erdal Celik, Marco Walter
U12: Yannick Lamberz, Dominik Kepper
U11: Alexander Nuss, Achim Gödde
U10: Sebastian Lang, René Färber
U9: Tim Molowitz, TBA
U8: Jürgen Haagmans, Mark Fuldauer, Dennis Sartory

A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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European football returns to the BayArena: Bayer 04 host Slovenian champions NK Celje on matchday 1 in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Ahead of the match on Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez and midfielder Aleix Garcia spoke at the pre-match press conference. The focus was primarily on the great anticipation surrounding the competition and the clear objectives for it – and, given the circumstances, on a last-minute change to the opposition line-up.
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