
Erik ten Hag will be supported by a new group of coaching staff. Newcomers on Monday will include ten Hag's Dutch fellow countrymen and assistant coaches Andries Ulderink and Rogier Meijer. They will be joined by Miguel Angel Campos Vasquez as head of performance and fitness coach Alessandro Schoenmaker.
55-year-old former assistant coach Ulderink took over as temporary head coach of top-flight Royal Antwerp FC on 4 March 2025. His contract with the Belgian club ran out a week ago on 30 June. Previously he was assistant coach at Rangers and Twente Enschede. Ulderink also worked as head coach at Ajax Cape Town (South Africa) and at the Dutch second division club De Graafschap.
Rogier Meijer most recently worked in the Dutch Eredivisie at NEC Nijmegen. The 43-year-old was assistant coach there in 2019 before taking charge of the team a year later and in his first season in charge he led them to promotion to the top-flight. NEC reached the final of the KNVB Cup in 2024 and finished eighth in the league in 2024/25. Meijer was the Nijmegen coach for 194 games.
Miguel Angel Campos Vasquez worked as a fitness coach at the Spanish clubs UD Levante, FC Granada, UD Almeria and FC Cadiz. He also looked after players in England at Watford and the 46-year-old Spaniard has worked for the Algerian FA. Most recently he was responsible for the fitness of Spain youth teams up to the level of the U21s.
Alessandro Schoenmaker has Brazilian heritage and he worked alongside ten Hag at Ajax. 45-year-old Schoenmaker has a wide range of experience in top level football. Anderlecht, Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and Inter Milan are some of his former clubs. In 2010 Schoenmaker worked in the Bundesliga as fitness coach at VfL Wolfsburg.
The Bayer 04 coaching staff also includes established fitness coaches Markus Müller and Jonas Rath. Erik ten Hag’s inner circle will include Marcel Daum as analysis assistant coach, analyst Simon Lackmann, head of sports science Dr. Malte Krüger and sports scientist Prisca Volmary.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended Abdoulaye Faye’s contract by a further year to 30 June 2031. During the 2026/27 season, the talented defender will play for Celta Vigo on loan without an option to buy. The 21-year-old Senegalese is set to feature in La Liga and the UEFA Europa League with last season’s sixth-placed side in Spain.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme on day one (Sunday 2 August) includes a media round with managing director sport Simon Rolfes, free time for the team after the friendly against Rot-Weiss Essen and before an intensive week of training begins, as well as a coffee get-together where CEO Fernando Carro and Rolfes met around 100 fans in the afternoon.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed Kerim Alajbegovic’s transfer to Italian record champions Juventus. The club brought the 18-year-old attacking player back to Leverkusen this summer via a buy-back option, following a season at Red Bull Salzburg. Until his move to Austria, the Bosnia international had been playing for Bayer 04’s Under-19s.
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A warm welcome to the Weimarer Land, Bayer 04! The Werkself moved into their accommodation for this year’s training camp on Saturday evening. In Blankenhain, Thuringia, head coach Carles Martínez’s team have a programme of gruelling training sessions – several of which will be open to fans – and team-building activities lined up for the next six days. We’ll be following the Werkself up close and providing you with exclusive insights, quotes, photos and videos from the training camp.
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With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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