The French forward was enthusiastic: "The atmosphere was great as was the performance! It's brilliant to see there's another high quality sport in Leverkusen alongside the football," he said after the game.
The city has long been known for a close relationship between Bayer AG, football and many other top level sports. The stories will be bundled together under the name Bayer Sports Family and presented on the digital channels with the matching hashtag #BayerSportsFamily.
The first episode of the brand-new format 'Bayer Sports Family' duel was shown on the Bayer 04 YouTube channel for the start of the play-offs in basketball. This includes Werkself skipper Lukas Hradecky in a free shot challenge at the Ostermann Arena against the 7-foot-tall centre Dennis Heinzmann of the Bayer Giants. To make it fairer, Hradecky was able to choose one of three handicaps for the basketball player. Which it was and who sank the most shots can be seen HERE.
Adli and Hradecky are not the only Bayer 04 players to be guests at TSB Bayer 04 Leverkusen this year. The Bayer 04 Women’s team were recently at the Ostermann Arena to provide support for the Werkself handball side. And Bayer 04 have also enjoyed the support of Bayer athletes this season. The whole of the Bayer Giants team and the pole vaulter Torben Blech who commentated on the game against Hertha Berlin (2-1) for Bayer 04 on Instagram and Snapchat.
All this plus further information, fixture announcements, entertainment formats from the big Leverkusen sports family will be available in future on all digital channels under #BayerSportsFamily. Have a look!
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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