Fernando Carro: "It's great we will have another World Cup winner under the Bayer Cross next year. Exequiel Palacios was an important part of the team that obviously has their outstanding star in Lionel Messi. We are proud of Pala and everything he's achieved."
Simon Rolfes: "We are very happy for our Pala who will be back in Leverkusen next year as a World Cup winner. It's the biggest title you can win and Pala can be proud of that. He helped contribute in an Argentinian team that developed an incredible resilience in this tournament. And it wasn't just in the final that you could see how much this team and how much a whole country wanted to win the title. They gave their all and deservedly won the World Cup."
Rudi Völler: "Congratulations to our World Cup winner Exequiel Palacios. He was commanding and reliable in his games at the World Cup and he delivered everything Argentina expected of him. Messi provided the magic but a side needs team players like Pala to be successful."
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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Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
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The next footballing highlight is just around the corner: the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 23rd edition of the tournament, will be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico and feature 48 teams for the first time. Bayer04.de has all the latest on the Werkself players called up to represent their countries.
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While the majority of the Bayer 04 Women are enjoying their summer break, nine Werkself players will be on duty for their national teams in the coming days. Three of them are competing for a place at the World Cup, while six are involved in two friendlies with the Germany U23 team.
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