The 42-year-old Spaniard, Carles Martínez, will be assisted by his compatriots Pol García and Sergi Runge as assistant coaches. Martínez most recently enjoyed a successful spell working alongside his long-time colleague García at FC Toulouse in France, among other clubs. Runge was promoted at Bayer 04 in autumn 2025 from U19 head coach to assistant coach of the first team. David Thiel remains goalkeeping coach; he has been with the club since 1994 and has worked with the Werkself’s keepers since 2012. Jan Conradi is the assistant goalkeeping coach.
Also continuing in their current roles are Marcel Daum (assistant coach for analysis) and Simon Lackmann (analyst), as well as Miguel Angel Campos (head of performance).
New additions to the coaching team are Samuel López as Head of Strength and Conditioning within the Performance department, and Igor Labaien as a personal coach. Labaien previously held this role at Spanish top-flight side Espanyol.
The coaching team also includes Markus Müller, Jonas Rath, Daniel Jouvin (all fitness coaches), Dr Malte Krüger (Head of Sports Science and Fitness) and Prisca Volmary (sports scientist).
Pre-season training at the BayArena tomorrow, Tuesday 14 July (from 11:00 CEST), starts with an open session. The club will also livestream the session free of charge on bayer04.de, the Bayer 04 app and YouTube.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have loaned U19 midfielder Jeremiah Mensah to Dutch second-tier side Roda JC Kerkrade for one year. The 18-year-old Germany youth international has a long-term contract at the club to 2031.
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Bayer 04 kick off the final phase of their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with a friendly against Premier League club Nottingham Forest. Head coach Carles Martínez’s team will take to the pitch at the City Ground today, Wednesday 12 August (kick-off: 8.45 pm/7.45 pm local time). Werkself-TV will broadcast the match live and in full exclusively for Bayer 04 members via livestream from 8.35 pm...
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Argentina international Facundo Medina. The defender, who can play both at left-back and in a more central position in the back line, has signed a contract with Bayer 04 to 30 June 2031. The 1.84-metre-tall World Cup runner-up, who will wear the number 2 shirt, joins the club from French top-flight side Olympique de Marseille.
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Villa Fiorito, River Plate, Ligue 1, the World Cup final and now Bayer 04: Facundo Medina’s life story so far has been shaped by special places, clubs, matches and names. One of them is Diego Maradona, who, like Medina, hailed from the south of Buenos Aires. Another is Exequiel Palacios, his former team-mate at River Plate, who was raving about Bayer 04 to him as recently as the World Cup in North America. Medina has now taken the plunge into the Bundesliga and, as an Argentine World Cup runner-up, has joined Bayer 04 from Olympique de Marseille this week. It is set to be the next successful chapter in his career. Leverkusen’s new number 2 brings with him a South American mentality and passion, a wealth of experience from many years in Ligue 1, and a fascinating story to the Rhineland – and to a club where the 1.84-metre-tall left-footed player will be reunited with Palacios and several other familiar faces.
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Shortly after signing his contract with Bayer 04, new signing Facundo Medina spoke to Werkself.tv about his first impressions of the club, his expectations and his conversations with his Argentine compatriot Exequiel Palacios. The defender also reveals what the fans can look forward to. Welcome to Leverkusen, Facu!
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