
Florian Wirtz and his teammates at Bayer 04 last season won the German league title for the first time in the club's history and also became the first Bundesliga team to play a whole season without defeat in the league. In addition, the Werkself won the DFB Pokal to secure the double. Wirtz and Co. also lifted the Supercup trophy at the start of the current campaign.
The other nominations in the category of FIFA World Player are the two former Leverkusen players Toni Kroos and Dani Carvajal plus Rodri, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham, Lionel Messi and Vinicius Junior.
Head coach Xabi Alonso is also in the running for this year's The Best FIFA Football Awards. His rivals in the category of Coach of the Year are Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid), Lionel Scaloni (Argentina), Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) and Luis de la Fuente (Spain).
The Black and Reds are also well represented in the vote for Team of the Year: In the category of the Best FIFA Defender 2024 you can vote for Jonathan Tah, Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo and in the category of the Best FIFA Midfielder 2024 for Granit Xhaka and Florian Wirtz.
Bayer 04 fans can cast their votes in the different categories up to 10 December (23.59 CET) at FIFA.com. The votes of players, coaches and media representatives also come in on equal terms. The winners will be announced at a gala event in January 2025.

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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