
Born in Bochum, Hannes Wolf only played in the Oberliga during his playing career but he has already made a name for himself as a coach at a young age. While studying sport at the Ruhr University in Bochum, he worked as a coach at SG Eintracht Ergste. After moving on to ASC Dortmund he was then signed up by Borussia Dortmund.
At BVB, Wolf – at the age of just 28 – first became the assistant coach with the second team where he worked with players including Sven Bender and a year later he was head coach of the Dortmund U19 side. After that, Wolf also played a leading role with the second team as well as the U17s, winning the German U17 Championship in 2014 and 2015. A year later, he secured the national title with the U19s as well.
Second division VfB Stuttgart heard about Hannes Wolf and signed him up. After arriving in September 2016, the new coach led the Swabian side to the second division title and an immediate return to the top division. Wolf was at VfB for one and a half years. After a couple of months out, he was snapped up by Hamburg SV. The man from Bochum worked in the Hanseatic city for a year as he did with his following employers, the Belgian top-flight club KRC Genk where he took part in the Champions League.
Since October 2020, Wolf has been working for the German Football Association (DFB) as the Germany U18 coach. Bayer 04 appointed the 39-year-old coach as successor to the Dutchman Peter Bosz on 23 March 2021.

The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
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The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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The Bundesliga is back. On Saturday 29 August (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself are away to SV 07 Elversberg on matchday 1 of the new season. Ahead of the clash at the URSAPHARM Arena on Kaiserlinde, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about the importance of a successful start and the motivation of the league newcomers from the Saarland.
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On Friday afternoon, it will be decided which eight of the 36 participating teams Bayer 04 will face in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in 2026/27. At the draw in Monaco (live on UEFA.com), the Werkself will be drawn against two teams from each of the four pots, allocated according to the UEFA club coefficient. A match against an opponent from the same country is ruled out, as is facing more than two clubs from the same national association. Here’s a look at the pots and potential opponents.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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