Jonathan Tah is still in Central America. The 6 foot 4 defender flew out to Mexico City last Sunday (15 May) with teammates, coaching staff and club management for the #Bayer04MexicoTour. Tah and Co. are set to return to Germany on Saturday 21 May.
The Hamburg-born defender will not have much time before moving on to national team duty. The Germany squad have a training camp in Marbella from 23 to 27 May. Hansi Flick’s team will meet up to prepare for the forthcoming international fixtures in Herzogenaurach from 30 May. There are matches in the UEFA Nations League against Italy on 4 June, England on 7 June, Hungary on 11 June and Italy again on 14 June.
Tah has made 15 full international appearances for Germany to date with the Bayer 04 number four having previous played for the U16, U17, U19 and U21 Germany teams. In addition to our defender, Hansi Flick has also called up the former Werkself players Julian Brandt, Kai Havertz and Benjamin Henrichs. The latter two progressed through all the teams at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre.
Which other Werkself players are set to be called up for the forthcoming international break will mainly be announced next week. Lukas Hradecky, Charles Aránguiz, Piero Hincapie and Co. have good reason to be selected given the third-place finish in the Bundesliga and associated qualification for the UEFA Champions League.
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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