Patrik Schick, Adam Hlozek and Lukas Hradecky are involved in the final group matches in the Nations League. Schick and Hlozek are in the Czech Republic squad for the game on matchday five against Portugal. The Czechs lost the first meeting 2-0 at the beginning of June. Switzerland are the opponents on matchday six. The Czech Republic team won their previous encounter 2-1. Schick, Hlozek and Co. are currently third on four points in Group 2 in League A.
Hradecky is with the Finland team for matches against Romania and Montenegro. The Finns recently beat Montenegro 2-0 but lost 1-0 against Romania. The Scandinavian side are third in the table on four points in Group 3 in League B. Montenegro are second (seven points) and Romania are bottom on three points.
Zidan Sertdemir is with the Denmark U19 squad for European championship qualifiers for next years finals in Malta. The 17-year-old and his teammates first play Georgia in Hjorring in Denmark and then there are matches against the youth teams from Montenegro and England every three days in Hobro.
The two Werkself players Jeremie Frimpong and Mitchel Bakker are set to play two friendlies with the Netherlands U21 side. Frimpong, Bakker and Co. first travel to Leuven to play Belgium on Friday 23 September (kick-off: 18.30 CEST). The Oranje then play Romania include Cluj on Tuesday 27 September (kick-off: 18.00 CEST).
Five other Werkself players are set to feature in friendly fixtures. Charles Aránguiz has again been selected by Chile and will play alongside his teammates on Friday and the following Tuesday against Morocco and Qatar. On the same day, Sardar Azmoun with Iran, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso and Piero Hincapie with Ecuador also have friendly matches. While Iran have their games in Austria, Tapsoba and Co. head off to Morocco.
Piero Hincapie and Ecuador first face Saudi Arabia in Murcia (Spain) with the kick-off at 19.00 CEST and four days later they are playing a few kilometres away from the BayArena. La Tri meet Japan (kick-off: 19.00 CEST) at the Merkur Spiel Arena in Düsseldorf.
Odilon Kossounou starts a day later: The defender with the Ivory Coast plays Togo on Saturday 24 September. The second friendly for the Ivorians is against Guinea on Tuesday 27 September. Both matches are to be played in France.
Internationals involving Bayer 04 players:
Charles Aránguiz (Friendlies)
23.09., 21.00 CEST, Morocco vs Chile, Barcelona
27.09., Qatar vs Chile, Vienna
Jeremie Frimpong and Mitchel Bakker (U21 friendlies)
23.09., 18.30 CEST, Belgium vs Netherlands, Leuven
27.09., 18.00 CEST, Romania vs Netherlands, Cluj
Zidan Sertdemir (U19 Euro qualifiers)
21.09., 14.00 CEST, Denmark vs Georgia, Hjorring
24.09., 18.00 CEST, Denmark vs Montenegro, Hobro
27.09., 14.00 CEST, Denmark vs England, Hobro
Patrik Schick and Adam Hlozek (Nations League)
24.09., 20.45 CEST, Czech Republic vs Portugal, Prague
27.09., 20.45 CEST, Switzerland vs Czech Republic, St. Gallen
Lukas Hradecky (Nations League)
23.09., 20.45 CEST, Finland vs Romania, Helsinki
26.09., 20.45 CEST, Montenegro vs Finland, Podgorica
Odilon Kossounou (Friendlies)
24.09., Ivory Coast vs Togo, Rouen
27.09., Guinea vs Ivory Coast, Le Havre
Sardar Azmoun (Friendlies)
23.09., Iran vs Uruguay, St. Pölten
27.09., Iran vs Senegal, Vienna
Edmond Tapsoba (Friendlies)
23.09., Burkina Faso vs Togo, Casablanca
27.09., Burkina Faso vs Togo, Casablanca
Piero Hincapie (Friendlies)
23.09., 19.00 CEST, Saudi Arabia vs Ecuador, Murcia
27.09., 19.30 CEST, Ecuador vs Japan, Düsseldorf
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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