Birthday greetings, three times! Before the training session on Tuesday morning, there was a serenade for three birthday boys at the Werkself: Goalkeeper Niklas Lomb is 27, goalkeeping coach David Thiel is now 36 and assistant coach Xaver Zembrod celebrates his 54th birthday. Fernando Carro, chairman of the board at Bayer 04, was a year older on Monday. Bayer 04 wishes many happy returns to one and all on their birthdays.
While his teammates have been sharing access to their holidays over the past couple of weeks, there was less on social networks about Kevin Volland. The 27-year-old made his return at the weekend with good news: With a baby in his arms and the words "Proud dad of two", he revealed a happy secret kept away from the public up till now. His second child was born on 22 July. Congratulations to the Volland family.
The German Football League (DFL) has called another emergency general meeting next week for the 36 clubs in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. In the virtual general meeting on Tuesday, 4 August, the main item on the agenda is the possible return of spectators to stadiums in the 2020/21 season. The background to this meeting is the need to make a decision on what policies the clubs should follow, e.g. regarding away fans, standing and the sale of alcohol plus track and tracing in the event of a coronavirus outbreak.
Last Sunday revealed the champions of the Italian top-flight Serie A: With two games to play, Juventus can no longer be caught by a possible Europa League quarter-final opponent for the Werkself. The last two matches of the league campaign see Inter Milan trying to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League. The second possible opponent in the quarter-finals, Getafe, ended their season in eighth place on 19 July, which is outside a European qualification position but they do have more time to to recover before the Europa League restarts.
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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