Our number 11 made 39 appearances for the Werkself last season and the Ludwigshafen-born player was directly involved in 14 goals. After five full international appearances for Germany in Euro qualifiers and international friendlies, the 2017 U21 European Champion is set to play in the Olympic football tournament in Japan. As one of the three players allowed to be over 23 years old, Nadiem Amiri will assume a leadership role in the DFB squad.
The Germany Olympic squad under U21 national coach Stefan Kuntz play the title holders Brazil (kick-off: 13.30 CEST) in the group stage on 22 July, a day before the official opening of the Olympic Games. Saudi Arabia are the next opponents three days later (kick-off: 13.30 CEST). Germany's last match in the race for a quarter-final slot is on 28 July against the Ivory Coast (kick-off: 10.00 CEST) in the final group game.
In addition to Amiri, another Werkself player is included in his country's Olympic team. There will be a head-to-head in Group D when Germany with Amiri face Brazil with Bayer 04 offensive player Paulinho.
To date the men's and women's footballers at Bayer 04 have collected a complete set of medals. In the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul (South Korea), Thomas Hörster and Christian Schreier on bronze for Germany. In 2016 there was silver for Lars Bender and Julian Brandt and Sven Bender within the team under coach Horst Hrubesch for the defeat in the final. Annike Krahn was a winner that year. The Bayer 04 defender was in the Germany team under coach Silvia Neid that beat Sweden 2-1 in the final. Krahn ended her international career after that and a year later hung up her boots at club level.
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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