Dr Burak Yildirim is ending his time at Leverkusen this summer. The 45-year-old doctor for orthopaedics, emergency surgery and sports medicine will completely focus on his practice in Pulheim in the future. "I'd like to thank all players, management and staff for the years of support and trust. I'm proud to have been part of this great club for so long."
Yildirim came to Bayer 04 in 1996. He started as a youth coach before moving into the section providing commentary for the visually impaired after three years. He became the team doctor in 2013 and has carried out that role for the last ten years.
His successor is Dr Stefan Porten. The 46-year-old is taking over looking after the Bayer 04 first team squad immediately together with Dr Philipp Ehrenstein. Dr Porten was the team doctor for the Germany U20 and U21 teams and for many years and up to 2018 he was the team doctor at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Dr Porten has an orthopaedic surgery in Cologne.
Dr Daniel Lay, previously the team doctor for the Germany Women's U20 team, will look after the medical needs of the Bayer 04 U19 and Women's teams.
Sven Elsinger is returning to the Leverkusen physios. The 55-year-old is taking charge of the first team physiotherapy section, a position he held for 13 years up to 2021. Elsinger recently worked in the youth section at Bayer 04. His deputy is Ill-Han Yun.
Jonas Rath is a new fitness coach at the Werkself. The 43-year-old was the fitness coach at Borussia Mönchengladbach for the last three years. Rath takes over from Schahriar Bigdeli who occupied that role since 2006 after being a long jumper with TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will to have manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir. The Morocco international suffered a ligament injury in his left ankle before the AFCON final defeat against Senegal (0-1 a.e.t.).
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The VBL Club Championship 2025/26 continues. Tonight, 27 January (live on Twitch and on the Bayer 04 app from 18:00 CET), the Leverkusen eSports team will play the remaining three matches in the online preliminary round of Showdown Four. They are up against FC Kaiserslautern, SC Freiburg and the current club champions and Showdown Three winners RB Leipzig, with whom Bayer 04, club runners-up and Showdown One winners, shared some memorable moments, especially last year. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Swiss goalkeeper Jonas Omlin from Borussia Mönchengladbach. The 32-year-old joins the Werkself from the Lower Rhine Bundesliga club on loan to the end of the current season. This is the reaction of Bayer 04 to the injury to first choice keeper Mark Flekken, who faces a long spell on the sidelines.
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Welcome to Leverkusen, Jonas Omlin. Bayer 04 have signed the 32-year-old goalkeeper on loan from Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach until the end of the season. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes described the Swiss shot stopper, signed by the Werkself in reaction to the long-term absence of first choice keeper Mark Flekken, as an "internationally experienced keeper." Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the new signing, who will wear the number 18 jersey.
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Lucas Vázquez was the hero in Saturday's 1-0 home win against Werder Bremen, when the Spaniard scored his first Bundesliga goal to secure an important victory for Leverkusen. The 34-year-old right-sided recently met up with the Werkself magazine for an interview in the Düsseldorf restaurant Casa Galicia after the first few months of settling in to his new home in Germany. Over tapas, the five-time Champions League winner, who left Real Madrid in the summer after 18 years to continue his career at Bayer 04, spoke about his career to date, the new challenge in Leverkusen and the importance of family - and he paid a big compliment to the fans of his new club.
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