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.
The Bayer 04 women’s team secured a win in the friendly during the international break. Without a total of eight international players, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team defeated Bundesliga 2 side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 at the Kurtekotten Training Centre, thanks to goals from Lobke Loonen (1’, penalty), Caroline Kehrer (41') and Valentina Mädl (66').
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Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
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During the first international break of the 2026/27 season, set to last just under three weeks, nine Bayer 04 first-team players are in action with their respective national teams. Read on for updates on matches featuring Werkself players…
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Fun, games and promising talent: At the fourth Bayer 04 Junior Girls’ Talent Day at the Kurtekotten training centre, 90 football-mad girls had the chance to put themselves forward for the Werkself youth teams. During a 90-minute training session, children born between 2011 and 2019 had the chance to demonstrate their skills.
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