Just three days after the first friendly against SV Roßbach/Verscheid, Heiko Herrlich will lead the Benders, Jonathan Tah, Dominik Kohr and Co. in the second warm-up game against Sportfreunde Siegen. The match at the fifth tier club is on Saturday 21 July at 15.00 CET at Siegen's Leimbach Stadium (Leimbachstraße 263, 57074 Siegen). Tickets for the friendly against the long-established club from South Westphalia, who the Werkself played four times in the Regional League 50 years ago (1963/64 and 1972/73), are available on Tuesday 26 June.
Match tickets are available as follows:
Standing tickets in category A1 cost 9 euros, concessionary tickets (category A2) cost 6 euros. Seated tickets are only available from Sportfreunde Siegen.
Concessions apply to young people under 17 years of age, school students, students, apprentices, federal volunteer service members, volunteer members of the armed services, disabled and pensioners. Valid ID or photo ID are to be carried on the matchday and shown on request.
Bayer 04 fans have up to 18 July to secure tickets in the fan shops. Ticket sales via the service centre end three days earlier on 15 July.
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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