
The Werkself are in the last four on the European stage for the fourth time in the club's history. They were knocked out by Palma in the UEFA Cup in 1994/95, the Black and Reds reached the finals of the UEFA Cup in 1987/88 and the Champions League in 2001/02. Bayer 04 are looking for a repeat in the current campaign as sporting managing director Simon Rolfes said after the final whistle in the second leg at Union Saint-Gilloise: "There's just one target and that's the final."
The route to the final in the Europa League in 2022/23 is via AS Roma. The top Italian team beat Feyenoord after extra time in the quarter-finals and they have some famous players in Stephan El Shaarawy, Georginio Wijnaldum and Paulo Dybala. José Mourinho, the current coach at AS Roma, will face one of his former players at Real Madrid in the games against the Werkself: today's Bayer 04 head coach Xabi Alonso. "We want to give our all in the league and in Europe," declared the Spaniard after reaching the semi-finals.

The Werkself play the first leg in Rome on 11 May with the kick-off at 21.00 CEST (ticket information to follow). That is followed a week later by the second leg at the BayArena in Leverkusen, which was sold out after 90 minutes.
The Werkself can also count on the full support of their fans in the Bundesliga: Four of the last five league home games have been sold out. And all the home tickets have been sold for the match against RB Leipzig on Sunday (kick-off: 17.30 CEST). 29,000 fans are expected at the BayArena including 713 from Leipzig.
The Werkself are then away to Union Berlin. The away allocation has been sold out. The following home derby against FC Köln is also a sell-out..
Success on the pitch and the good atmosphere at the BayArena have helped to ensure a rapid increase in membership numbers at Bayer 04 over recent weeks: The threshold of 33,000 members was achieved a few days ago and now there are 1,000 more. Bayer 04 look forward to great support for the season run-in.
Us. For our dream.

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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