The friendly against Real Club Celta de Vigo (14.00 CET) is the highlight. Celta Vigo play in the Spanish top flight and they ended last season in thirteenth place under coach Eduardo Berizzo. One familiar face in their squad is Marcelo Díaz, who played for Hamburg SV in the Bundesliga until the last winter break.
Post-match autograph session
Once again, there will be plenty of activities for young and old throughout the stadium. That includes an autograph session with the Bayer 04 stars - that will take place after the match.
Tickets for the season launch will be available from the beginning of July via the usual channels at five euros for adults and three euros for children. Further information will be available at bayer04.de. Bayer 04 season ticket holders can look forward to receiving a personal invitation in the next few days. Every visitor will be entitled to a free drink - the entrance ticket counts as a voucher.
Pre-season timetable
The first team pre-season begins on 3 and 4 July, with extensive performance tests the Werkstatt. A day later, on Wednesday 5 July at 10.00 CET, head coach Heiko Herrlich will hold his first training session at the training ground. That session will be open so fans and visitors can see the squad in action in Leverkusen.
The Werkself play SF Baumberg on 8 July in a 14.30 CET kick-off. The match will staged at the nearby Jahnstadion in Langenfeld (Jahnstraße 4, 40764 Langenfeld). Bayer 04 have another friendly on 19 July against Bonner SC. The fixture in Bonn kicks off at 18.30 CET.
The summer training camp starts on 23 July. As in previous years, the squad will prepare for next season in the best possible conditions in Zell am See/ Kaprun until 31 July.
The first competitive game of the new campaign sees the Werkself take on third division opponents Karlsruhe SC in the DFB Cup. The tie will be played between 11 and 14 August.
The Bundesliga campaign starts a week later on 18 August. The German Football League (DFL) will publish the 2017/18 fixture list on 29 June.
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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