Focused and yet relaxed; that was how Korkut looked on the day before his Champions League debut in the dugout. No sign of excitement. "I experienced a lot as a player and still have good memories of the stadium," he explained in fluent Spanish with the local journalist hanging on his every word – also as Korkut talked about the position after the 4-2 defeat for the Werkself in the first leg: "We are the underdogs but we want to use every minute to turn it round."
Personnel position at Bayer 04
The new head coach will be missing several regular players. In addition to Hakan Calhanoglu (CAS ban) and suspended Benjamin Henrichs, the injured Lars Bender (ankle), Ömer Toprak (knee), Jonathan Tah (groin) and Stefan Kießling (hip) are all ruled out. In addition, the youngster Kai Havertz has remained at home as he has important exams ahead of his A-levels at the Landrat Lucas Grammar School.
Korkut is still looking for a positive result in spite of all the absentees: "We are Bayer 04 and always have a strong team. I have full confidence in every individual player." The new Werkself head coach is well aware that it won't be easy to score goals against the Atlético defence and also that it needs at least three goals on Wednesday to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals. "But we want to do all we can to achieve that and that's how we'll approach the game. And then we'll see how the game turns out."
Korkut's second clash with Simeone
He faced his opposite number Diego Simeone at the Estadio Vicente Calderon as a player in 2004. At that time, Simeone was playing for the Rojiblancos and Korkut for Espanyol. In the 2-0 win for Atlético back then, a fresh-faced Fernando Torres (El Nino) scored both goals. It remains to be seen whether he will start for Simeone on Wednesday. In a league match against La Corunna (1-1) a week and a half ago he was knocked unconscious and swallowed his tongue. This week Torres returned to full training. Filipe Luis and stalwart Gabi are both sidelined after picking up a third yellow card in the first leg.
Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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New Bayer 04 head coach Carles Martínez has arrived in Leverkusen! At midday on Friday, the 42-year-old spoke in a press conference at the BayArena about his philosophy and his aims. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes also discussed the reasons for appointing the former Toulouse boss.
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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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