This week started with a rearranged fixture in the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) from matchday 11 against the FC Köln eSports players. The opening match on PlayStation 5 saw Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr draw 0-0 with Denis ‘DENIS’ Müller. The one-vs-one on Xbox Series S/X ended in a 5-1 defeat for Fabian ‘B04_DUBZJE’ de Cae against Köln’s Tim ‘THESTRXNGER’ Katnawatos.
The overall result was a deserved 4-4 draw as Landwehr and Paul ‘B04_PAUL’ Degner were able to win 2-1 in the following two-vs-two encounter.
The Werkself eSports players end the first half of the Club Championship season at the usual VBL kick-off time on Tuesday night. That starts at 18.00 CET with the match against Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Foals are currently fifth in the VBL table with a three-point lead over Bayer 04 in seventh. "We've set ourselves the target of ending the first half of the season by overtaking one of our direct rivals in Gladbach," explained ‘MARC_LDW23’ in outlining the intentions for the evening.
The Black and Reds then face Holstein Kiel at 20.00 CET. The matches against the team bottom in the North West Division starts the second half of the campaign. The final matchday is set for 1 March.
The matches involving the #B04eSports players will be broadcast as usual on the club Twitch channel. HERE is the link to the channel.
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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