
The Black and Red eSports players started the first matchday of the evening against VfL Bochum with a 2 vs 2 game as usual. Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr and Furkan ‘FURKY’ Kayacik were on the controllers playing against the Bochum duo Laurin-Noah ‘VFLSNAKEZ’ Bartsch and Timo ‘TIMOX’ Siep. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.
The following 1 vs 1 between Landwehr and Bochum's Justin ‘MILKALOVE’ Springer also ended without a winner (2-2) with the decider coming in the third game. Mario ‘BULJI’ Lovrinovic was up against Siep and this clash also ended all square (1-1). That meant the overall result was a draw.
The match against Borussia Mönchengladbach followed later in the evening resulting in a defeat against the Foals eSports players. The 2 vs 2 involving Landwehr and Kayacik ended in a draw (2-2) with Kayacik then losing 1-0 in the 1 vs 1 encounter with the Mönchengladbach player Jannis ‘BMG_JISTENNSG’ Pütz. The third and final clash of the evening pitched Landwehr against the Foals eSports player Lukas ‘BMG_LXKI’ Lange. The 1 vs 1 game ended with a 1-1 scoreline meaning the #B04eSports players were left empty-handed at the end of the match.
The #B04eSports team are back in action in the VBL Club Championship in two weeks time: Matchday 20 brings the fixture against Eintracht Braunschweig on Tuesday 31 January. It starts at 18.00 CET. The Leverkusen eSports players have no game on matchday 21 as there are an uneven number of teams (15) in the North West section.
Results on matchdays 18 and 19:
Bayer 04 vs VfL Bochum 1848 (1 point)
2 vs 2: 1-1
Landwehr against Springer: 2-2
Lovrinovic against Siep: 2-2
Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Bayer 04 (0 points)
2 vs 2: 2-2
Pütz against Kayacik: 1-0
Lange against Landwehr: 1-1

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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