
Kai ‘Deto’ Wollin started for the fourth-placed Black and Reds against Sascha ‘M_ocki’ Mockenhaupt on PlayStation. The Wiesbaden player, normally playing as a central defender in the second division, was called up as a late replacement to the eSport squad at the Hessen club at the start of January. He had to settle for a 2-1 defeat in his first-ever VBL game as ‘Deto’ picked up the first win for Leverkusen. The #B04eSports player still had plenty of praise for his opposite number: “His mentality was really impressive. Of course, he knows from playing football that you can carry on pushing forward, even if you go behind, and do the best you can.”
In the second one-on-one clash, Fabian ‘B04_Dubzje’ de Cae played his XBOX opponent Simon ‘Bremo’ Döring. After being 2-1 down at half-time, ‘B04_Dubzje’, in the person of Lucas Alario, secured the next win for Bayer 04 with a late brace – and that brought points four, five and six on the night.
The situation ahead of the final two-on-two clash could not have been better from a Leverkusen perspective. However, Wiesbaden, now represented by Alexander ‘Bono’ Rauch and Sascha ‘M_ocki’ Mockenhaupt on the console, went into half-time in the lead. And the Hessen team also dominated the second half and Törles Knöll, operated by ‘Bono’, scored in the last minute to make it 2-0. Afterwards, ‘Deto’ criticised the lack of efficiency in his team: “We had a lot of good moves and did a lot right up to their penalty area. Unfortunately, the final pass was always the wrong one.”
The 6-3 overall win for Leverkusen puts them on 102 points in second place in the table. The current league leaders are Borussia Mönchengladbach (105) and Greuther Fürth (100) are third. Werder Bremen, leaders before this matchday, have slipped to fourth place on 98 points but they have a game in hand on their rivals.
The #B04eSports duo are in action again on Wednesday 19 February on the penultimate VBL matchday. From 20.30 CET they play FC Augsburg, currently sixteenth in the table. ‘Deto’ is all set for the run-in: “Anything can happen in two matchdays. We’ll do our best and see where we end up.”


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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