The 20 travelling fan club members took the clash with Borussia Mönchengladbach (2-2) as an opportunity to support the Werkself again live at the BayArena. Following the game, they made their Player of the Season award. This year’s winner is Jeremie Frimpong. The wing-back accepted the award in person.
After the final whistle, the defender went to the home end where he thanked the Werkself fans from Britain: "I didn't know that there was a Bayer 04 Fan club in the UK. It's great that the fans came over specially for the match and to present the award. I feel totally honoured!" Of course, after the presentation of the trophy there was the opportunity for group photos, selfies and a chat with the Leverkusen player.
Frimpong was born in Amsterdam but moved to Manchester in the north of England with his family when he was a child. He was at the Manchester City Academy and he played for the U23 team of this season's Champions League finalists in 2018/19. He then signed for Celtic and played for the Scottish club in the Europa League in 2020/21 and collected several honours at a national level. He won the Scottish Premiership, the Scottish Cup as well as the Scottish League Cup with Celtic in 2020. He joined Bayer 04 the start of 2021.
He is the second highest goalscorer at the club this season with nine goals behind teammate Moussa Diaby. Frimpong last scored in a 4-1 away win at Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League quarter-final second leg. To date he has made 94 appearances and played over 7,000 minutes in a Werkself shirt.
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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