
Anton Bäuerle from the Leverkusen U19 side has joined a Germany U19 training camp. The Werkself left-back joined up with the squad under head coach Christian Wörns at the Sportschule Wedau on Sunday.
Four players from the Black and Red youth set-up have been called up to the Germany U16s. Naba Mensah, Francis Onyeka and Ferdinand Pohl from the Leverkusen U17 squad Nils Gernhardt from the U16 team are involved in two games. The team led by head coach Michael Prus play Poland on Saturday 22 October and two days later in Brzeg near Wroclaw.
U17 goalkeeper Jesper Schlich is on standby fir Germany U16s.
Kerim Alajbegovic from the Bayer 04 U17 squad is heading home to Bosnia-Herzegovina. The winger is set to play in three games for his U17 national team. They face Liechtenstein on Monday 24 October and Azerbaijan three days later. That is followed by a game against Ukraine three days after that.
Bayer 04 youth players on the road:
Anton Bäuerle (Germany U18):
16-20.10.: Training camp, Sportschule Wedau
Kerim Alajbegovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina U17):
24.10., 13.30 CEST: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Liechtenstein, Zenica
27.10., 13.30 CEST: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Azerbaijan, Kakanj
30.10., 13.30 CEST: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Ukraine, Zenica
Naba Mensah, Francis Onyeka, Ferdinand Pohl, Nils Gernhardt (alle U16 Deutschland):
22.10., 14.00 CEST: Poland vs Germany, Brzeg
24.10., 18.00 CEST: Poland vs Germany, Brzeg

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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