The U14s are still top of the table in the Youth Cup after a 1-1 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach. In the home game against the team in second on the same points, the Werkself youngsters levelled with ten minutes to play for the final score of 1-1. The Black and Reds played with ten players for over 50 minutes after a red card on the half-hour mark and conceded the goal just after the sending off. “We fought our way back into the game with ten men. The draw was deserved,” summed up coach Mirko Casper.
Like the older year group, the Leverkusen U13s held on to top spot in the Youth Cup. The team under the coaching duo Benjamin Adam and Marco Walter won 5-2 at FC Köln – and have now gone six games without dropping a point.
The Werkself U12s were on the wrong end of a 7-0 scoreline away to Fortuna Düsseldorf. “Even though we were unable to impress in attack, our biggest problem was individually with the defenders,” said coach Pierre de Witt, who is sure after the performance of the Rhine rivals that Fortuna “will win other games” following their first victory of the season.
The Leverkusen U11s secured a runaway win against Fortuna Köln in a friendly. The final score in the second game on the 9-a-side pitch: 14:2.
The U10s also played in a friendly and they deservedly beat the VfB Hilden U11 team 7-2 in four 20-minute quarters. “We’re very happy with the performance,” said coach Alexander Nuss who works alongside Marvin Schmitz with the U10 squad. “We have made clear progress, above all in terms of our game, passing and decision making.”
The U9s had a friendly away to FC Hennef. “We were able to learn a lot from the game,” said coach Greuel who made a positive assessment of the start to the season: “We are happy with the squad and we think they in very good shape.”
FC Köln v Bayer 04 U19 5-0 (L)
Fortuna Düsseldorf v Bayer 04 U15 3-1 (F)
Bayer 04 U14 v Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-1 (L)
FC Köln v Bayer 04 U13 2-5 (L)
Fortuna Düsseldorf v Bayer 04 U12 7-0 (L)
Bayer 04 U11 v Fortuna Köln 14-2 (F)
Bayer 04 U10 v VfB Hilden U11 7-2 (F)
FC Hennef v Bayer 04 U9 o.E. (F)
Bayer 04 U8 v FC Pesch o.E. (F)
(L) = League | (F) = Friendly
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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