Youth teams: Coaching set-ups for 2026/27

U19: dutchman Greveraars takes charge

The U19s will be coached by Patrick Greveraars. The 51-year-old Dutchman brings with him a wealth of experience from numerous international roles and has a track record of winning titles. He has won several championships with U19 and U17 teams, as well as the PSV Eindhoven second XI. He also enjoyed success at FC Porto, including with the U19s and the second team. Furthermore, Greveraars has gained international experience on the European stage including the UEFA Champions League. Among other things, he spent several years as assistant coach with the first team at Feyenoord and with the Ghana national team that qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Most recently, he was at the top Egyptian club ZED FC.

At Bayer 04, Greveraars is backed by assistant coaches Andreas Bona, who most recently served as head coach of the Leverkusen U16 side, Gilbert Gorges, who remains part of the U19 coaching staff, and the German-Greek Konstantinos Kotsifakis, who recently joined the Werkself from Hertha Berlin. The 29-year-old, who most recently served as head coach of Hertha’s U17 team, will also take on an operational role, maintaining regular contact with the players of the Bayer 04 Future Team.

U17: familiar faces in new set-up

Kevin Brok is taking over as head coach of Leverkusen’s U17 team. The 36-year-old previously managed the team from summer 2024 to September 2025, before taking charge of the U19s until the end of the season following Sergi Runge’s appointment to Kasper Hjulmand’s first-team coaching staff.

The Dutchman will be joined in future by Hüzeyfe Dogan, most recently assistant coach of the U19s, and Thomas Huber, who is moving up from the U16s.

U16: Spaniard Bofill takes his place in the dugout

Gerard Bofill will be coaching the U16s in 2026/27. The 34-year-old Spaniard is joining Bayer 04’s youth set-up and will take on the role of head coach. Most recently, Bofill served as Director of Methodology at RCD Espanyol. Before that, he gained practical experience on the touchline as head coach and assistant coach at CE Sabadell. He also played for Spanish youth and senior teams, including the reserve teams at CE Sabadell and Girona.

The 34-year-old is being assisted by Adrian Grümer, who was most recently part of the U17 coaching staff, and by Sören Schuschke, who will continue in his role with the U16s.