Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen
Full nameBayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH
Nickname(s)Die Werkself (The Company's Eleven)[citation needed]
Die Schwarzroten (The Black and Reds)[citation needed]
Founded1 July 1904 (1904-07-01)
GroundBayArena[1]
Capacity30,210[2]
OwnerBayer AG[3]
AdministrationFernando Carro (chairman)[4]
Simon Rolfes (sporting director)[3]
Head coachXabi Alonso
LeagueBundesliga
2022–23Bundesliga, 6th of 18
WebsiteClub website
Current season
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH (German: [ˌbaɪ̯ɐ ˈleːvɐˌkuːzn̩]) and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.[5] The club competes in the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football, and plays its home matches at the BayArena.[1][6]

The club was founded in 1904 by employees of the German pharmaceutical company Bayer, whose headquarters are in Leverkusen and from which the club draws its name. It was formerly the best-known department of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a sports club whose members also participate in athletics, gymnastics, basketball, field handball and other sports including the RTHC Bayer Leverkusen (rowing, tennis and hockey). In 1999, the football department was separated from the sports club and is now a separate entity formally called Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH.[6] Bayer were first promoted to the Bundesliga in 1979, and have remained in the top division ever since. The club's main colours are red and black, both having been used as the main shirt colour and with red and black stripes also having been used as home colours.

Leverkusen have won one Bundesliga,[7] one DFB-Pokal, and one UEFA Cup.[8] They also finished runners-up in the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League, losing 2–1 to Real Madrid in the final. They hold the European record for unbeaten competitive games, currently standing at 50. Their local rivals are 1. FC Köln, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Fortuna Düsseldorf.[9]

  1. ^ a b "Bayer 04 Leverkusen – BayArena". Bundesliga. Archived from the original on 26 April 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  2. ^ "The BayArena". bayer04.de. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Bayer 04 Leverkusen: Our Lineup 2013/14" (PDF). Bayer Leverkusen. November 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  4. ^ "Fernando Carro de Prada – CEO". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  5. ^ "Sports – moving moments". NRW Invest. Archived from the original on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Bayer 04 Leverkusen – Club Data". Bundesliga. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference BL2324 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Bayer 04 Honours". Bayer Leverkusen. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  9. ^ "FC Köln derby a Saturday fixture". Bayer Leverkusen. 25 September 2014. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2014.

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