Global InformationBayer 04 Leverkusen information
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| Full name | Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Die Werkself (The Company's Eleven)[citation needed] Die Schwarzroten (The Black and Reds)[citation needed] | |||
| Founded | 1 July 1904 | |||
| Ground | BayArena[1] | |||
| Capacity | 30,210[2] | |||
| Owner | Bayer AG[3] | |||
| Administration | Fernando Carro (chairman)[4] Simon Rolfes (sporting director)[3] | |||
| Head coach | Xabi Alonso | |||
| League | Bundesliga | |||
| 2022–23 | Bundesliga, 6th of 18 | |||
| Website | Club website | |||
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH (German: [ˌbaɪ̯ɐ ˈleːvɐˌkuːzn̩]), also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen, 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 AG, 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 the Bundesliga once, winning the most recent league season in 2023–24,[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. Their local rivals are 1. FC Köln, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Fortuna Düsseldorf.[9]
- ^ a b "Bayer 04 Leverkusen – BayArena". Bundesliga. Archived from the original on 26 April 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- ^ "The BayArena". bayer04.de. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Fernando Carro de Prada – CEO". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ "Sports – moving moments". NRW Invest. Archived from the original on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Bayer 04 Leverkusen – Club Data". Bundesliga. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
BL2324was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Bayer 04 Honours". Bayer Leverkusen. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
- ^ "FC Köln derby a Saturday fixture". Bayer Leverkusen. 25 September 2014. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2014.