Bayer 04 Leverkusen

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NICKNAME – Die Werkself (The Factory XI)
FOUNDED – 1904
LOCATED IN – Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia
STADIUM – BayArena
ON FOOT – 10 minutes from Leverkusen Mitte (S-Bahn)
CAPACITY – 30,210
PROMOTED – 1979
BEST LEAGUE FINISH – Winners (2023/2024)
BEST DFB POKAL RUN – Winners (1992/1993)
BEST EC/CL FINISH – Runners Up (2001/2002)
BEST UC/EL FINISH – Winners (1987/1988)
BEST CWC FINISH – QF (1993/1994)
RECORD GOALSCORER – Ulf Kirsten (237)
2022/2023 FINISH – 6th

FIVE FACTS ABOUT BAYER 04 LEVERKUSEN
1. Due to the fact that their historic origins lie in the company, Leverkusen have special permission to use “Bayer” in their club name.
2. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Bayer snapped up the best talent from East Germany. In tandem with strong connections to Brazil, this led to a golden period for the club.
3. They threw away the title on the last day of the season in 2000, falling to lowly Unterhaching when only needing a draw.
4. But this was nothing compared to 2002 when a 5 point lead with 3 games remaining was squandered. “Neverkusen” lost both the Pokal and Champions League finals as well.
5. Popular 1990 World Cup winner Rudi Völler retired as sporting director in 2022.

FIVE FACTS ABOUT LEVERKUSEN
1. With a modest population of 160,000, Leverkusen is dwarfed by its neighbours Köln and Dusseldorf.
2. It is named after Carl Leverkus, who built a dye factory here in 1860. This would later be acquired by the pharmaceutical giant, Bayer, whose headquarters are based in the city.
3. Although Bayer developed aspirin and the first commercial antibiotic, they are tainted by their involvement in IG Farben, who were responsible for atrocities in Nazi concentration camps. The company showed a disturbing lack of contrition by making convicted war criminal, Fritz ter Meer, the chairman of their board from 1956 to 1964.
4. Their recent acquisition of Monsanto, perhaps the most hated company in the world due to its production of Agent Orange and Roundup was, unsurprisingly, a PR disaster.
5. Like Wolfsburg, VW and VFL, Leverkusen, Bayer and 04 are very closely connected. This can be seen in the club nickname, “The Factory XI”, and the Bayer Cross emblazoned on the jersey.

INTERESTING VIDEO LINKS
Goal Music
Club Anthem
“Goatbusters”
A look around Leverkusen

OTHER GERMAN TEAMS
Arminia Bielefeld, Augsburg, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Bochum, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia MG, Darmstadt, Eintracht Frankfurt, Fortuna Düsseldorf, Freiburg, Greuther Fürth, Heidenheim, Hertha Berlin, Hoffenheim, Köln, Leipzig, Mainz, Paderborn, Schalke, Stuttgart, Union Berlin, Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg