Bayer 04 Leverkusen GmbH, is also called as Bayer 04 Leverkusen is a German football club originated in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club is a part of Bundesliga, the top tier of German football, and their home matches are conducted at the BayArena.
The club was established in 1904 by the workers of the German pharmaceutical company Bayer, whose headquarters are in Leverkusen and that’s how the club got its name. It was earlier the best-known department of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a sports union whose members also participate in athletics, gymnastics, basketball 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 GmbH. 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
Bayer Leverkusen has won one DFB-Pokal and one UEFA Cup. Their local rivals are 1. FC Köln.
History
On 27 November 1903, Wilhelm Hauschild wrote a letter to his employer the Friedrich Bayer and Co asking the company’s support in starting a sports club. The letter was supported and signed by 170 other workers, The company accepted their proposal and offered to support the initiative, and it was on the 1st of July 1904 that Turn- und Spielverein Bayer 04 Leverkusen was founded. On 31 May 1907, a different football department was created within the club, the footballers also created a separate association – Sportvereinigung Bayer 04 Leverkusen – that also comprised of the handball and fistball players, athletics, and boxing, whereas the gymnasts continued on as Tue Bayer 04 Leverkusen. SV Bayer 04 Leverkusen took with them the club’s traditional colours of red and black, with the gymnasts adopting blue and yellow.
Ownership
In 1999 the football department was separated from the sports club and is now a separate entity formally called Bayer 04 Leverkusen GmbH. The Club’s squad value is 445m Euros as recorded by Trnsfermarkt.
Coaching Staff
| name | Position | Age |
| Peter Bosz | Manager | 56 |
| Xaver Zembrod | Assistant Manager | 53 |
| Hendrie Krüzen | Assistant Manager | 55 |
| David Thiel | Goalkeeping Coach | 35 |
| Daniel Jouvin | Athletic Coach | 41 |
| Marcel Daum | Video Analyst | 34 |
Management
| Name | Position | Age |
| Rudi Völler | Managing Director of Sport | 59 |
| Simon Rolfes | Sporting Director | 38 |
| Jürgen Gelsdorf | Head of Football Operations | 67 |
| Fernando Carro | Chairman of the Board | 55 |
| Jochen A. Rotthaus | Director of Marketing and Sales | 67 |
Squad
| No. | Position | Player |
| 1 | GK | Lukáš Hrádecký |
| 4 | DF | Jonathan Tah |
| 5 | MF | Sven Bender |
| 6 | DF | Aleksandar Dragović |
| 7 | FW | Paulinho |
| 8 | MF | Lars Bender (captain) |
| 9 | FW | Leon Bailey |
| 10 | MF | Kerem Demirbay |
| 11 | MF | Nadiem Amiri |
| 12 | DF | Edmond Tapsoba |
| 13 | FW | Lucas Alario |
| 15 | MF | Julian Baumgartlinger |
| 18 | DF | Wendell (vice-captain) |
| 19 | DF | Moussa Diaby |
| 20 | FW | Charles Aránguiz |
| 22 | MF | Daley Sinkgraven |
| 23 | DF | Mitchell Weiser |
| 25 | DF | Exequiel Palacios |
| 28 | GK | Ramazan Özcan |
| 29 | MF | Kai Havertz |
| 31 | FW | Kevin Volland |
| 35 | MF | Adrian Stanilewicz |
| 36 | GK | Niklas Lomb |
| 38 | MF | Karim Bellarabi (3rd captain) |
Honours
Domestic
League
Bundesliga:
- Runners-up: 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2010–11
- Bundesliga North:
- Winners: 1978–79
Cup
DFB-Pokal
- Winners: 1992–93
- Runners-up: 2001–02, 2008–09
DFB-Supercup:
- Runners-up: 1993
European
UEFA Cup
- Winners: 1987–88
UEFA Champions League:
- Runners-up: 2001–02
Youth
- German Under 19 championship
- Champions: 1986, 2000, 2007
- Runners-up: 1995, 2001, 2003, 2010
- German Under 17 championship
- Champions: 1992, 2016
- Under 19 Bundesliga West
- Champions: 2007, 2010
