Bayer 04 Leverkusen
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| Full name | TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen e.V., Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH (Football) | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Löwen (Lions),Werkself ("factory squad") | ||
| Founded | 1904 | ||
| Ground | BayArena, Leverkusen, formerly "Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion" | ||
| Capacity | 22,500 | ||
| Chairman | Wolfgang Holzhäuser | ||
| Manager | Michael Skibbe | ||
| League | Bundesliga | ||
| 2004-05 | Bundesliga, 6th | ||
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Bayer Leverkusen is a German sports club based in Leverkusen. Most famous is the football department playing in the Bundesliga, however its other departments like athletics or basketball are also well renowned. The club was founded on July 1 1904 established by Friedrich Bayer and Co.
Football department
Origin
The Club was founded on July 1, 1904 due to an initiative of workers of the Bayer Chemical Factory. The worker Wilhelm Hauschild wrote a letter to the managing board and asked for support in founding a sports club on November 27, 1903. In 1907 the football squad was formed. The club's colours were black and red.
At the beginning of the 20th century, gymnastics and sports were not allowed to be practised in one club, so many German clubs split into two new clubs, and so did Bayer 04. SV Bayer 04 Leverkusen was the new home of the footballers, whereas TUS 04 Bayer Leverkusen was the new gymnastics club. SV Bayer kept black and red, TUS 04 chose blue and yellow colours.
In 1984, both clubs were re-united to TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen with red and white colours. Nevertheless the soccer supporters kept red and black. When new Jersey were introduced in 1994, black and red was chosen again. The colours of the 1999 formed football Ltd. are red black and white.
Bundesliga history
In 1979, Bayer 04 was promoted to the Bundesliga and has not been relegated since.
Although the football department was established a long time ago, its successes and fame in the German football scene were not realised until 1988 when they defeated Espanyol 3-2 on penalties after finishing the two-legged UEFA Cup final level 3-3 on aggregate.
In 1988, long-time Bayer executive Reiner Calmund became general manager of the club. This move is regarded as one of the most important moves in Bayer history, because promoting the shrewd, clever Calmund to this position brought Bayer a decade and a half of great success. His innovative, farseeing player policy brought great glory to the club and also helped Bayer to shed the tag of an artificial "plastic club".
When Germany reunited in 1990, Calmund was quick to sign DDR stars Ulf Kirsten, Andreas Thom and Jens Melzig, three players who would become instant crowd favourites. Calmund was also groundbreaking in establishing contacts to Brazil and befriended Juan Figer, one of the most powerful player agents in Brazil. In the next years, budding superstars like Jorginho and Paulo Sergio came, along with Czech star Pavel Hapal.
Bayer Leverkusen established itself as a powerhouse, finishing perennially in the Top 5 and gaining sympathy for its technically pleasing, offensive playing style. In 1993, Bayer won the German Cup after defeating the Hertha BSC Berlin amateur squad (who had miraculously reached the final) by 1:0. Signings of charismatic players like Bernd Schuster and Rudi Völler further enhanced Bayer's reputation.
In 1996 however, the club nearly relegated after a catastrophic season. Trainer Christoph Daum was installed, turning things around 180 degrees and re-inspring Bayer Leverkusen to reach the Top 3, helped by signings like Lucio, Emerson, Ze Roberto and Michael Ballack. Daum was later to be famously fired for a cocaine scandal.
Success was elusive, Bayern just getting beaten regularly by nemesis Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Extremely notorious were the season endings in 2000 and 2002. In 2000, Bayer needed only a draw against minnows SpVgg Unterhaching, but an own goal by Ballack sunk the club, and in 2002, with three matches to go, Bayer led by five points, lost two of the last three matches and failed to win again. 2002 was also dubbed Treble of Horror, as Bayer also lost in the German Cup and UEFA Champions League finals. Its coach at that time, Klaus Toppmöller, was the inspirational figure in their rise to the pinnacle of European club football.
Recent years
The club went through startling reversals of fortune in the next two seasons. In the 2002 offseason, Bayer lost midfield stars Michael Ballack and Zé Roberto to archrivals Bayern. The club proceeded to flirt with relegation for most of the 2002/03 season, which also saw Klaus Toppmöller fired by the management, only assuring survival in the top level in their last game after appointing charismatic coach Klaus Augenthaler replacing inexperienced coach Thomas Hörster for the last game which they won ironically against Augenthaler's previous employer 1. FC Nürnberg. The 2003/04 season saw Bayer surge back toward the upper levels of the Bundesliga, eventually finishing third.
Early in the 2005-06 season, Augenthaler was fired as manager after Bayer got off to their worst Bundesliga start in over 20 years, with only one win in their first four league matches and a 1-0 home defeat to CSKA Sofia in the first leg of their UEFA Cup tie. Former German national coach Rudi Völler was named caretaker manager. Michael Skibbe, who was Rudi Völler's assistant coach at the nationalteam of Germany, was named as his successor in October.
Reputation
In contrast to many other German soccer clubs, which hold close ties to their proletarian roots, Bayer strives for a clean, family-friendly image. The BayArena has the reputation of being one of the most family-friendly soccer stadiums in Germany, featuring a flawless infrastructure with a low rate of harassment by the stewards.
Unfortunately, Bayer Leverkusen has also arguably an ongoing image problem. Although being a financially healthy club with strong players, many fans of so called oldschool clubs denounce Bayer as a "plastic club" with no tradition and no fan base, existing solely because the Bayer chemistry company feeds it. However, it must be noted that famous clubs like PSV Eindhoven share similar characteristics.
In addition, it is taunted Bayer Loserkusen because of the ongoing string of second places (see above). Their unofficial nickname of 'perennial bridesmaid' was earned in the Bundesliga campaign throughout the late 1990s, which saw them leading the German football league standings only to falter in later matches and ultimately surrender their imminent crown to major rivals Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. However, Bayer features two legitimate titles, the UEFA Cup (1988) and the German Cup (1993).
Current Squad
As of December 4, 2005 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Bayer Leverkusen "Squad of the Century"
On May 21, 2004, Bayer announced the "Bayer Leverkusen Squad of the Century". Over 4000 fans participated in an Internet vote, choosing 51 handpicked players. The result was:
- Rüdiger Vollborn (GK)
External links
- Official site in English (German version also available)
- Werkself - Unofficial Forum, highly frequented, even former players write here, e.g. "DER Rudi" who is former Goalkeeper Ruediger Vollborn
- Bayerfans04 - Fanpage
- www.leverkusen.com/fussball (Fanpage)
- Polish Fan Site of Bayer Leverkusen
