Bayer 04 Leverkusen is a premier German football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Widely known as "Die Werkself" (The Factory Team), the club competes in the top tier of German football, the Bundesliga, and plays its home matches at the 30,000-capacity BayArena.
Founded in 1904 by employees of the German pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG, the club has maintained a proud corporate and athletic heritage for over a century. Playing in their iconic red-and-black colors, Leverkusen established itself as a top-flight mainstay in 1979, famously winning the UEFA Cup in 1988 and the DFB-Pokal in 1993.
For years known by the frustrating nickname "Vizekusen" (Neverkusen) after several agonizing second-place finishes—including a dramatic runner-up treble in 2002—Leverkusen shattered that stigma in historic fashion. Under manager Xabi Alonso, the club completed a legendary undefeated domestic Double in the 2023/24 season, capturing their first-ever Bundesliga title alongside the DFB-Pokal without losing a single league match.
Leverkusen maintains fierce regional rivalries in the Rhineland, most notably against local neighbors 1. FC Köln and Borussia Mönchengladbach.
