Anyone judging German football with binoculars from one of the farthest corners of the planet based on which clubs have made it into the European Cup most often over the past 20 years would have to consider Bayer Leverkusen to be a well-established traditional club. Maybe even a popular one. But the footballers from the chemical city of Leverkusen, which was only founded in 1930, lack the great sympathy in this country.
Bayern Munich qualified for an international competition for the 20th time in 20 years this season, while Borussia Dortmund made it into a European Cup competition for the 15th time in the same period. Leverkusen are second with 16 European qualifiers since losing the Champions League final to Real Madrid in 2002.
On Saturday, Leverkusen qualified for the Champions League for the eighth time. They qualified for the Europa League and the Uefa Cup eight more times. Bayern, Leverkusen, Dortmund – these have been the German constants as dignitaries in the European football world for two decades in this order.
Bayer Leverkusen ranks eleventh in nationwide sympathy values
The most recent survey of those German football clubs that most people are interested in in this country shows Bayern Munich as number one and Borussia Dortmund as number two. They are followed at a great distance by RB Leipzig and Borussia Mönchengladbach. Bayer Leverkusen ranks eleventh in nationwide sympathy values.
The big crowd never really warmed to the Leverkusen footballers, no matter how spectacular this club could play with well-known greats. Plastikklub, Pillenklub, Werkself – these are the denunciations of the club that was founded in 1904 as the company sports club of the “Farbenfabriken formerly Friedrich Bayer & Co”. That was 118 years ago, and since then various Bayer sports clubs have proven to be some of the biggest sponsors of German sports.
But because the soccer company Bayer 04 Leverkusen is a 100 percent subsidiary of the Bayer Group in Leverkusen, it never found the love it deserved from so-called traditionalists. Bayer Leverkusen will also play against these reservations again in the next Champions League season. Maybe an international title is needed to soften the gnarly doubters. Bayer’s only international triumph was winning the UEFA Cup in 1988.