Our Bayer Leverkusen TV schedule has all the latest games from Die Werkself.
They’ve got over a century of history, but are not one of the more decorated sides in German football. That being said, they do have a few notable achievements.
Founded: 1904
Stadium: BayArena
Manager: Xabi Alonso
Best German top-flight finish: Runner-up (1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2011)
DFB-Pokal titles: 1 (1993)
You can find Leverkusen and all of the Bundesliga in the USA exclusively on ESPN+ in English and Spanish. Very rarely games will make it to linear TV networks like ESPN/ESPN2, however these games are unlikely to include Leverkusen.
The German DFB-Pokal Cup can also be found on ESPN+.
Bayer Leverkusen is a frequent participant in European football, and for English broadcasts of Champions League and Europa League, look to Paramount+.
For Spanish coverage of UEFA contests, you can find games on Univision, TUDN, UniMás, and the streaming service ViX.
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Similar to fellow Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg, the origins of Bayer 04 Leverkusen are as a “works club”. That is, the club was founded (in 1904) for the benefit of workers at the Bayer pharmaceutical company in Leverkusen. Today, the club remains wholly owned by the Bayer AG corporation. Due to the benign nature of the founding and original purpose of the club, they are allowed an exception to the German 50+1 ownership rule. In addition, they may use the name “Bayer” when competing in Europe, unlike for example the various Red Bull teams which are a different flavor of corporate-backed clubs.
Leverkusen did not reach the upper tier of German football until 1951. They played in the Oberliga West, the highest level at the time, until 1956. A relegation followed, but they returned in 1962, just before the creation of the nationwide professional Bundesliga.
It was not until 1979 that they made the breakthrough to the Bundesliga. But they have made it count, remaining in the top tier continuously since then.
But despite becoming a staple of the Bundesliga, Leverkusen have earned a rather unfortunate distinction. They’ve frequently finished in top top half of the table, and have earned a place in Europe in most seasons. But they have never won the Bundesliga.
In fact, they’ve placed second on five occasions (four of those seasons were from 1997-2002), which is the most runner-up honors ever for a club who has never won the competition.
They do have a pair of major titles to their names, however. In 1988 they won the UEFA Cup, and 1993 saw them take home the DFB-Pokal. At the tail end of their terrific run of from around the turn of the millennium, they finished as runner up in UEFA Champions League.
The 2010s have seen very solid league results, finishing below sixth place, and missing Europe, just once. But this has also coincided with the remarkable decade of league dominance from Bayern Munich, helping to keep that elusive Bundesliga title just out of arm’s reach.
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