From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bayer Leverkusen
Full nameBayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH
Nickname(s)Werkself
Founded1 July 2008; 15 years ago (2008-07-01)
GroundNachwuchsleistungszentrum Kurtekotten, Cologne
Capacity1,140
OwnerTSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen e. V. [1]
Sporting directorAchim Feifel [2]
Head coachRobert de Pauw [2]
League Frauen-Bundesliga
2022–235th of 12
Website Club website

Bayer 04 Leverkusen, also known as Bayer Leverkusen, Leverkusen, or simply known as Bayer, is a German women's football club based in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. [2] The club plays in the Frauen-Bundesliga, the top tier of German football.

History

The origin of Bayer Leverkusen women's football section lies at the SSG 09 Bergisch Gladbach, which in the 1970s and 1980s was the dominating club in German women's football. In that period Bergisch Gladbach won the national women's football championship nine times which today is still the record. They also won the DFB-Pokal three times. After the inception of the Bundesliga in 1990 their performance declined through the 1990s, eventually leading to relegation.

In 1996 the women's team moved from SSG 09 Bergisch Gladbach to TuS Köln rrh. At Köln the team played mostly second-tier football with a few seasons in the third tier in between. Their greatest success was a semi-final appearance in the 2007–08 cup. However the team was not able to find sponsors, that would help to realize the team's ambitions of playing Bundesliga football again. Contemporaneously Bayer Leverkusen pronounced their interest to establish a women's football section of their own. On 25 June 2008 the women's football department of TuS Köln rrh. disbanded to join Bayer Leverkusen.

In their first season at Bayer Leverkusen the team finished 7th in the south group of the 2. Bundesliga. The following season Leverkusen became champions of the 2. Bundesliga and would thus play in the Bundesliga in the 2010–11 season. In its debut season the team finished 8th.

The following season the team finished 11th in the table, yet wasn't relegated as Hamburger SV announced its disestablishment of the women's section. Since the 2012–13 season, Leverkusen had been coached by Thomas Obliers, until his resignation in 2017. Leverkusen were relegated back to the 2. Bundesliga soon after.

Players

First-team squad

As of 26 September 2023. [3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Germany  GER Charlotte Voll
2 DF Germany  GER Selina Ostermeier
3 DF Germany  GER Melissa Friedrich
4 MF Poland  POL Sylwia Matysik
5 DF Netherlands  NED Janou Levels
6 MF Germany  GER Elisa Senß
7 MF Denmark  DEN Cecilie Johansen
8 MF Germany  GER Paulina Bartz
9 FW Poland  POL Nikola Karczewska (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur)
10 MF Norway  NOR Synne Skinnes Hansen
11 FW Germany  GER Kristin Kögel
13 DF Germany  GER Caroline Siems
14 DF Norway  NOR Emilie Bragstad (on loan from FC Bayern Munich)
15 MF Netherlands  NED Eva van Deursen
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 MF Germany  GER Sofie Zdebel
17 FW Switzerland  SUI Amira Arfaoui
18 FW Iceland  ISL Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir (on loan from FC Bayern Munich)
19 MF Germany  GER Loreen Bender
20 MF Germany  GER Estrella Merino Gonzalez
21 DF Germany  GER Sofia Cava Marin
23 FW Germany  GER Delice Boboy
24 DF Hungary  HUN Lilla Turányi
25 MF Germany  GER Mia Eickmann
26 DF Germany  GER Clara Fröhlich
27 GK Germany  GER Friederike Repohl
30 DF Switzerland  SUI Lara Marti
31 FW Germany  GER Verena Wieder
34 GK Germany  GER Anne Moll

Former players

Seasons

Season League Place W D L GF GA Pts DFB-Pokal
2008–09 2nd Bundesliga (south) (II) 7 6 7 9 47 40 25 2nd round
2009–10 2nd Bundesliga (south) 1 17 3 2 62 19 54 Round of 16
2010–11 Bundesliga (I) 8 6 3 13 32 67 21 2nd round
2011–12 Bundesliga (I) 11 4 3 15 22 55 15 2nd round
2012–13 Bundesliga (I) 8 6 8 8 31 40 26 2nd round
2013–14 Bundesliga (I) 7 7 5 10 44 38 26 3rd round
2014–15 Bundesliga (I) 9 5 5 12 23 42 20 Round of 16
2015–16 Bundesliga (I) 10 6 3 13 21 56 21 Round of 16
2016–17 Bundesliga (I) 11 2 3 17 16 53 9 Semi-finals
2017–18 2nd Bundesliga (south) 3 13 2 7 47 37 41 2nd round
2018–19 Bundesliga (I) 10 5 3 14 22 75 18 Quarter-finals
2019–20 Bundesliga (I) 10 5 2 15 22 51 17 Semi-finals
2020–21 Bundesliga (I) 5 10 3 9 32 39 33 2nd round
2021–22 Bundesliga (I) 7 6 4 12 31 50 22 Semi-finals
2022–23 Bundesliga (I) 5 9 3 10 31 28 30 Round of 16
Green marks a season followed by promotion, red a season followed by relegation.

Stadia

  • Kurt-Rieß-Anlage (2008–2011)
  • Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion (Amateurstadion) (2011–2016)
  • Nachwuchsleistungszentrum Kurtekotten (2016–)

References

  1. ^ Ford, Matt (14 May 2020). "Bundesliga: 'Geisterspiele, 'Gegenpressing' and other useful German football words". DW. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "INFOS". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  3. ^ "UNSER TEAM". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Retrieved 8 July 2023.

External links