If the word Bayer looks familiar, it’s because you saw it on a bottle of aspirin — and it’s the same Bayer. The city is Leverkusen, but the Bayer company is based there, and in 1904 they started an athletics club that included a football team. And hence the 04 in their name, which isn’t generally used in casual reference….

As we mentioned above, Bayer are one of several big clubs in the immediate area, which is Germany’s industrial heartland. Cologne (Köln in German) is the biggest rival, but so are Borussia Mönchengladbach, an hour away, and Fortuna Düsseldorf, 30 minutes away — though the last are currently in the second tier. Any of these games would…

Bayer’s women’s team, part of the club since 2008, actually plays their home games in Cologne, which is where they were based before joining Bayer Leverkusen. They play in the Frauen-Bundesliga, the top tier of German women’s football. They have never finished higher than fifth in the league or won the cup. Check the…

The pregame anthem is called “Leverkusen – wir sind die Macht am Rhein,” which translates as “we are the power on the Rhine.” It seems a pretty standard kind of rock anthem, but fans get into it pretty well. Here they are giving it a…

The 30,210-seat BayArena is a lovely, modern, comfortable thing set in a leafy residential area. It was originally built in 1958, but completely rebuilt from 1997 to 2009, and it was the first in the country to include a family section. It is still rated as one of the nicest, most family-friendly stadiums in the country, which means some of the…

GETTING THERE: The closest train station, reached direct from Cologne, is Leverkusen-Manfort. It’s an easy 20-minute walk from there, but bus 222 also goes there. PUBS: There isn’t a lot going on near the stadium, but as with many German clubs, local places become beer gardens on game days. Look for a youth soccer club called SC…