Bayer Leverkusen ties to St. Louis

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - The very first opponent at our brand-new stadium has its own St. Louis connection.

City 2 will face off against the German team Bayer Leverkusen Wednesday night. The German soccer touched down in St. Louis to cheers and chants. “It’s absolutely marvelous to be able to play the first game in the stadium in St. Louis City,” CEO of Bayer Leverkusen Fernando Carro said.

The CEO says the first international friendly at CITYPark will go down in the history books.

Founded 118 years ago, Leverkusen started when employees of Bayer, the German pharmaceutical company, came together for a sports club.

“It started with the overall workforce petitioning to have a team and then it evolved in the 70s into the Bundesliga so it has history,” Jackie Applegate said. She’s the president of Bayer’s Crop Science division in North America. “Great fan base and the whole company is proud to have the Bayer 04 team representing us around the world.”

Now an iconical global soccer brand competing in Germany’s top soccer league, the Bundesliga. With Bayer’s Crop Science division in North America headquartered here in St. Louis, there are strong ties to the area.

It might be an international friendly but both teams would like to bring home the first win at St. Louis CITYPark but the match itself is already a victory for the soccer community and beyond.

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