Bayer Leverkusens image

1903 tog en arbetare från kemifabriken Bayer, där aspirinet uppfanns 1897, initiativ till att starta en fotbollsklubb och skrev, med underskrifter från 170 kollegor, ett brev till företagsledningen och bad om stöd. Detta beviljades och 1904 grundades sportföreningen TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Som ett lag med en så stark koppling till ett stort företag har föreningen av allt att döma vissa imageproblem -- samtidigt som det finns en given arbetarklasscred i det, så finns det ju också något kapitalistiskt med det. (Oh vilken djävulsk dialektik!) Wikipedias sida om Bayer Leverkusen är klockren om detta så jag citerar rakt av, utan att bankonivaskt låtsas om att jag skrivit detta själv:

In contrast to many other German football clubs, which hold close ties to their working class roots, Bayer Leverkusen strives for a clean, family-friendly image. The BayArena has the reputation of being one of the most family-friendly football stadiums in Germany. Ironically, Bayer 04 was the first Bundesliga club whose fans identified themselves as Ultras and the city of Leverkusen is one of the old industrial cities of Germany.
Bayer Leverkusen is perceived by some to have an ongoing image problem of a different sort. Although they are a financially healthy club with a stable of strong players, many fans of the traditional clubs denounce Bayer Leverkusen as being a "plastic club", without traditions or a committed fan base, existing solely as a creation of their rich pharmaceutical company sponsor – Bayer AG. As a result, the club and their fans have started to emphazise their industrial origins with proudness, calling themselves "Werkself" (Eng. "Factory team", "Millhanders") or "Pillendreher" (Eng. "Tablet twisters").
However, this is not a unique phenomenon in football. Other famous clubs such as PSV Eindhoven, FC Carl Zeiss Jena and Sochaux share a similar reputation of being works teams. As distinguished from the various Red Bull teams (Salzburg, New York and Leipzig) which has been established or redefined in the recent past primarily for commercial reasons, the formation of Bayer Leverkusen was motivated by the idea of promoting the conditions of living of the local factory workers at the beginning of the 20th century. In due consideration of the tradition of the factory squad UEFA allows Bayer Leverkusen, in contrast to Red Bull Salzburg, to use the brand name of Bayer in European club competitions.