This is a list of notable footballers who have played for
Bayer Leverkusen. Generally, this means players that have played a significant amount of first-class matches for the club. Other players who have played an important role for the club can be included, but the reason why they have been included should be added in the 'Notes' column.
For a list of all Bayer Leverkusen players, major or minor, with a Wikipedia article, see
Bayer Leverkusen players, and for the current squad see the
main Bayer Leverkusen article.
Players are listed according to the date of their first team debut. Appearances and goals are for first-team competitive league matches only; wartime matches are excluded. Substitute appearances included.
Table
World Cup players
The following players have been selected by their country for the
FIFA World Cup finals, while playing for Bayer Leverkusen.
*
Cha Bum-kun (
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
)
*
Jorginho (
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
)
*
Ioan Lupescu
Ioan "Ionuț" Angelo Lupescu (born 9 December 1968) is a Romanian former football player who played as a midfielder and a manager.
Club career
Ioan Lupescu, nicknamed ''Kaiserul'' was born on 9 December 1968 in Bucharest, Romania and started to ...
(
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
)
*
Paulo Sérgio (
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
)
*
Emerson (
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
)
*
Jan Heintze (
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
)
*
Christian Wörns
Christian Wörns (born 10 May 1972) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender. Wörns is widely considered one of the finest German defenders of his generation. He started his career with Waldhof Mannheim but played the ...
(
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
)
*
Ulf Kirsten (
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
,
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
)
*
Lúcio (
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
)
*
Yıldıray Baştürk (
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
)
*
Frankie Hejduk (
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
)
*
Carsten Ramelow
Carsten Ramelow (; born 20 March 1974) is a German former professional footballer who played as either a central defender or a defensive midfielder.
Known for his tough tackling and defensive positioning, he played professionally for Hertha BSC ...
(
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
)
*
Oliver Neuville (
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
)
*
Michael Ballack (
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
)
*
Hans-Jörg Butt
Hans-Jörg Butt (; born 28 May 1974) is a German former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Known for taking penalty kicks, and for often running into the opposing penalty box in an attempt to find a winner whenever his team were trailing, h ...
(
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
)
*
Diego Placente
Diego Rodolfo Placente (born 24 April 1977) is a former Argentine footballer who played as a left-back.
Club career
Born in Buenos Aires, Placente started playing professionally in 1996 with Argentinos Juniors, before moving to Argentine gian ...
(
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
)
*
Boris Živković
Boris Živković (; born 15 November 1975) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a full-back and centre-back. At one point of his career he even played as defensive midfielder.
Živković began his professional career with ...
(
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
)
*
Jurica Vranješ (
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
)
*
Jens Nowotny
Jens Daniel Nowotny (born 11 January 1974) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender.
He played in nearly 300 official games with Bayer Leverkusen in one full decade, helping them reach the 2002 Champions League final ...
(
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
)
*
Bernd Schneider (
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
,
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
)
*
Jacek Krzynówek
Jacek Kamil Krzynówek (; born 15 May 1976) is a former Polish footballer.
He is regarded as one of the best Polish footballers. He has earned many awards and trophies, not only in Poland, but also abroad. He has earned the honour of twice bein ...
(
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
)
*
Fredrik Stenman (
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
)
*
Juan (
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
)
*
Marko Babić (
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
)
*
Assimiou Touré
Assimiou Touré (born 1 January 1988) is a Togolese association football, football Defender (association football), defender who plays for FC Leverkusen. He also holds a German passport.
Career
Born in Sokodé, Togo, Touré joined Bayer 04 Leve ...
(
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
)
*
Andriy Voronin
Andriy Viktorovych Voronin ( uk, Андрій Вікторович Воронін, born 21 July 1979) is a Ukrainian professional football manager and a former player.
Voronin spent five full seasons in the Bundesliga of Germany, and last play ...
(
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
)
*
Stefan Kießling
Stefan Kießling (born 25 January 1984) is a German former footballer who played as a striker for Bayer Leverkusen and 1. FC Nürnberg. Born in Lichtenfels, West Germany, Kießling began playing football at a young age in the youth setup at 1. ...
(
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
)
*
Toni Kroos (
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
)
*
Hans Sarpei
Hans Adu Sarpei (born 28 June 1976) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a full-back.
He also was a long time regular for the Ghana national team. Sarpei most recently played for his country at the 2010 FIFA World Cup i ...
(
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
)
*
Arturo Vidal (
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
)
*
Tranquillo Barnetta
Tranquillo Barnetta (; born 22 May 1985) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
He was usually deployed out wide as a left winger but could also play in the centre as an attacking midfielder, or even in a more wit ...
(
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
,
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
)
*
Eren Derdiyok
Eren Derdiyok (born 12 June 1988) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a striker. He is a former Swiss international.
Early life
Derdiyok was born in Basel, Switzerland, into a Kurdish family from Turkey. He also holds Turkish citiz ...
(
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
)
*
Andrés Guardado (
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
)
*
Emir Spahić
Emir Spahić (; born 18 August 1980) is a Bosnian former professional footballer who played as a centre back.
During his club career, he represented teams in his homeland, Croatia, Russia, France, Spain and Germany.
He earned a total of 94 inte ...
(
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
)
*
Son Heung-min
Son Heung-min ( ko, 손흥민; ; born 8 July 1992) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and captains the South Korea national team. Considered one of the best forwards in ...
(
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
)
*
Tin Jedvaj
Tin Jedvaj (; born 28 November 1995) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Emirati club Al Ain on loan from Russian Premier League club Lokomotiv Moscow. He was a part of the Croatia national team's squad which end ...
(
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
)
*
Julian Brandt
Julian Brandt (; born 2 May 1996) is a German professional footballer who plays as a right winger, central midfielder or attacking midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Germany national team.
Brandt made over 55 combined appe ...
(
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
)
*
Piero Hincapié
Piero Martín Hincapié Reyna (born 9 January 2002) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Ecuador national team.
Club career
Hincapié began playing football at the ag ...
(
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
)
*
Jeremie Frimpong
Jeremie Agyekum Frimpong (born 10 December 2000) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a right wing-back for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Netherlands national team.
Club career
Manchester City
Frimpong joined Manchester ...
(
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
)
*
Sardar Azmoun (
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
)
*
Exequiel Palacios
Exequiel Alejandro Palacios (; born 5 October 1998) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Bayer Leverkusen and the Argentina national football te ...
(
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
)
References
{{Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...
Association football player non-biographical articles