From Neverkusen to unbeaten champions

The factory team

The Bayer in the club's name comes from the company at its roots. It began as a sports club formed by workers at the pharmaceutical company Bayer, which is why it's nicknamed Werkself, the factory team. That root also shows in the BayArena's name, and the club colours are red and black.

Tscha Bum and the 1988 UEFA Cup

Leverkusen is a special club for Korean football fans. Cha Bum-kun, known to German fans as Tscha Bum, scored 98 Bundesliga goals for Frankfurt and Leverkusen. In the 1988 UEFA Cup final, Leverkusen lost the first leg 3–0 to Espanyol, won the second 3–0 and took it on penalties. Cha scored in the second leg to level the tie, and it became the club's first European trophy.

Ulf Kirsten is also central to the club's story. He spent 13 years at Leverkusen and became its top scorer in all competitions.

The Neverkusen years

In 2001–02, Leverkusen chased a Treble and finished second in the league, DFB-Pokal and Champions League. That's where the mocking nickname Neverkusen came from. They knocked out Manchester United on away goals in the Champions League semi-final after a 3–3 aggregate, then lost the final 2–1 to Real Madrid, beaten by Zidane's left-foot volley.

The club kept developing talent. Son Heung-min came from Hamburg in 2013, played his first Champions League games there, and left for Tottenham two seasons later. Academy graduate Kai Havertz joined Chelsea in 2020, and the same year Florian Wirtz arrived from nearby rivals Köln.

2023–24: 28 wins, 6 draws

Xabi Alonso's 2023–24 season ended all the jokes. With 28 wins and 6 draws, the club won its first league title as the first unbeaten champions in Bundesliga history. In April 2024, Wirtz's hat-trick in a 5–0 win over Werder Bremen clinched it with five games left, and he was named Bundesliga Player of the Season.

Smart signings made it possible. Xhaka arrived from Arsenal to lead the midfield, and Grimaldo came on a free from Benfica and became key. Frimpong had arrived from Celtic in 2021.

The unbeaten run stayed dramatic to the end. In the Europa League round of 16 against Qarabağ, Schick scored twice in stoppage time to win 3–2. In the semi-final against Roma, Stanišić's late 2–2 equaliser set a European record of 49 games unbeaten. Xhaka's long-range goal then beat Kaiserslautern 1–0 in the DFB-Pokal final to complete the Double.

One game remained. In the Europa League final, Lookman's hat-trick for Atalanta won it 3–0 and ended the 51-game unbeaten run. It was Leverkusen's only competitive defeat of the season.