1988 UEFA Cup Winner
Bayer Leverkusen has finally gotten a taste for the Europa League and is now hoping for the really big thing based on the example of Eintracht Frankfurt. “It’s a good competition. You can win a title quickly,” said ex-national player Nadiem Amiri after the 2-0 win over Ferencváros Budapest in the round of 16 first leg. “You saw last year that Frankfurt can win this thing. Of course, that also appeals to us.”
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The way the win against the Hungarian champion and record champion came about boosted confidence. Although he was anything but glamorous. “It wasn’t spectacular, but it was a serious and effective performance,” emphasized coach Xabi Alonso, a player in 119 Champions League games with Liverpool, Real Madrid and FC Bayern. “In Europe that is exactly what is important. Of course we can play better. But sometimes it’s better to feel that power, not to concede a goal and to take advantage of the few chances you have.”
Since winning the DFB Cup in 1993, the “Werkself” have been waiting for the next title win in their club history. Her international success came in 1988, when she beat Espanyol Barcelona in the finals of the UEFA Cup, the predecessor of the Europa League. Since then, Bayer have reached the final of the Champions League in 2002 and three other finals in the DFB Cup, but have been unsuccessful in each case. In addition, the name “Vizekusen” stuck to the club in the Bundesliga for a long time.
The 9 titles missed by Bayer 04 “Vizekusen” since 1993
1993 – DFB Cup victory! The last title for Bayer 04
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After Leverkusen won the UEFA Cup in 1988, the first and only national title in Germany followed in 1993 with the DFB Cup. Back then, the Werkself beat the second team from Hertha BSC in the final with Ulf Kirsten, Christian Wörns and Co. Go to the match report with the line-ups from 1993
1997 – Second place in the Bundesliga for the first time
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“Vizekusen” Chapter 1: Second place after the 1996/97 season was actually Bayer’s greatest success in the Bundesliga up to that point. In view of FC Bayern’s narrow lead and the bitter, decisive 4-0 defeat against Cologne on the penultimate matchday, it was still annoying for the factory club. Leverkusen’s 1996/97 season
1999 – Leverkusen clearly inferior
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For the second time – and again under coach Christoph Daum – the runner-up title went to Bayer Leverkusen in 1999. This time, however, the deficit to FC Bayern was appropriate. On the last day of the game, the champions, who had been crowned champions for a long time, pulled away to 15 points with a 2:1 in a direct duel. Bayer vs. Bayern: To the match report from 1999
2000 – Championship gambled away on the last matchday
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A year later, Bayer experienced the third runner-up title. Again the champion was FC Bayern, but never before was it so close and so annoying for Leverkusen. Because of a 0:2 defeat at Unterhaching, the championship went to Munich at the last moment. Leverkusen’s 1999/2000 season
2002 – Leverkusen Vice of another champion
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With the 2001/02 season, the next vice title was not long in coming. Only the master was different. In the end, Borussia Dortmund had the upper hand because Leverkusen again gambled away the triumph shortly before the end. A 0:1 on the penultimate match day in Nürnberg was the broken neck. Leverkusen’s 2001/02 season
2002 – Nothing to get in the cup final either
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After missing the championship, the 2002 DFB Cup final was also lost. After champions Dortmund, it was cup winners Schalke who gave the Werkself a trick. The royal blues won the cup 4:2. Leverkusen’s cup history with all decisive games
2002 – The vice triple is perfect
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And then the Champions League. Bayer 04 held up well against Real Madrid in the final, but in the end had to go home with the triple of runners-up in the championship, runner-up in the cup and vice-UEFA champion. The “eternal second” Bayer 04 becomes “Vizekusen”. Line-ups and goal scorers from the CL final against Real
2009 – Özil prevents Leverkusen’s cup winners’ comeback
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In the 2009 DFB Cup final, Leverkusen’s seventh runner-up, Mesut Özil was the spoilsport. Werder Bremen’s 1-0 win brought Leverkusen back their glory. Cup final 2009: The game report
2011 – Bayer’s last Bundesliga vice title
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From then on, until today, Leverkusen have only won one runner-up spot in the Bundesliga. BVB won the race again in the 2010/11 season. With a 1-0 win in Freiburg, Bayer 04 said goodbye to a runners-up season in which they weren’t even top of the table, but in the end they duly celebrated their place in the Champions League. To the Leverkusen squad from 2010/11
2020 – Second again in the DFB Cup
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Even under coach Peter Bosz, the finals in which Leverkusen participate are won by the others: on July 4, 2020, record winners FC Bayern scored 4-2 in the ghost final in Berlin.
One thing is clear: Winning the title this season would be anything but a sure-fire success. With Arsenal FC, Manchester United, AS Roma, Juventus Turin and Europa League record winners FC Sevilla, strong teams are still represented in the competition. But should Bayer reach the quarter-finals, the first leg would take place after matchday 27 and the groundbreaking duel with Frankfurt, who are currently sixth. Then it could be foreseeable whether there is still a realistic chance of qualifying for the European Cup via the league or whether Alonso can concentrate fully on the Europa League when rotating. Even when he rested six players before the second leg of the last round in the 2-3 win against Mainz and won in Monaco, he received praise from sporting director Simon Rolfes.
And that the team, which was so uncertain in the first half of the season, is now ready for bigger tasks, is at least becoming apparent. In addition, after the two outstanding players of the previous season in Florian Wirtz and Patrik Schick were missing in the first half of the season, she currently has almost no injury worries. Robert Andrich, who was suspended this time and otherwise a leader in defensive midfield, went into the dressing room on Thursday with the words “Finally a dirty win”. “I don’t contradict my friend,” said 1-0 scorer Kerem Demirbay with a laugh. “It was a very mature performance. It’s a process of becoming even more mature, also for the big stage.” Amiri called the performance “very mature”. Just like in Frankfurt last year.
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