Bundesliga Runners-up 1997
Werkself – From factory workers to Bundesliga champions
Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football, and plays its home matches at the BayArena. Founded in 1904 by employees of the paint factory, today better known as a pharmaceutical company Bayer, the club was formerly a department of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen sports club. In 1999, the football department was separated from the sports club. Bayer Leverkusen's main colours are red and black, and their main rival is 1. FC Köln.
Quick Facts
- Season
- 1996–97
- League finish
- 2nd Place (Runners-up)
- Manager
- Christoph Daum
- Champion
- Borussia Dortmund
- Significance
- First top-two finish in modern era
Lore & Background
Bayer Leverkusen were promoted to the Bundesliga in 1979 and won their maiden top-flight honor, the UEFA Cup, in 1988. The club won its first domestic honour, the DFB Pokal, in 1993. The club finished runners-up across three competitions in 2002, including the UEFA Champions League. After over 30 years without silverware, the club won their first Bundesliga title and their second DFB Pokal in 2024, becoming the first German team to win the league or domestic double unbeaten, while setting the European record for consecutive unbeaten competitive games (51).
Reader's Guide
The club earned a series of four second-place finishes from 1997 to 2002. In 1997, Bayer Leverkusen finished as runners-up in the Bundesliga. The club's first Bundesliga title was won in 2024.
Did You Know?
- The club was founded on 1 July 1904 as Turn- und Spielverein Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a works team.
- On 31 May 1907, a separate football department was formed within the club.
- On 8 June 1928, the footballers formed a separate association – Sportvereinigung Bayer 04 Leverkusen – taking with them the club's traditional colours of red and black.
- The club's main colours are red and black, which feature across their playing kits and badge.
More in Honours, Records & The 'Almost' Legacy
Elsewhere in Bayer Leverkusen
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