Formed: 1904
Nickname: Werkself (Factory XI)
UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• European Champion Clubs’ Cup: (2002)
• UEFA Cup: 1988
Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• German Cup: 1 (1993)
History
• In 1903, 170 workers at the Bayer chemical plant signed a petition requesting the foundation of a company sports club; the management acceded to their request the following year and the football division opened in 1907, though they achieved little of note in its early decades.
• Leverkusen were still playing in the second tier of the Regionalliga West when the Bundesliga was founded in 1963 and while they remained an unremarkable side for the next 15 years, they made a siginificant breakthrough when they won promotion to the top division for the 1979/80 season; they have not been relegated since.
• Leverkusen’s first Bundesliga seasons were a struggle, but coach Erich Ribbeck’s arrival in the mid-1980s led to improved results; they competed in the UEFA Cup for the first time in 1986/87 and won the competition the following season, recovering from a 3-0 first-leg deficit against RCD Espanyol to win the trophy on penalties at home.
• Following reunification Leverkusen had great success in nurturing talent from the former East Germany, the likes of Andreas Thom, Jens Melzig and Ulf Kirsten combining with Brazilian stars Jorginho and Paulo Sérgio to establish Leverkusen among Germany’s top sides; they won the 1993 German Cup, beating Hertha BSC Berlin’s reserves 1-0 in the final.
• Leverkusen’s stock rose even higher in the 1990s and early 2000s as they finished second in the Bundesliga three times and under Klaus Toppmöller lost out to Zinédine Zidane’s wonder-goal in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League final; they also reached the German Cup final in the same campaign.
Club records
Most league appearances: Rüdiger Vollborn (401)
Most league goals: Ulf Kirsten (182)
Record victory: FC Stahl Brandenburg 0-11 Leverkusen (German Cup, 13 March 1994)
Record defeat: Hannover 96 6-1 Leverkusen (Bundesliga, 26 March 1988)
From: http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2012/clubs/club=50109/profile/index.html
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