For the Lovers
The greatest international success came with the 1988 UEFA Cup triumph: on May 18, 1988, Erich Ribbeck's side beat Espanyol Barcelona in the second leg at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion 3-0 after extra time, following a 0-3 first-leg defeat in Spain, then won 3-2 on penalties. All Bayer goals by Tita, Falko Götz and the team — a comeback for the ages.
DFB-Pokal 1993: Domestically, the 1993 cup triumph against Hertha BSC Amateurs (1-0) represents the Werkself's greatest success. Ulf Kirsten, the most prolific Bundesliga scorer of the 1990s with 149 goals, delivered the 1-0 winner in the Berlin final.
Great sympathy: The club often maligned as a "plastic club" from the Rhineland won widespread admiration with their run to the 2002 Champions League final. In the Glasgow final, they fell narrowly to heavy favourites Real Madrid (1-2). "The gala performances in the Champions League season under Klaus Toppmöller will stay with me forever," a fan wrote.
Like a tornado: The 1999/2000 Bundesliga title race in a long-distance duel with Bayern drove Bayer Leverkusen to the highest victory in their Bundesliga history. On March 18, 2000, Christoph Daum's side stormed the Donaustadion and demolished promoted SSV Ulm 9-1 (4-0 at half-time). "They came like a tornado," BILD headlined. No Bundesliga team has scored nine goals since.
Highest home wins: Bayer's biggest home victories came in the 2. Bundesliga. They thrashed Rot-Weiß Lüdenscheid 8-1 in the 1978/79 season, and even more valuably beat "brothers" Bayer 05 Uerdingen 7-0 in the 1977/78 2. Bundesliga Nord.
Carnival at Bayer: Leverkusen is also a Rhineland carnival stronghold — and on February 28, 1995, Shrove Tuesday, the team played themselves into a frenzy with a 5-1 UEFA Cup quarter-final victory over French title contenders FC Nantes at the Haberland-Stadion. "Mr. European Cup" Ulf Kirsten extended his remarkable scoring record that season.
Bayer storm Wembley: In the 2016/17 season, Bayer Leverkusen won in front of their largest-ever international crowd of 85,512 at London's Wembley Stadium. At England's football cathedral, temporary home of Tottenham Hotspur, a Kevin Kampl goal secured the historic 1-0 victory.
Cup records: Bayer Leverkusen's biggest DFB-Pokal victories both came in round one, each featuring eleven goals. In 1994/95 they demolished BSV Stahl Brandenburg 11-0; in 2010/11 FK Pirmasens suffered an 11-1 hammering on their own ground.
Longest winning streak: Bayer 04 won 14 consecutive matches spanning the 1977/78 and 1978/79 seasons — matchdays 34-38 of 1977/78 and matchdays 1-9 of 1978/79.