By winning the Bundesliga 2023/24 with five games to go, Bayer Leverkusen consigned the Neverkusen tag to the scrapheap. But when exactly and why did the nickname stick in the first place? It's not like Bayer are always in contention for trophies, right?
The origins take root in the early 2000s when Bayer were ridiculously close to winning titles but came a cropper at the eleventh hour. We recall all of those occasions.
Bundesliga 1999/00
Bayer's first-ever Bundesliga trophy could've happened in 2000. Coming into the final matchday of the season 99/00, Leverkusen were 3 points ahead of Bayern Munich and an away draw against midtable Unterhaching would've sufficed.
But in a game that meant nothing to their opponent, Bayer somehow lost 2:0. First, the best player of the season Michael Ballack deflected the ball into his own net trying to clear a set piece, and then the hosts added another.
Bayern couldn't believe their luck. "We promised Haching sausages and beer, but there wasn't much belief they would do it," said club's general manager Uli Hoeneß.
If anything, this proves that sausages and beer can be a source of motivation!
Bayern won their clash against Werder Bremen 3:1, scoring all three in the opening 16 minutes. The teams finished on points, but Bayern got the upper hand thanks to a better goal difference.
As Munich were celebrating, their footballers sent a thank-you message to a modest Unterhaching, who are yo-yoing between the third and fourth tiers these days.
Bundesliga 01/02
If the story above sounds cruel to you, prepare for more.
Two seasons after the first Bundesliga fiasco, Bayer landed themselves into another one. Their opponent was Borussia Dortmund, though with three games left, Dortmund were only looming far behind. But objects in the mirror are closer than they seem.
On matchday 32, Bayer hosted sixth-placed Werder Bremen, and a victory would have nearly made them unreachable. They lost.
At 1:1, Bayer's goalkeeper Hans Jorg Butt failed to convert the penalty (he was a prolific penalty taker), and after the break Werder found the winner.
Bayer were still in the frontseat but the jitters set in and the team then lost to 15th-placed Nurnberg away. Dortmund smelled the blood and won their remaining games of the campaign: first closing the gap, then pulling ahead.
Bayer won their final game of the campaign, but so did Dortmund and Leverkusen's victory was irrelevant as Borussia finished one point clear.
German Cup 01/02
A few days later, Bayer had a chance to partly make up for the unfortunate title race by winning the German Cup. The opponent was Schalke-04, who'd finished eight points below Bayer in the Bundesliga.
Expectedly, Bayer opened the scoring through Dimitar Berbatov, but what happened next... By the 85th minute, the score was 4-1 in Schalke's favour.
A goal from Ulf Kirsten was too late to mount a comeback, so the game ended in a 4-2 defeat, leaving Bayer empty-handed on another occasion.
Champions League 01/02
But all the misery could've been put behind if Bayer had managed to win the ultimate club football trophy — the Champions League.
On their way to the final, Bayer dispatched Barcelona, Juventus, Man United and Liverpool among others. It was only a shame they had to face Real Madrid, led by Zinedine Zidane, in the ultimate battle for the trophy.
It was the Frenchman who scored one of the most iconic Champions League goals of all time, giving Real Madrid a 2-1 victory in Glasgow.
In the space of 11 days, Bayer lost all the three trophies they were competing for. From a potential treble to the greatest bottlejob story.
More bad luck
The misfortunes of that squad actually didn't stop there. Five of their players went on to lose the World Cup 2002 final to Brazil, and the superstar Brazilian Ze Roberto missed out on the tournament due to injury (though Lucio did win the World Cup and the Champions League).
Michael Ballack was exceptional, but his CV should've been so much richer. He lost the other Champions League final he played (with Chelsea in 2008) and also finished as a runner-up with Germany at Euro 2008.
Head coach Klaus Toppmöller never won anything as a coach and his silver medals with Bayer are the only notable achievements on his CV.
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If you think you've had a shitty week, just think back to Bayer 2001/02. But remember that even the worst setbacks can be overcome, as Xabi Alonso's men proved.
