Our Red Bulls are returning to Europe's biggest football stage next week when we go away on the fifth matchday of the league phase of the UEFA Champions League to face the German champions. We have taken a look at the Leverkusen success story so you know just what we are up against on Tuesday 26 November at 21:00 CET at Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

Bayer, BayArena and UEFA

Company and sponsor names are generally not allowed in UEFA competitions - nor are stadiums. There is an exception however for the sports club formed in 1904 – which still operates a very successful athletics' team – as the club was founded as a factory team for the pharmaceutical company based there.

The structures of the Werkself have changed a lot since then. Back in 1923, the football division was separated by the gymnastics club, while the current form was established in 1984.

30,210 Capacity at the BayArena

The side were promoted to the Bundesliga in 1979 – and have not looked back since! They increasingly became a top-flight force and competed for honours without managing to land a breakthrough trophy for a long time. In 2002 they were runners-up in three competitions (league, cup and UEFA Champions League). The nickname Vizekusen became so well used, Bayer even patented it - to avoid it being misused. The name Meisterkusen was also patented - just in case - but despite seeing such legends like Rudi Völler, Lucio, Michael Ballack and Rüdiger Vollborn, it would be a very long time since it was needed.

From Neverkusen to Neverlosing

On 5 October 2022, Bayer 04 Leverkusen were languishing in second from bottom when football legend Xabi Alonso took charge on the Bayer sidelines to start a legendary run of success. As successful as the Spaniard had been in his playing days, the former midfield maestro needed to convince people of his coaching credentials - having previously only worked for the youth teams of Real Madrid and Real Sociedad.

The 42-year-old proved his critics wrong, and then some! In his first season in charge, he led the Leverkusen side from 17th to sixth to lay the foundations for a spectacular second season.

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Alonso's 3-4-2-1 formation and hungry squad of talents led Leverkusen to become the first club to go through an entire German Bundesliga season unbeaten in 2023/24 – and celebrate the first league title in club history. They almost managed European heroics too, only to fall short in the UEFA Europa League final with a 0-3 defeat to Atalanta.

The defining feature of Alonso's side over that season was the ability of Florian Wirtz & Co to keep plowing away and continually net decisive late goals! Leverkusen left it late with over 30 goals after the 80th minute of play in 2023/24, with an astonishing 14 goals in stoppage time to rescue the unbeaten run and seal numerous last-minute successes!

Unsurprisingly, Alonso and his players were in demand last summer, but contrary to some expectations, the squad remained more or less intact. The Leverkusen fans are therefore being treated to the likes of Florian Wirtz, Victor Boniface and Alejandro Grimaldo again this season.

New status quo

If they were unbeaten in 2023/24, their patent for this success may just have expired. Leverkusen are currently fourth in the league, nine points behind Bayern Munich, and in the Champions League they suffered a 0-4 reverse at Liverpool to leave them 13th.

We know that as underdogs – with nothing to lose – our boys are always good for a surprise in Europe, which is exactly what we want to do on Tuesday! We are counting on your support for that. The booking deadline for our special fan train from Salzburg to Leverkusen has been extended until the end of Sunday - so get your seat if you haven't yet!

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Bayer Leverkusen: Success patented by Xabi