Painting a picture of Euro's late developer
 Bayer 04 Leverkusen started life as a works team for the Friedrich Bayer & Co paint factory. In 1903, a man named Wilhelm Hauschild sent a letter, signed by 170 employees, to the company's head office asking for Bayer's support for the establishment of a sports club. The company bosses were enthusiastic and on July 1 1904, the Friedrich Bayer & Co gym and sports club was founded, which included a football squad. In 1928, the Bayer 04 Sporting Club was formed which included teams for football, handball, fistball, athletics and boxing. The team was twice promoted to Germany's Fourth Division West, once in 1951 and once in 1962, and the club had its first very modest brush with success in 1968 when it became the regional champions. But Bayer can be considered one of European football's late developers, as the story of Bayer as a major club did not begin until 1975, when the club was promoted to the German Second Division, and it was not until 1979 that the club secured a place in the German Bundesliga First Division. Eighty years to the day after the gym and sports club was founded, it merged with the Bayer 04 Sporting Club to form the current organisation, Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The team finished sixth in the Bundesliga in 1985-86 and entered the UEFA Cup for the first time the following season, eventually being knocked out by Czechoslovakian side Dukla Pribram in the second round. Bayer finished sixth again in 1986-87 and again went into the UEFA Cup, this time winning the competition on penalties after drawing 3-3 on aggregate against Espanol in the two-legged final. Bayer beat Hertha Berlin in the 1993 German League Cup final to earn qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup, eventually going out in the quarter-finals of that competition to Benfica. Leverkusen qualified for the UEFA Cup on two occasions in the 1990s with their best performance coming in 1994-95 when they went out to Italian side Parma 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals. Bayer have qualified for the Champions League for the last six seasons, going out in the quarter-finals against Real Madrid in their first season in 1997-98. They were knocked out after the group stage the following season and went into the UEFA Cup where they were beaten by Glasgow Rangers in the second round. In 1999-2000 they went out at the end of the first group stage and went into the UEFA Cup where they lost to Udinese in the third round. In 2000-01 they were again knocked out after the first group stage and took part in the UEFA Cup, this time being defeated by AEK Athens in the third round. Leverkusen's best performance in the Champions League to date was last season when they finished as losing finalists to Vicente del Bosque's all-conquering Real Madrid team, but the German are aiming to go one better this time round. | 
