The 1998-99 campaign delivered a landmark season for Bayer Leverkusen as Die Werkself secured a brilliant 2nd-place finish in the Bundesliga, their highest league position at the time, which secured the club's first-ever qualification for the UEFA Champions League group stage. Leading the charge was the prolific striker Ulf Kirsten, whose 19 goals anchored a high-scoring attack and included a memorable hat-trick in a record 8-2 away demolition of Borussia Mönchengladbach. Although Bayern Munich dominated the top spot, this year cemented Leverkusen's place among the elite, marking the crucial transition to Fußball GmbH and the emotional final appearance of club goalkeeping legend Rüdiger Vollborn.. The 1999-00 campaign was an agonizing near-miss for Bayer Leverkusen as Die Werkself finished a crushing 2nd in the Bundesliga, losing the title on goal difference to rivals Bayern Munich on the final day. They entered the last match needing just a draw for their first-ever league title but fell to a devastating 2-0 defeat against newly-promoted Unterhaching, with the ultimate setback being a cruel own goal from the emerging central midfielder Michael Ballack. Leading the line was the legendary veteran striker Ulf Kirsten, whose 17 league goals anchored the prolific attack. It was a year defined by the spectacular title race heartbreak, a result that cemented the painful "Neverkusen" nickname and remains a defining chapter in the club's history of near-misses.