Neverkusen and its German equivalent Vizekusen ("second-kusen") are nicknames for German football team Bayer 04 Leverkusen.[1][2] Both apply to the runners-up image of the team, which from 2000–2002 often found its way into finals but never to the top.[3]
Bayer, the company owning the team, has issued a trademark on Vizekusen and others which the German Financial Times has claimed as proof of a Bayer marketing strategy to use the ironic elements.[4]
The expressions have had various echoes in the press. In case of Bayern Munich's three final defeats in the Champions League, Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal in 2012, the press used expressions like "Vizekusen-Syndrome", "Vizekusen 2.0.",[5][6] or Vizekusen-stigmata and a fear of having them stuck.[7]
Some concerns about a Vizekusen curse were raised before the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2012 as an important number of players in the national team came from Leverkusen or Bayern respectively.[8]