Back in 2001-02, Bayer Leverkusen earned the unwanted moniker of 'Neverkusen' as they saw a potential treble unravel in the space of 11 traumatic days, finishing as runners-up in the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB-Pokal.
Twenty-two years later, Xabi Alonso's Werkself have already gone some way to banishing those ghosts by making Bundesliga history, Saturday's 2-1 win over Augsburg completing their unbeaten title-winning campaign.
This week, they have a chance to make it an unbeaten treble, heading to Dublin for Wednesday's Europa League final before taking on Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal on Saturday.
Looking to deny Bayer one of the greatest achievements in recent memory are Atalanta, participating in their first European final following a memorable run that included a stunning quarter-final elimination of Liverpool.
Ahead of the first of 2023-24's European finals, here's the key storylines and Opta facts surrounding the two contenders.
One down, two to go
Wednesday's game offers Bayer the chance to complete the second leg of an unbeaten treble.
On Saturday, they became the first team in Bundesliga history to enjoy an unbeaten season, while only Arsenal (in 2003-04) and Juventus (2011-12) had previously achieved the feat in Europe's top five leagues this century.
Leverkusen are still unbeaten in 51 games in all competitions this season (42 wins, nine draws), with 12 of those coming in the Europa League (nine wins, three draws).
Three sides have previously won the competition without losing a game, with each of those triumphs coming within the last five editions – Chelsea in 2018-19, Villarreal in 2020-21 and Eintracht Frankfurt in 2021-22.
Wednesday's match will be the third major European final in Leverkusen's history, with Bayer beating Espanyol in a two-legged UEFA Cup final in 1988 and losing 2-1 to a Zinedine Zidane-inspired Real Madrid in the 2002 Champions League showpiece.
Alonso has taken Germany and Europe by storm with his brand of progressive, possession-based football, and Bayer's total of 6,622 successful passes in the Europa League this season is the most by any team in a single edition since 2019-20 victors Sevilla recorded 6,971.
Their passing accuracy of 89.5 per cent is the second highest on record (behind Nice in 2017-18, 90 per cent), while their 94.3 per cent success rate with short passes is the best ever recorded in a Europa League campaign.
But even when Leverkusen have been less than free-flowing, they have found ways to avoid defeat.
They squandered a 2-0 first-leg lead in the second leg of their semi-final tie against Roma, only to fight back for a 2-2 draw which saw them progress 4-2 on aggregate. Josip Stanisic scored a 97th-minute equaliser in that game, the sixth goal Bayer have scored in the 90th minute or later in the Europa League this term.
That is the most ever managed by a team in a single major European campaign, and they also rescued their unbeaten Bundesliga record with last-gasp strikes against Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart last month.
If Leverkusen find themselves with their backs against the wall on Wednesday, viewers would be wise not to rule them out.
Can the nearly men get over the line?
Leverkusen's Bundesliga triumph has allowed them to shake off their "nearly men" tag, but Atalanta are hoping it's a case of fourth time lucky for them in major finals under Gian Piero Gasperini.
La Dea, whose only major trophy win came in the Coppa Italia in 1962-63, were beaten 1-0 by Juventus in the Coppa Italia final last week – their third loss in that competition's showpiece game under Gasperini.
However, they bounced back with a 2-0 Serie A win over Lecce on Saturday, Gianluca Scamacca and Charles De Ketelaere scoring as they secured a top-five finish and Champions League qualification for 2024-25.
A return to Europe's premier club competition is just reward for a fine campaign for the Bergamo club, who will finish a Serie A season with more than 65 points (currently 66) for the fifth time (with all seasons adjusted for three points per win).
The four previous instances – in 2016-17 (72), 2018-19 (69), 2019-20 (78) and 2020-21 (78) – also all came under Gasperini.
While their free-flowing attacking play has returned this campaign, La Dea have also been excellent without the ball, facing just 2.8 shots on target per Europa League game on average. That is the lowest rate of any team in the 2023-24 competition, with opponents Bayer facing 4.1 per match.
Their backline can expect to be tested on Wednesday, though, with Bayer's total of 232 shots in the Europa League this season the most by any team in a single edition since Chelsea tallied 247 in 2018-19.
The coaches
Fans can expect an intriguing tactical battle between two progressive coaches at the Aviva Stadium.
Gasperini has overseen the most successful period in Atalanta's history since taking charge in 2016, though this will be his first European final as a manager.
At the age of 66 years and 117 days, he will become the oldest coach to take charge of his first major European final, and the oldest overall since Jupp Heynckes led Bayern Munich to glory in the 2013 Champions League final (68 years, 16 days).
His counterpart Alonso – at the age of 42 years and 179 days – will be the youngest coach to manage a men's European final since Roberto Di Matteo oversaw Chelsea's memorable victory in the 2012 Champions League final at the age of 41 years and 356 days, beating Heynckes' Bayern.
Having played for Liverpool in the 2005 and 2007 Champions League finals, Alonso will also become just the fourth person to play in and manage in a major European final this century.
Zidane played for Madrid in the 2002 Champions League final then managed them in the 2016, 2017 and 2018 editions. Antonio Conte played for Juventus in the 2003 Champions League showpiece and coached Inter for the 2020 Europa League final, while Giovanni van Bronckhorst achieved the feat as a Barcelona player (2006 Champions League) and Rangers boss (2022 Europa League).
Players to watch
The likes of Alejandro Grimaldo, Victor Boniface, Granit Xhaka and Robert Andrich have played crucial roles for Bayer this season, but their key man is undoubtedly Florian Wirtz, who was named Bundesliga Player of the Year on Monday.
Wirtz scored 11 goals and provided 11 assists throughout Bayer's triumphant Bundesliga campaign, also recording eight goal involvements (four goals, four assists) in the Europa League this term – the most of any Leverkusen player.
Meanwhile, his total of 28 open-play chances created in the 2023-24 competition has only previously been bettered by five players in a single edition, most recently Amin Younes for Ajax in 2016-17 (30).
For Atalanta, all eyes will be on Scamacca, who scored outstanding goals against Liverpool and Marseille in the last two rounds.
The former West Ham striker has six goals in the Europa League this season, a tally only previously bettered by two Italian players in a single edition. Giuseppe Rossi netted 10 times for Villarreal in the 2010-11 tournament, while Ciro Immobile scored eight for Lazio in 2017-18.
Prediction
Leverkusen enter Wednesday's game as favourites, with the Opta supercomputer rating their chances of victory within 90 minutes at 50.2 per cent.
Atalanta, however, should not be ruled out, having won seven of their nine matches since losing 1-0 in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie against Liverpool (one draw, one defeat).
They are assigned a 24.4 per cent chance of victory, with 25.4 per cent of the supercomputer's match simulations finishing level, which would mean extra time and potentially penalties.
Rice: England would 'do anything to protect' Southgate
England avoided an early exit at Euro 2024 after last-gasp Jude Bellingham heroics and Declan Rice says the Three Lions "would do anything to protect" manager Gareth Southgate.
Ivan Schranz's first-half opener seemed to have Slovakia on course for a shock last-16 upset, only for Bellingham to rifle home a remarkable 94th-minute leveller in Gelsenkirchen.
Bellingham's eye-catching overhead kick sent the tie to extra time, in which Harry Kane headed home just 50 seconds into the additional 30 minutes at Arena AufSchalke on Sunday.
England have now won their last four games having conceded first at the European Championship, after losing their first six such matches, and Rice says that battling performance was for the under-fire Southgate.
"I cannot describe the feeling representing England in the European Championship round of 16, you look up at the clock and you think 'we could be going home here'," Rice told BBC Sport.
"Players are saying that to each other with one minute to go and there is that inner fight and spirit in us.
"We have got that togetherness tonight, we would do anything to protect this manager. Keep going and keep fighting, it is an honour to be a part of it – we are going to keep going."
Bellingham's stunning leveller, timed at 94 minutes and 34 seconds, marked England's latest goal at the European Championship.
Arsenal midfielder Rice says that only serves to highlight the bravery of Bellingham, who etched his name into England folklore with what Kane earlier described as one of the country's best goals in history.
"It is crazy because if that was me that was going over the bar," Rice joked.
"It was a big moment for him, at 21 years old that takes a lot of guts. People don't understand what you have to go through to get over the line.
"We are not playing against invisible men. They are top footballers, they kept going after us. It is about waiting for those moments as the game got stretched we created more.
"The fans tonight I cannot speak highly enough of them. So grateful they are all here to experience that."
Rice was part of a confrontation with Slovakia manager Francesco Calzona at full-time, with England in celebratory mood after setting up a last-eight meeting with Switzerland on Saturday in Dusseldorf.
Calzona was left disheartened, too, after feeling his side were equal to Southgate's men.
"We played on par basically with England, we almost qualified," Calzona told reporters. "We were very nearly there, unfortunately things went the way they did.
"I'm very proud to see this team do so well, the other team sending on defenders to preserve their result."
Southgate pinpoints Kane and Bellingham contributions as reason to not rush changes
Gareth Southgate hit back at his critics as the England manager said Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane's telling contributions against Slovakia were why he avoids making changes.
Bellingham produced a stunning acrobatic leveller after 94 minutes to keep England's Euro 2024 hopes alive on Sunday.
Captain Kane then headed home just 50 seconds into extra time as England edged into a last-eight meeting with Switzerland after a 2-1 victory over Slovakia.
Some had criticised Southgate for not rolling the changes earlier in the second half, though the England manager says the pair's late heroics prove the decision justified.
"With 15 minutes to go you wonder if he is out on his feet," Southgate said of Bellingham when speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live.
"Him and Harry Kane produce those moments and that is why you don't make changes when people are clamouring for more changes. We had enough attacking players on the pitch."
Bellingham's equaliser marked England's latest goal in European Championship history, with his overhead kick timed at 94 minutes and 34 seconds.
England had been woeful up to that point, failing to register a single shot on target after Ivan Schranz's first-half opener.
Yet Southgate believes the tide always seemed set to change after Phil Foden's second-half finish was ruled out for offside and Declan Rice was denied by the woodwork late on.
"I had a funny feeling the game wasn't dead and I know that sounds ridiculous," the former England international added. "We were pushing and probing.
"Ultimately it is the one we have thrown in the box that got us the goal [Bellingham's equaliser]."
Kane scored his 14th goal at major tournaments for England with his well-taken headed finish, with only four European players ever managing more in history.
"He is an extraordinary goal scorer, he is leading the team so well," Southgate said of his talisman. "He has been exceptional as a captain keeping the ship steady.
"He has been through it before and nights like tonight are which the younger ones will refer back to as that is what happens in tournaments."
A meeting with Switzerland in the quarter-finals in Dusseldorf on Saturday will mark Southgate's 100th match in charge of his country, though he says England have not achieved anything yet.
"That's neither here nor there," Southgate responded when asked about the landmark. "We haven't come to get to a quarter-final but to get through a night like tonight was fantastic character and we now play a Swiss team that have been very good.
"We have a couple of days to recover and get ready for them."
Bellingham warns England must capitalise on last-gasp heroics against Slovakia at Euro 2024
Jude Bellingham revelled in his last-gasp heroics for England but says only time will tell how important that effort was at Euro 2024.
The Real Madrid midfielder delivered a stunning overhead-kick equaliser against Slovakia, with his 94th-minute leveller sending the last-16 clash to extra time after Ivan Schranz's first-half opener.
Harry Kane subsequently headed home just 50 seconds into the additional 30 minutes to send Gareth Southgate's side through to the last eight with a 2-1 extra-time victory on Sunday.
Though celebrating another landmark moment in his career, Bellingham warned England must now capitalise on their salvaging act and go deeper into the tournament in Germany.
"It's 20 or 30 seconds until we're out of the European Championship and the mood now is a massive difference, and what it can do for the team going forward," Bellingham told UEFA's official website.
"It's a massive moment, but it's a long tournament and we'll only know it if we go on to win the cup. We'll decide in the next two weeks how important it is."
Bellingham's leveller was timed at 94 minutes and 34 seconds, the latest England goal in their European Championship history.
It was also their first shot on target of the game in Gelsenkirchen, and Bellingham says it will be one to remember.
"It's got to be up there," the 21-year-old said of his late strike. "There's a few nice ones, ones that mean a lot to me personally, but this one was so important.
"Both for today and the mood change if it doesn't happen. It's right up there."
England are set to meet Switzerland in the quarter-finals on Saturday in Dusseldorf, where Southgate's side will be expected to improve.
Bellingham acknowledged those expectations weight heavy on the Three Lions, though performances like the Slovakia showing act as a "release".
"You're 30 seconds away from going home, feeling like you've let your nation down, and one kick of the ball and everything's great," Bellingham added.
"It's a feeling I don't want to be in, but when it comes, it's a great feeling.
"Playing for England is a great thing, but it's a lot of pressure as well. Being on the pitch and scoring goals for me is a release, it's a very happy moment."
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