Kies: Striker, team player and popular figure

The ranks of the honorary captains were extended by the addition of Rüdiger Vollborn and Stefan Kießling in the summer of 2019. Bayer04.de is using the current period without games in the fifth of a six-part series to focus on Stefan Kießling – adviser to the Bayer 04 board since 1 October 2018. 

Stefan Kießling played for the Werkself for 12 years. He scored 131 goals in the Bundesliga in 344 games for Bayer 04. Kies made a total of 402 appearances in Germany's top flight (including 59 games for FC Nürnberg). The Werkself number 11 hung up his boots at the end of a great career in May 2018. Stefan Kießling helped shape the history of Bayer 04 for more than a decade in the club's 40 years in the Bundesliga. Reason enough to look at his exceptional career as a player.

Club legend, popular figure and absolute role model. Nobody else at Leverkusen embodies these characteristics as well as Stefan Kießling. Almost 20 years separate today's father of two from his beginnings in German professional football when he first tidies boots for Eintracht Bamberg close to his birthplace of Lichtenfels in Upper Franconia. Neither his family, or himself, could imagine in the summer of 1999 the incredible highs and lows that awaited the lad in his career who, after his move to FC Nürnberg in 2001, not only had to clean his own boots but also those of his teammates.

A pattern of behaviour that not only marked him out in his last game for the Werkself on 12 May 2018 but also far beyond that date. Up to now, the 1.91 metre giant is an absolute crowd favourite at the BayArena. A reputation with the supporters that the now 36-year-old not only earned with his goals and wins. Therefore it is almost incredible, that in this world of football almost totally covered by statistics, it is not possible to find out how often the Black and Red fans have called up their favourite, Stefan Kießling, during his 12 year career at Leverkusen to mount the fence to gain a raised position above his workplace of the pitch to celebrate goals or wins with him, and ideally both together. It feels like 'Kies' has spent half his playing career here, soaked in sweat and happy to be close-up with the most solid supporters to again and again lead the legendary UFFTA-UFFTA-UFFTA song.

Stefan Kießling and the Bayer 04 fans just go together! "Our fans invest so much for their club. For example, if I think about the months they spent working on the choreography for my last game. That's absolutely incredible," said the former Nürnberg player. The route to "football God" at the Bayer Arena did however prove to be very long. The new boy the club signed for the not insignificant sum of €7.5 million was young, with a good goalscoring instinct, ambitious but fully mature. He was due to play up front alongside Dimitar Berbatov, an incredibly elegant player who already enjoyed a good reputation on the European stage at this point.

In an interview with the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, Kies recently looked back to the beginnings: "Berbatov signed for Tottenham and I suddenly had a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. That was pressure I hadn't known up to that point and I wasn't able to deal with it. For many people, I was the most expensive Bratwurst from Nuremberg. I needed a bit of time to settle in." That feeble Bratwurst joke soon proved to be a serious misjudgment. The newcomer worked hard, got stuck into every training session as if it was the last and refused to allow himself to be discouraged by anything or anyone..

There was no doubt he had made the move to stay. At the same time, it was hard to imagine that it would be a dozen years. Bayer 04 honorary captain Bernd Schneider, who has a similar relationship in his association with the club and the fans and played alongside him for many years: "It was really difficult for him at the start. I often admired his passion and his determination that kept him going. Stefan is definitely an important figure in the history of Bayer 04. As a person he is considerate, helpful and humorous," said the former Bayer 04 number 25 who hung up his boots in May 2010.

The potential of the third place winner at the 2010 World Cup was not only evident in 2007/08, where Kießling worked his way into the Germany squad under Joachim Löw with 16 goals and nine assists but in the summer he missed out on being included in the squad for the Euros in Austria and Switzerland, which he had to watch at home on TV. A situation that did not really improve over time but he did have the opportunity to show what he could do at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa after the central striker and enjoyed an impressive season (21 goals, seven assists) under the Bayer 04 coach at the time Jupp Heynckes.

Germany did finish third but Kies did not get past his reserve role under Joachim Löw. The former Werkself number 11 was neither impressed nor influenced by that Andy just accepted it. In a phase where Germany were not at their best, the "kilometre eater", as the Frankfurter Rundschau called himat the end of his career, produced one great performance after the next that saw him end up at the last minute as top goalscorer (25 goals) in 2013 against Hamburg SV and his former teammate René Adler.

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In moments like that, players like Stefan Kießling don't think of their own individual success but rather that of the whole team. "Every title in football is a team title. My top goalscorer award was a success for the whole team and for all the members of staff." As a thank you, he presented a little gift to everybody involved in his success. "I had a small copy of the top goalscorer trophy made up for everyone and I presented them personally as a thank you to my compatriots." Stefan Kießling, a popular figure and team player through and through. "He was not only incredibly hard-working but a player who did everything for the team both in attack and defence. Today it's rare to see team players like that," Jupp Heynckes says remembering Kießling, join the elite circle of the 400 club on 3 March 2018 in the away game at VfL Wolfsburg. The only other player to clock up 400 appearances at Leverkusen before him was Rüdiger Vollborn who played 401 games for Bayer 04. Even in situations like that, the 36-year-old retains his call and confirmed his image of a quiet, down-to-earth and honourable soul: "I can only say for myself that I'm very, very happy with everything. The way it was was a great time for me."

Loyalty to a club, if you believe the actions of many players in an age of modern football nomadism, has become an inexpensive commodity with a very limited best-before date. Stefan Kießling remained loyal to Bayer 04 for 12 years although there was never a lack of interested suitors and concrete offers as is only to be expected with a player of that class. Again and again, he extended his contract, demonstrated his private and professional well-being and always kept refreshing his career to the admiration of the fans. "Because it was always important to me to feel good. I never had the urge to take the next step somewhere else. Never mind further development etc. I could and can carry on developing really well at Bayer 04," he said.

At the start of his career, it was up in the air whether he could concentrate on football. "I did a placement as a chef and I could have gone on to be trained as a chef in a five-star hotel. But when I was at the interview with the head of the hotel with my mother and he told me that I would have to work Saturdays and Sundays every two weeks then I stood up and just said okay mum you can sort it out. I was already playing football at time and could never have done the two together," said the amateur chef. "I still get lots of fun from cooking," said the former striker in an interview a few years ago. Reason enough to bring out his first cookbook with the title "Successful recipes – How to get results with your cooking skills." Even while he was playing, he was happy to be at the cooker as he often showed in his recent past in his old flat. Together with the team chef Alexander Wagner, the former striker cooked for 17 Silver Lions in the Barmenia Lounge and was available afterwards for questions and photographs.

Home! A concept that appears to be tailor-made for our club legend. The 36-year-old has not only established deep roots on the sporting front but he has discovered true happiness in the Rhineland. "Leverkusen and the club have long been my home. I got to know my wife Norina here and my children were born here as well. And this is where I became an adult."

In addition to cooking, the man born in Bamberg has a passion for crime stories as he revealed in an interview with the actor Jan-Gregor Kremp ('Der Alte'): "I grew up with crime stories. I still remember how the whole family used to watch crime series on television. It was always a good guessing game about who the perpetrator was. The day I read a lot of crime stories and thrillers because I love the excitement and this completely specific plot." Stefan Kießling also had to deal with the role of a baddie over the course of his career and draw his own very personal lessons. "After the ghost goal at Hoffenheim it absolutely wasn't a good phase for me. In reaction to that, I deleted my Facebook account couple of months later," the striker announced a short time afterwards.

The every day of the keen traveller is reflected in his employment at Bayer 04 since 1 October 2018. Alongside Rudi Völler, Stefan Kießling works as an adviser to the management board. The move from the pitch to the office behind a desk was not really that hard for the father of two. "I know everything you can do on the pitch. Now it's about learning close-up how a club actually works, how it's managed, how the different departments work and how everything is interconnected and what is most valuable. It's an exciting task that presents with a challenge and also helps me develop," said the popular figure with a clear vision:

"What's important to me: I'd like to be at the table when it's about making decisions, when it's a matter of building structures or changing things in the club. I'd like to be able to influence things. And I'm grateful that I'm able to do that. I'm here, where I played for 12 years, where I always felt at home and where I discovered love." In his position he definitely feels absolutely welcome and supported. "Of course, I'd like to help shape things and in principle I'm always involved whether that's with signing players or rebuilding measures, structures. My opinion is definitely asked for. It's a healthy, good exchange that we have with each other. I can talk to everybody."

Leverkusen, BayArena, Bismarckstraße: Even after 12 years as a player, the absolute crowd favourite is carrying on where so much began. "UFFTA – UFFTA –UFFTA…" to a great athlete.

A career in numbers:

First Bundesliga game for Bayer 04
on 12 August 2006 in the 3-0 season opener against Alemannia Aachen. Stefan provided the assist for the third goal scored by Simon Rolfes.

First Bundesliga goal for Bayer 04
on 11 November 2006 to make it 1-1 in the 3-2 home defeat against Bayern Munich.

144
goals (131 for Bayer 04/13 for Nürnberg), that Stefan Kießling scored, puts him in 17th place in the all-time Bundesliga stats. Ulf Kirsten is sixth in this ranking with 181 goals, Rudi Völler 22nd with 132.

The fastest goal

Kies opened the scoring on 24 seconds in the 3-1 home win against FC Kaiserslautern in April 2012.

Number one in the air
Since headed goals were first recorded in 2004/05, no other player has been successful in aerial battles as Kies who scored 40 goals with his head. Second in this list are Kevin Kuranyi and Mario Gomez each with 34 headed goals.

Two hat-tricks, 16 braces
Kies scored twice in 16 games and netted hat-tricks twice: in the 4-0 win against VfB Stuttgart in November 2009 and in the 4-1 at Nürnberg in May 2012.

The Swabian bogeyman
He scored most often against VfB Stuttgart, 14 times in 21 games.

Match number 279

Kies achieved a great dream when he won the top goalscorers trophy the only goal of the game in the 1-0 winner against Hamburg SV in May 2013. Since then no other German player has scored more than 25 Bundesliga goals in a season.