Stories from the history
From "all the best" through "what is actually…?“ through to "my biggest duel": Over the course of the intervening year, numerous profiles, interviews and stories have appeared on bayer04.de, which tell exciting and interesting stories from the history of Bayer 04.
Profiles
The cult coach and 'philosopher' is 75: Happy Birthday, Stepi.
He was one of the most colourful characters in the Bundesliga in the 1990s and established himself as an idiosyncratic coach with the qualities of an entertainer. Dragoslav Stepanovic won his only trophy as a coach with Bayer 04 in 1993. Nevertheless, the charismatic Serb is seen as one of the big coaching personalities in German football. Today he is 75 years old. Happy birthday, Stepi. A profile on his birthday…
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Many happy returns, Erich Ribbeck
He was the first coach to take Bayer 04 into a European competition in 1986 and two years later he won the UEFA Cup. Erich Ribbeck today celebrates his 85th birthday. We take a look back at his career.
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Falko Götz: Everything has come full circle in Leverkusen
Falko Götz settled here in his mid-50s. A couple of years ago, he built a second house with his wife Rita in Odenthal. The first, which the couple moved into over 30 years ago, is only 800 metres away. The former player and coach says everything has come full circle in a wonderful way. Falko Götz began a new life in Leverkusen in 1983 after his adventurous defection from the GDR. On this Saturday, 26 March, our UEFA Cup winner, who has been back at Bayer 04 since 2019, today celebrates his 60th birthday.
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Happy 70th birthday, Peter Hermann
He has been a member of the Bayer 04 family for over 45 years and still feels he has a very close connection to the club: On this Tuesday, 22 March, Peter Hermann celebrates his 70th birthday. Bayer 04 wholeheartedly congratulates our longstanding player, promotion hero and coach and takes this opportunity to enable former teammates and colleagues such as Rudi Völler, Stefan Kießling, Bernd Schneider, Jürgen Gelsdorf, Jupp Heynckes and Klaus Toppmöller to show their appreciation.
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Assimiou Touré autobiography - Well worth a read
The former Bayer 04 player and Togo international writes in his book about how he came to feel at home in Germany, how his sporting career took off at Leverkusen and the highs and lows plus dramatic moments he experienced along the way. And also about how he returned to Leverkusen. The now 33-year-old is a scout at Bayer 04 – and he is also involved in projects in Africa as a 'German Togolese'.
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Happy Birthday, Matthias Brücken. The promotion striker turns 70
He was the first top striker in recent Bayer 04 history: Matthias Brücken made a significant contribution to promotion to the Bundesliga with his 24 goals in the 1978/79 season. Four years earlier, he netted 26 goals in the second division. The Frechen-born former player celebrates his 70th birthday. Bayer 04 wish the promotion hero many happy returns and took the opportunity for a short interview.
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Erich Seckler: "I was never a typical football player"
It's not easy to get hold of him on the phone. On the one hand, Erich Seckler was never one for public appearances and, on the other hand, the 59-year-old is very busy at work. The 1988 UEFA Cup winner even had to keep disappearing during our interview to lend a hand here or solve a technical problem there. Children often come into his office asking for a ball. Erich Seckler, who played for Bayer 04 between 1980 and 1992, today works as a caretaker at a primary school in Düsseldorf. In an interview with bayer04.de, the former central defender talks about his love for the job he does, how he became a professional footballer back then, his memories of the 2-2 draw against Feyenoord 35 years ago today and why he tried stage diving after the second leg of the final against Espanyol.
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Berbatov: ‘Easy goals bored me’
This Sunday is a double special day for Dimitar Berbatov: The former Bayer 04 top striker, who scored 69 goals and provided 32 assists in 154 Bundesliga matches for the Black and Reds, today celebrates his 41st birthday. In addition, it is the 20th anniversary of his Goal of the Month in the DFB Cup tie against TSV 1860 Munich (3-0). To mark the anniversary and his stats, we asked the Bulgarian record goalscorer, who came to Leverkusen in 2001 at the age of 19 and stayed for five and a half years, about his outstanding goal and good advice for young strikers.
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Hat-trick hero Fischer: ‘There are days when everything just comes off’
Andreas Fischer, known by the nickname ‘Fischi’, played for the Black and Reds from 1989 to 1994. He made 181 appearances for Bayer 04 in that time and scored 19 goals along the way. The now 57-year-old scored three of them exactly 30 years ago today – and that earned him a place in the Black and Red history books.
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Derdiyok: ‘I was on cloud nine’
Ten years ago, Eren Derdiyok scored a wonder goal with an overhead kick in the 3-1 win in the Bundesliga match against VfL Wolfsburg and it was voted the September Goal of the Month in 2011. In an interview with bayer04.de, the 33-year-old with Turkish roots not only recalls that special goal but also talks about his time in Turkey, his unusual move to Central Asia and his Swiss fellow countrymen Gerardo Seoane.
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120 years of Bayer 04 Leverkusen: an eventful history
The 2023/24 season was a historic one in many respects for Bayer 04. The Werkself were crowned champions for the first time in their history, lifted the DFB Pokal for the second time after 1993, and reached a European final for the third time after the UEFA Cup triumph of 1988 and 2002 Champions League runners-up finish. The fact all these events came in the year the club celebrates its 120th birthday makes the milestone year even more special. So, time for a look back on the beginnings of the gymnastics club that soon became one of Europe’s biggest football clubs.
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120 years of Bayer 04 Leverkusen: Timeline
The 2023/24 season was a historic one in many respects for Bayer 04. The Werkself were crowned champions for the first time in their history, lifted the DFB Pokal for the second time after 1993, and reached a European final for the third time after the UEFA Cup triumph of 1988 and 2002 Champions League runners-up finish. The fact all these events came in the year the club celebrates its 120th birthday makes the milestone year even more special. So, time for a look back on the beginnings of the gymnastics club that soon became one of Europe’s biggest football clubs with our timeline.
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Letter from 27 November 1903: Basis for foundation of club in 1904
Bayer 04 celebrate a special anniversary next year. 1 July 1904 saw the foundation of the sports club from the paint factories called the ‘Turn- und Spielverein der Farbenfabriken vorm. Friedr. Bayer & Co. in Leverkusen’
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40 years ago: Relegation narrowly avoided
Just three years after promotion to the Bundesliga, Bayer 04 were battling to avoid the drop in the newly introduced relegation play-offs on 4 and 9 June 1982. The Werkself coach in the crucial matches against Kickers Offenbach was Gerd ‘Ömmes’ Kentschke. But Dettmar Cramer, appointed as the new head coach for the 1982/83 season, also played a role. We look back at the circumstances surrounding that battle of nerves 40 years ago.
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World Cup play-offs against Ukraine 2001 – Völler: 'I would have had to emigrate'
There could be hardly be a bigger contrast: When Germany play their final World Cup qualifier in Armenia on Sunday night, 14 November (kick-off: 18.00 CET), they will already be qualified for the tournament in Qatar in the winter of 2022. The situation was completely different exactly 20 years ago today. Germany under team boss Rudi Völler were involved in a play-off against Ukraine on 14 November 2001 for a place in the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea.
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