The Werkself line-up is unchanged from the defeat in Dortmund. The two defences are dominant for long stretches of the game with safety first the byword from the kick-off. Christian Wörns nets the opener on 36 minutes, which forces MSV Duisburg to be more adventurous in the second half. Bayer 04 are unable to exploit the space on offer and the match ends in a deserved 1-0 win and third place in the table behind FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund.
Everything’s set up. Sunday 24 February 2002, 17.30 CET, the floodlights are on for the top of the table clash on matchday 24 between second-placed Bayer 04 and league leaders Borussia Dortmund. The BayArena is sold out with a capacity crowd of 22,500 and all of Leverkusen wants to go top. After an impressive start by the visitors and a goal from the Brazilian player Ewerthon unjustly ruled out, the team under coach Klaus Toppmöller wake up. The Werkself miss chance after chance but go 1-0 up on 32 minutes with a goal from Michael Ballack.
The Yellow and Blacks are unable to withstand the Bayer 04 attacks in the second half. With goals from Carsten Ramelow, Oliver Neuville and Dimitar Berbatov, Bayer 04 deservedly seal a 4-0 win and go top of the table. HERE is the footage.
Harry Gniech was born on 14 October 1951 in Leverkusen-Schlebusch. At the age of six, he joined SV Bayer 04, initially in the athletics section. The boy actually wanted to play football, but was only allowed to switch to the football team when he turned nine. Harry quickly established himself as a playmaker in midfield. Despite his talent, the path from the youth team to the first-team squad was a long one back then. In the 1973–74 season, his former U19 coach, Friedhelm Renno – who was by then in charge of Bayer 04’s first team – selected him for his first match with the professional squad.
Show more
Henrique Adriano Buss, known as Henrique, was born on 14 October 1986 in Marechal Cândido Rondon, a town in the Brazilian state of Paraná. At the age of 13, he joined Coritiba FC and made the step up to the first team in 2006. Henrique helped the team gain promotion to the Brazilian top flight and then moved on to Palmeiras FC. After just five matches for his new club, the 1.85-metre-tall centre-back was signed by Barcelona in 2008 for ten million euros and loaned to Bayer 04 for one year for a fee of €400,000.
Show more
Constant Djakpa was born on 17 October 1986 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He started playing football at the age of five. He took his first steps in professional football at Stella Club d’Adjamé, before moving on to Sogndal IL in Norway. His path eventually led him to Germany via the Romanian club Pandurii Târgu Jiu.
Show more
In this video you can see impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 from the month of October. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
Show more
In the first week of October 1966, professional footballers decided to take an unusual step – they went on strike. They felt compelled to resort to this action, which was relatively uncommon until then, to give greater weight to their demands for fair pay. They reasoned that, with three draws, they were entitled to a bonus; at the very least, a points bonus of 75 Deutschmarks that was agreed before the start of the season.
Show more
