I thank you for twelve years of commitment, battle and passion for my club. Now you are ending your career together with your brother Sven – as is fitting for twins. With you I always knew what I'd get on the pitch. I loved watching you play!
For your future, I wish good health for you and your family, a role that fulfils you and one or two visits to the BayArena. Whenever we two 'football pensioners' meet again, you can tell me whether the legend is right. All the best, Lars!
The video clip shows you one or two highlights from Lars' twelve years at Bayer 04.
21 May is also the 25th anniversary of another end of a career. 2 days after the relegation thriller against FC Kaiserslautern, Rudi Völler played his personal farewell game at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. In front of a full house, 'Rudi's friends' played against Germany, the future you champions of Europe, and lost narrowly (1-2).
In the morning, Rudi asked me to come to the game as the second goalkeeper amongst his invited friends had to cry off at the last moment. Rudi played alongside his friends in the first half and with the national team in the second half and that was against me because I was allowed to play in the second half. I knew Rudi would be substituted on 70 minutes and that would obviously be after a goal if possible.
After I pulled off two terrific saves within a few minutes to keep out a shot and a header from Rudi, time was getting tight. The ball came into the penalty area around 75 minutes, I saw Rudi unmarked in front of me and he headed straight at my legs. I didn't manage to hold onto the ball and it ended up in the back of the net. So Rudi was able to do his well-deserved lap of honour.
Michael Ballack was born on 26 September 1976 in Görlitz, in what was then East Germany. His talent for football became apparent at an early age. After his family moved to Karl-Marx-Stadt – now Chemnitz – he began playing football for BSG Motor ‘Fritz Heckert’ Karl-Marx-Stadt, where he steadily developed his skills. From Year 7 onwards, he attended the Children’s and Youth Sports School and received systematic sporting support, which, in 1988 – due to his growing skill as a player – led to a move to FC Karl-Marx-Stadt. At the age of 16, he had to take a six-month break due to growth problems, but after that, Michael was unstoppable.
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José Elias Moedim Júnior, known as Zé Elias, was born on 25 September 1976 in São Paulo. He received his football training at Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, or Corinthians for short, and was promoted to the first team at the age of just 17. PSV Eindhoven had already taken notice of him by this stage, but the move to Europe was still too early for him. The tenacious defensive midfielder established himself in the first team over the following three years. With Corinthians, Zé Elias won the São Paulo City Championship and the Brazilian Cup in 1995. With his excellent vision, his determination and his assured ball control, he made a significant contribution to his team’s success.
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In their second season in Bundesliga 2 North, the Werkself face Fortuna Köln at their home ground, the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, on matchday 7. Both teams are level on seven points, sitting eighth and ninth in the table.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 from the month of September. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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September gets off to a disastrous start, though not for the Werkself: the German national team, featuring Bayer 04 players Jens Nowotny, Michael Ballack and Oliver Neuville, suffer a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of England in a World Cup qualifier at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. Jens Nowotny, in particular, came in for sharp criticism. With this defeat, Germany’s direct qualification is now hanging in the balance.
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