After winning the Middle Rhine championship, Bayer 04, with Rummel at the helm, beat Union Solingen and Arminia Hannover in the promotion play-offs to move up to Germany's second tier – establishing the base for promotion to the Bundesliga four years later.
Manfred Rummel's main job was as a PE teacher at the Essen Special School for children with learning disabilities. After his stay at Bayer 04 , he went on to coach ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen and Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. At both clubs he went on to be a member of management after his coaching roles: CEO at Essen, general manager and vice-president at Oberhausen. As a player, Manfred Rummel was a successful striker at Schwarz-Weiß Essen and in 1959 he played a significant part in the biggest success in the club's history in winning the DFB Cup. He scored both goals in the 2-1 semi-final victory over Hamburg SV and he also netted a brace in the 5-2 win in the final against Borussia Neunkirchen. In 1961/62 Manfred Rummel was the top scorer in the Oberliga West - the top tier in German football at the time - with 26 goals.
The Bayer 04 players were put through their paces at the Werkstatt – the club’s rehabilitation and training centre – on Sunday as they completed the first and main part of this year’s performance diagnostics. New signings Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Axel Tape, as well as players returning from their holidays, all did the customary medical and athletic tests.
Show moreThe team departs for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Monday for the Bayer 04 Brazil Tour 2025 from July 14-24. The preseason journey marks a change from recent training camps in the Austrian Alps and Black Forest and we caught up with CEO Fernando Carro to ask him about this summer's visit to Brazil.
Show moreMalik Tillman and the USA could not quite achieve the hoped-for big win in their own country. Last Monday’s final in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in Houston ended up in a 2-1 defeat for the hosts against Mexico. But the Bayer 04 new signing can be very happy with the course of the tournament and his own performances. Tillman was in the starting line-up for all six games. That concluded an impressive season for him after winning the Eredivisie title in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven. Bayer04.de profiles the 23-year-old new signing.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen have signed the USA international Malik Tillman. The 23-year-old attacking midfielder joins the Werkself from Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven. Tillman, with German roots and born in Nuremberg, has a contract at Leverkusen to 30 June 2030. He scored 16 goals and provided five assists in 34 games for PSV last season. Three of those goals and two assists were in six matches in the UEFA Champions League.
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