It looked like a lost cause after the 3-0 defeat in the first leg in Barcelona. And yet, hope and promise lay in the Leverkusen air on the evening of 18 May 1988. The crowd were waving flags with 18,000 Bayer 04 fans amongst the 22,000 at the Haberland Stadium, that was being redeveloped, singing loud in hope of creating a sensation. The West Stand was a skeleton with a couple of hundred temporary seats installed at short notice to cater for the club staff and journalists. What followed was a performance by the Werkself that has not lost any of its drama and emotion after 32 years. Bayer 04 TV brought highlights of the second leg of the 1988 UEFA Cup final...
30 years later there was a big anniversary celebration at the 1904 Lounge at the BayArena: The UEFA Cup heroes of 1988 were clearly full of joy at that reunion.
Match information:
Bayer 04: Vollborn – Rolff – Seckler, A. Reinhardt – Schreier (Waas 46’), Cha, Buncol, Falkenmayer, K. Reinhardt – Götz, Tita (Täuber 62’)
Espanyol: N'Kono – Miguel Angel – Job, Gallard, Urkiaga – Orejuela (Zubillaga 67’), Inaki, Golobart (Zuniga 73’), Soler – Alonso, Losada
Goals: 1-0 Tita (58’), 2-0 Götz (63’), 3-0 Cha (81’)
Penalty shootout: Rolff, Waas and Täuber scored for Bayer 04, Alonso and Job for Espanyol
Referee: Keizer (Netherlands)
Booked: A. Reinhardt, K. Reinhardt – Miguel Angel, Zubillaga
Attendance: 22,000 (sold out)
In glorious sunshine and temperatures of around 30 degrees Celsius, the Bayer 04 Women have begun their preparations for the new season. With a relaxed first session at the Kurtekotten training centre, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team became the first Bundesliga side to resume training after a 37-day break.
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Black and Red stand out. Under the slogan ‘Diversity under the Cross’, Bayer 04 took part in Pride on the Rhine at the weekend alongside the queer fan club “Bayer 04 Junxx”. The club mascot, Brian the Lion, and several members of staff were also in attendance, championing diversity and solidarity.
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Centre-back Melissa Friedrich is set to remain at Bayer 04 for another year. The longest-serving player in the squad, who joined the club in 2016, has extended her contract to 2027.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Portugal U21 international Afonso Moreira. The 21-year-old winger joins the club from French top-flight side Olympique Lyon on a contract to 30 June 2031. In France last year, the left-winger made 37 appearances in Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and the UEFA Europa League, scoring a total of eight goals and providing eleven assists.
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