Bayer 04 mourns the passing of Dieter Herzog

joined Leverkusen as a world cup winner

He was one of the great personalities of Bayer football from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s and worked for the club's scouting department for a long time afterwards. When Dieter Herzog moved from Bundesliga club Fortuna Düsseldorf to Leverkusen in 1976, football people in Germany were astonished. What did a World Cup winner want with the second division club in Leverkusen? Two years earlier at the World Cup in his home country, Herzog played his part as a left winger in the wins against Yugoslavia (2-0) and Sweden (4-2) on the way to lifting the World Cup against the Netherlands (2-1).

promotion to the Bundesliga with the Werkself

The Oberhausen-born player was quickly convinced when he received the offer from Leverkusen. "The club had big sporting ambitions and also offered me career prospects after I stopped playing," said Herzog, explaining his decision. At the factory, he worked in sports advertising in the mornings and travelled to training in the afternoons. Under the new head coach Willibert Kremer, the then 30-year-old quickly took on a leadership role, became captain of the team and was a tireless driving force, goalscorer and provider in the 1978/79 Bundesliga promotion season. "We had a great team back then, and there was a wonderful camaraderie. At some point, it just ran itself," Herzog later recalled this milestone in Bayer 04's history with particular fondness. The promotion to the top flight of German football with Leverkusen was as important to him as winning the World Cup, which was to remain his only trophy.

Herzog was a child of the Ruhr region. And it never occurred to him to move away from his hometown of Oberhausen. "My whole family comes from the Ruhr. We like being Ruhr people," he once said on a Werkself podcast. The people there are straightforward and down-to-earth. Just like himself. Herzog began playing football at Spielvereinigung Sterkrade and, after spells at VfB Bottrop, where he played alongside his future Leverkusen team-mate Fred Bockholt, and Hamborn 07, he signed for Fortuna Düsseldorf. His career really took off during his six years there (1970 - 1976). From the 1971/72 season onwards, he didn't miss a single Bundesliga match in three consecutive seasons.

The fast, dribbling left winger developed into one of the best wingers in Germany and was called up to the national team by coach Helmut Schön shortly before the World Cup in his own country. Because he was actually a right-footer, he spent hours in training hitting crosses from the left and soon actually crossed better with the left rather than the right foot. He was particularly pleased to receive praise from legendary coach Udo Lattek. "Even world-class players sometimes look bad up against Dieter Herzog," Lattek once said after a Fortuna match against his Bayern team, because FCB defender Johnny Hansen had been "outwitted" by Herzog time and time again. His Mönchengladbach Germany team-mate Berti Vogts also often only knew how to help himself against the technically strong attacker "when he pulled out the scythe", as Herzog once said in his typical, dryly humorous tone.

The striker, who often played in midfield towards the end of his career, made a total of 193 appearances for Bayer 04 and scored 29 goals. He probably scored his most important goal in 1982 in the first play-off match to stay in the Bundesliga in a 1-0 win against Kickers Offenbach. Bayer 04 also won the second leg 2-1 to remain in the top flight. Dieter Herzog ended his playing career in 1983 at the age of almost 37 and, fittingly, made his final appearance in an away match in Düsseldorf.

loyal to Bayer 04: Calli gives him Scouting role

Dieter Herzog remained at Bayer 04 for years to come. Reiner Calmund appointed him to the scouting department and sent the former player on business trips around the globe. Herzog, who had never travelled abroad as a player, was now constantly on the road watching players and matches. "Calli would sometimes call on a Wednesday and say: 'Dieter, you have to go to Brazil for ten days on Saturday'." Herzog, for whom Bayer 04 had long since become a second home, said he enjoyed his new job and found it fulfilling for many years.

Dieter Herzog and Bayer - this relationship was characterised by the highest mutual esteem. The club was close to his heart - and he was close to the club, its employees and the fans of the Black and Reds.

Dieter Herzog passed away this week at the age of 79. He will be remembered for ever at Bayer 04 as a player, colleague and special human being.