After the winter break, Bayer 04 played their first two league matches against Hamburger SV and away to FC Köln. In both matches, the Werkself trailed 2-0 at half-time. In both games, Minas Hantzidis was brought on as a substitute – against HSV at half-time, and in the derby on 55 minutes. And he played a key role in Bayer 04 turning both matches round to secure 3–2 wins. With his lively style of play, Hantzidis caused the opposition defences no end of trouble and finally secured a place in the starting line-up in April.
serious injury breaks his run
During his third start, whilst challenging for the ball at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, an FC Bayern player fouled him so badly that he was sidelined for several months with a broken ankle. Incidentally, the foul wasn’t even penalised.
It was not until March of the following year, 1987, that he was back in contention for Bayer 04 and was once again brought on as a substitute in the home match against BVB. As his situation – coming off the bench time and again – showed no sign of changing, Minas decided to move on to VfL Bochum in October 1987, having made 28 appearances for Bayer 04. But after just two months, he was drawn to Greece to join Olympiacos, where he quickly established himself as a key player. In Greece, he played lots of matches in the top flight and was one of the country’s best-known midfielders for many years.
