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After the war, he moved to Slavonski Brod in Croatia, where he joined NK Marsonia. There, the uncompromising man-marker made his breakthrough at senior level. In 1996, he signed for the Zagreb club NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac - which translates as "Croatian Volunteers". During this time, Zivkovic also attracted attention and made his first appearances for the Croatia U21 team.
His talent did not go unnoticed abroad. Bayer 04 boss Reiner Calmund became aware of the robust defender and brought him to the Bundesliga in 1997. Over the next six years, Boris became an integral part of the Werkself. He made 208 appearances and scored 12 goals. And on 14 October in Bremen, he also kept goal for three minutes after Bayer 04 keeper Pascal Zuberbühler was sent off and the Werkself had already used the maximum number of substitutes quota. Boris was unable to save the ensuing penalty, but he was not tested in the final minutes of the game. With the Werkself, he was a runner-up three times and reached the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2002. Even though the legendary final against Real Madrid ended in defeat, that season will be remembered as one of the most important in the club's history.
After the difficult 2002/2003 season, when Bayer 04 only avoided relegation on the final matchday, Boris joined Portsmouth in England. Although he would have liked to stay at Leverkusen, the club could no longer afford his wages. Boris rejected a lower offer - and he went to England.
However, his stay in England was short-lived. After just one year, he returned to the Bundesliga - this time to VfB Stuttgart. But things didn't really go to plan for the defender in Swabia: In two years, he only made 23 Bundesliga appearances. In the 2005/06 season, he was loaned out to FC Köln, but even in the cathedral city of Cologne he was denied a place in the starting eleven.
In the 2006/2007 season, Boris finally moved on to Croatia to join Hajduk Split. There he regained his former strength and became a regular player. After three successful years, he ended his playing career in 2009.
Boris can also look back on an impressive career on the international stage. During his time in Leverkusen, he was called up to the Croatia team for the first time and he played in the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. Although he was shown a red card in the first group game, he made a total of 39 appearances for his home country and was regarded as one of Croatia's most reliable defenders.
Even after the end of his career, he remained loyal to football. He is an occasional guest at the BayArena and, when time permits, plays for the Bayer 04 Veterans team. Boris Zivkovic has been married to his wife Ivona for over 20 years. Together they have a son who now plays for Dinamo Zagreb - following in his father's footsteps.
Dear Boris, I wish you all the best for your 50th birthday! Stay healthy and celebrate.
Minas Hantzidis was born on 4 July 1966 in Kettwig, near Essen, and he grew up in Germany. He developed a passion for football at a young age and, whilst still a youth player, moved from Wuppertaler SV to Bayer 04. The attacking and goal-scoring midfielder then made a name for himself in his first senior season at Bayer 04. In the reserve team, he scored goal after goal in the first half of the season, soon began training with the first team and was brought on as a substitute for the first time by manager Erich Ribbeck on 22 November 1985 in a home match against Bayern Munich.
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Sascha was born on 3 July 1986 in Leverkusen. He is the son of former Bundesliga 2 player Manfred Dum, who mainly scored goals for Union Solingen but also played for FC Saarbrücken, SC Freiburg and Wuppertaler SV. Sascha started playing for the youth teams at HSV Langenfeld at an early age. There, he caught the eye of scouts from Bayer 04 and joined the club at a young age. Following a growth spurt in the U15 team, which forced him to take a nine-month break, the left-footed player finally had the ideal conditions to establish himself in the Bayer 04 youth ranks. Even as an U17 player, he made the leap into the U19 team. Blessed with immense pace, Sascha primarily played in attacking midfield. Not the most technically gifted, but possessing a powerful shot, he found himself training with the first team in the summer of 2005 alongside Gonzalo Castro, while he was still a U19 player.
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The Werkself could not have hoped for a better start to the Bundesliga 2 North season in 1976/77. At the end of a week-long training camp in Quickborn, Schleswig-Holstein, coach Willibert Kremer’s side secured two convincing victories over BSC Brunsbüttel (5–0) and TuS Holstein Quickborn (6–0). Following this flying start, Bayer 04 faced a considerably tougher challenge on 23 July 1976 at 19:30 CEST at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium against Bundesliga side Karlsruher SC.
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On 27 June 2001, new head coach Klaus Toppmöller and his assistant Peter Hermann led the Werkself out of the changing rooms for their first training session. Joining them as they stepped onto the pitch at training ground 1 were the four new signings: Hans Jörg Butt, Yildiray Bastürk (with special permission from VfL Bochum, as Bayer 04 and VfL had not yet agreed on a transfer fee), Zoltan Sebescen and Michael Zepek, the record holder for appearances for the youth national team.
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Hans Sarpei was born on 28 June 1976 in Tema, Ghana, and came to Germany with his parents at the age of three, where he grew up in Cologne. Even before he was born, his mother and father worked in Hamburg in the import-export sector. There they met an older man who introduced them to German culture and supported them. Out of gratitude, Hans was later given his first name, although this man died before he was born. Hans comes from a sporting family; his older brother Edward and his nephews Hans Nunoo Sarpei and Kingsley Sarpei were or are also professional footballers.
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