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Calli brought Atze to Leverkusen in his second year as a U19 player. Together with his future teammates, the Bayer 04 youth players Manfred Pomp and Frank Glaß, he was a runner-up at the 1982 youth European Championships with the U16 national team. He stepped up to the Werkself Bundesliga squad after a year in the Bayer 04 youth teams. Playing behind the strike partners Bum-kun Cha and Herbert Waas, he was the third player in attack under his patron Dettmar Cramer and he played ten games in his first year in the Bundesliga. His first Bundesliga goal was an equaliser at 1-1 in the away game at VfB Stuttgart on matchday 25. He played more for the Bayer 04 Reserves in his second season. That was because Bum-kun Cha and Herbert Waas were joined up front by new signing Christian Schreier and centre-forward Falko Götz, who was entitled to play for the Werkself from November 1984 a year after fleeing from the GDR. The competition in attack was too much.
When Erich Ribbeck took over as coach of the Bayer 04 team in the summer of 1985, he turned the two central strikers Christian Schreier and Falko Götz into a defensive and an offensive midfielder respectively. He also succeeded in turning Atze into a right-back. From matchday eight the right side of the Werkself was: right-back Thomas Zechel, right defensive midfielder Christian Schreier, right attacking midfielder Falko Götz. Coach Erich Ribbeck turned three centre-forwards into a really dangerous attacking right side. Bayer 04 finished in a UEFA Cup spot for the first time at the end of the season. Atze played a big part in that. He played in 29 games and scored five goals.
After a middling next season with just 20 appearances, he had even less minutes on the pitch in the UEFA Cup season 1987/88 and he suffered more injuries. Nevertheless, the UEFA Cup trophy with Bayer 04 was his biggest sporting success. In his six years at Leverkusen, Atze made 77 appearances and scored six goals for the Werkself.
From 1988 he changed clubs every year. From Hannover via Waldhof Mannheim to Schalke 04 – those were his next clubs. His coach at Schalke was Peter Neururer who signed him for FC Saarbrücken in 1991. He became a first-team regular there in the next two years and gained promotion to the Bundesliga with the Saarland team who were then relegated again a year later. Thomas Zechel ended his professional playing career after a less than satisfying 1993/94 season.
He liked Saarland so much that he settled there with his wife. He played for and coached lower league teams in Saarland. In addition, the father of a daughter opened a garage, which was soon his main profession. Today he is the boss of his own firm that mainly deals with the preparation of ambulances.
Dear Atze, all the best, above all stay healthy, on your 60th. Have a great time and enjoyed the day.
Wolfgang Vöge was born on 15 September 1955 in Ahlen, Westphalia and he was the fourth of seven children of a miner. His father, Erich Vöge, was a football referee as well. At an early age, Wolle, as he was called by his friends and teammates, developed a great passion for football and was an enthusiastic fan of BVB. His first success in football was achieved in the amateur game at his hometown club of SV Ahlen. He scored 26 goals in the first season and he came to the attention of scouts. That led to his move to Borussia Dortmund in 1975.
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Andreas Thom was born on 7 September 1965 in Rüdersdorf near Berlin in Brandenburg. Andreas displayed an exceptional talent on the ball even as a child. Early on, he joined the youth section at BFC Dynamo Berlin, one of the leading football clubs in the German Democratic Republic. There he received targeted, performance-oriented training as part of the GDR sports system. His talent, his vision and his technique led him to make his debut in the first team at BFC Dynamo at the age of 17.
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Jens Melzig was born in Cottbus on 28 September 1965. Melle, as he was called at Leverkusen, started his playing career at his hometown club Energie Cottbus. As a young player there he soon stood out thanks to his strength in challenges and his ability to read the game. He was in the Energie Cottbus first team in 1984 and he played for the club in the GDR league and the Oberliga. With 144 appearances and twelve goals he became one of the big players in defence. He made a major contribution to the club during this period – as a strong-tackling central defender who also displayed leadership qualities.
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Lucio, full name Lucimar Ferreira da Silva, was born on 8 May 1978 in Planaltina, a suburb of the Brazilian capital Brasília. He showed his passion for football even as a child. On the dusty streets of his neighbourhood he spent hours chasing the ball – often in bare feet like many Brazilian children. Despite the simple conditions he grew up in, his family always supported his dream of one day becoming a great football player. He made his first steps in club football at small local clubs before moving onto the youth set-up at the club Guará and later he singed for the big club Internacional Porto Alegre. Bayer 04 signed the internationally completely unknown defender from there in January 2000.
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In this video you can watch impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 in the month of September. It is not always about the beauty of the goals but also about remembering special games and players.
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