As a teenager he played for SpVg Brakel and he broke through to the first XI at his hometown club. In a game against the Schalke 04 second team he was spotted by their then general manager Rudi Assauer and he brought him to Gelsenkirchen in 1987. Together with his older brother Michael, who joined Schalke from FC Köln, he was unable to prevent the team getting relegated. Claus-Dieter was approached by Bayer 04 in 1988 and he signed for Leverkusen.
Under coach Rinus Michels, ‘Pelle’, as he was ironically known in our team, as he could not really be compared to the football ability of the Brazilian star, did not get a good deal. He only made nine appearances, seven in the Bundesliga and one each in the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Cup. The attacking midfielder with a very good left foot could not find a berth in the Dutch system of the former Netherlands coach. After that disappointing season he moved on to Bundesliga 2.
Initially at VfL Osnabrück, then Hertha Berlin and VfL Wolfsburg. He just missed out on promotion with the Wolves but reached the DFB Pokal final. VfL lost 3-0 to Borussia Mönchengladbach in Berlin. Wollitz had great success a year later with a move to FC Kaiserslautern. He was relegated from the Bundesliga with the team from the Pfalz but he came on in the Pokal final in Berlin on 87 minutes and a 1-0 win against Karlsruher SC made him a DFB Pokal winner. Then he returned to Bundesliga 2 to play for KFC Uerdingen.
After two years with the side from Krefeld he moved on to FC Köln. Wollitz played there for three seasons in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. He made 48 appearances for the Goats. His next and final club was the Oberliga team TuS Lingen. Claus-Dieter Wollitz hung up his boots after one season in 2002.
From that point he dedicated himself to his second career – as a coach. His first job in 2003 was taking over the reins at KFC Uerdingen. After a year in Krefeld he went to VfL Osnabrück – another club where he had played. He achieved promotion to Bundesliga 2 with the Lower Saxony club in 2007. During the season he completed his coaching course and he kept Osnabrück up until 2009. After relegation in 2009 Wollitz took charge of Energie Cottbus after they went down from the Bundesliga.
However, together with his assistant coach Markus Feldhoff, also a former Bayer 04 player, he was unable to take them up straight away. In 2011/12 Wollitz asked to be released by club for personal, sporting and family reasons.
He returned to VfL Osnabrück as head coach on 1 January 2012. After two very successful years in Lower Saxony and eighteen months at Viktoria Köln he went back to Cottbus for a second spell.
After nearly four years with promotion and relegation between the Regional League and the third division ways parted for Energie Cottbus and Pele Wollitz on 1 January 2020 – the club were top of the Regional League North East at the time. But the coach would not be away for long.
He coached FC Magdeburg for 18 months but Wollitz has been back in the Energie dugout since 18 May 2021.
With his genuine and emotional leadership style, that can lead to angry outbursts from time to time, Pele finally took Energie Cottbus back to the third division in 2024 as champions of the Regional League North East after five years in the fourth tier. Cottbus not only stayed up comfortably but were close to a remarkable finish: On the final matchday, they lose third spot due to defeat at home and the chance to go up to Bundesliga 2.
Claus-Dieter Wollitz, father of three daughters, lives in Brandenburg and is 60 this month.
Dear Pele, I wish you many happy returns on your birthday. Stay as you are!
Zoltan Sebescen was born on 1 October 1975 in Ehingen and he started playing football as a child. His talent stood out early on and he was accepted into the youth section at Stuttgarter Kickers in 1982. There he progressed through all the youth teams and continued to develop. His breakthrough in the men's game came in the mid-1990s, when he moved up to the Kickers first team squad. With his speed, dynamism and attacking drive, he soon made a name for himself beyond the region. He and his team were promoted from the Regional League South to Bundesliga 2 in 1996 and stayed in the league with Stuttgart for three years.
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Jens Nowotny was born on 11 January 1974 in Malsch, Baden-Württemberg. As a youngster, he played for SV Spielberg and Germania Friedrichstal and later joined the youth section at Karlsruher SC. As a 15-year-old, he became an integral part of the DFB national youth set-up and played for all of the Germany junior teams. One highlight was an U15 international against England at Wembley.
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It is Tuesday, 20 October 2015 - a Champions League night at the BayArena. The visitors: AS Roma. What awaits the spectators is a memorable football match full of drama, speed and emotion. The Werkself get off to a flying start and literally overrun the slightly favoured Italians in the early stages. The scoreline was 2-0 after just twenty minutes - both goals were scored by Mexico international Chicharito. Bayer 04 put the visitors under constant pressure with their aggressive pressing and bold attacking play and even had a chance to make it 3-0. Then the AS Roma captain Daniele De Rossi brought his team back into the game with a brace making it 2-2 at half-time.
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In the video you can see impressive and important goals in Bayer 04 history from the month of October. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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On 23 October 1960, a highly anticipated local derby took place in the DFB Pokal, which the team had to qualify for via the regional association cup competitions at the time: SV Schlebusch hosted the Werkself from Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Around 2,000 spectators flocked to the "Am Bühl" stadium to watch the game kicking off at 3 pm.
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