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!
Christoph Daum was born on 24 October 1953 in Zwickau. As a child, he moved to West Germany with his mother and grew up in Duisburg. He developed a great enthusiasm for football at an early age, even though it soon became clear that his future lay less on the pitch than on the sidelines. Even at a young age, his passion for analysing, explaining and improving things became apparent.
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When the Bayer 04 players celebrated Christmas in 1960, they spent the winter in second place in the Oberliga West 2 on 20 points - but already five points behind leaders Schwarz-Weiß Essen. However, coach Erich Garske's team are struggling to get back on track in the new year. A goalless draw against Bonner FV at home at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium was followed by a 2-1 away defeat in Erkenschwick. The following home game also yielded just one point. As a result, the team's promotion ambitions dwindled to a minimum, as the gap to the coveted spot has now grown to a challenging ten points.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in Bayer 04 history from the month of February. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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It is 11 February 2006 and Schalke 04 and the Werkself kick off at 3.30 p.m. in a match that ends up being historic - at least from a Bayer 04 perspective.
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As league leaders, the Werkself welcomed the relegation-threatened team from Rhenania Würselen. On 4 February 1951, 5,000 spectators line the touchlines despite the Sunday carnival parades. And they see a home team that is superior on the pitch. Without Theo Kirchberg, who was ill, and Emil Becks, who was suspended, the hosts attacked the opposing goal from the start. Battling against a strong wind in the first half, Bayer 04 created chance after chance, but were repeatedly thwarted by the Würselen goalkeeper. With the score at 0-0 at half-time, Karl Heinz Spikofski tried his luck on 55 minutes and hammered the ball into the opposition net from 20 metres out. Rhenania can no longer counterattack. The siege of the Würselen penalty area continued right to the end, but the game ended in a narrow 1-0 win.
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