Diego Placente, who stood out primarily with his tactical understanding and his ball-winning ability, played at left-back where he supported technical players like Zé Roberto and Yildiray Bastürk. But he also had to help out as a central defender from time to time, which he mastered in style.
Diego Placente made a total of 123 Bundesliga appearances and he scored three goals in the league. He did not find the back of the net in his 13 DFB Cup ties and 32 Champions League matches playing in our colours. Today he works as a youth coach with the Argentina Football Association and here he is primarily responsible for the U17 and U19 teams as the assistant coach.
A lot of Bayer 04 fans primarily remember a unique save by Diego: It is 30 April 2001 in the final minute of the Champions League semi-final between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Manchester United. The score is 1-1 and the Toppmöller team are giving their all to prevent conceding a second goal as that would mean being knocked out. Jörg Butt punched a cross out of the penalty area from outside the six-yard box and the ball landed at the feet of Diego Forlan and he hit it straight back over all the players towards the goal. The shot looked to be going in – and then Diego Placente made the save with a flying header. Never before – and I maintain never afterwards – was such a save, including saves from goalkeepers, cheered so loudly and enthusiastically as this flying header.
Feliz Cumpleaños, Diego and stay healthy.
Thomas Hörster was born in Essen on 27 November 1956. As a child, he took part in high diving and judo, but was also passionate about football. After starting out at Blau-Weiß Holsterhausen-Essen, he moved on to ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen. As a U19 player, he trained with the senior side for the first time. And at just under 18 years of age, Thommy – as he is known – made his debut in Bundesliga 2. Over two-and-a-half seasons, he made 71 appearances for Schwarz-Weiß Essen.
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Bernd Dreher was born in Leverkusen on 2 November 1966 and he began playing football at SV Schlebusch at the age of five. At the age of nine, he joined the youth academy at Bayer 04. There, the goalkeeper progressed through all the youth teams and, with the U19s in 1985, he reached the final of the German Championship, that Bayer 04 lost 4-2 to Eintracht Frankfurt.
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Robson Ponte was born on 6 November 1976 in São Paulo. He began his football career in Brazil with CA Juventus. He then played for América FC and Guarani FC. In 1999, he joined Bayer 04. Robson initially played for the Werkself until 2001. He then moved to VfL Wolfsburg on a two-year loan. There, he continued to develop and gained valuable experience in the Bundesliga. In 2003, he returned to Leverkusen, where he particularly showcased his dribbling skills and his ability in attacking midfield. In total, he made 79 appearances for Bayer 04 and scored six goals.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 from the month of November. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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On Sunday, 4 November 1951, the first league derby between Bayer 04 and FC Köln took place. The FC Köln stadium in Müngersdorf was absolutely bursting at the seams for this clash. A veritable invasion of Bayer 04 fans from Leverkusen set off for Cologne by tram and bus. From midday onwards, in addition to the scheduled services, six extra tram services ran at the standard fare from Leverkusen Town Hall to the stadium in Cologne. At the same time, buses operated by Grein ran regularly from Wiesdorf market square to Cologne. In the end, over 5,000 Bayer 04 fans waved their black and red flags in the stands at the FC Köln stadium and got behind their team for ninety minutes.
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