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.
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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