Birthday boy of the month I: Wilhelm Haag will be 80
Wilhelm ‘Willi’ Haag was born on 6 August 1944 in Sohren, the biggest village in the Rhein-Hunsrück district with 3,200 inhabitants.
Willi began his football career in the men's team at Eintracht Trier in the Regional League South West. He made his debut there in the 1963/64 season. In his second season in the Regional League he finished third in the South West League with Trier. The defender moved under the Bayer Cross in the 1967/68 season and in three years he played 100 games for the Werkself. In his first year at Leverkusen, the Bayer team were crowned champions of the Regional League West under coach Theo Kirchberg and thereby qualified for the Bundesliga promotion rounds. Willi and his teammates finished second in their group behind Kickers Offenbach.
After the 1969/70 season, Willi moved on to league rivals Preußen Münster where he stayed for two years. In the Olympics Game summer of 1972 he joined Alemannia Aachen where he played in the qualifiers for the Bundesliga 2 North in 1974/75. He played 21 games for the Black and Yellows in Bundesliga 2 in his final season. The future teacher at the Aachen Couven Gymnasium school played his last league game on 23 March 1975 in a 2-2 home draw against VfL Osnabrück.
After ending his playing career, he stayed on at Alemannia as assistant coach (until 1986), Reserve team coach, youth coach as well as caretaker coach in Bundesliga 2 in May and June 1978.
He still comes to the BayArena as a guest of Bayer 04.
Dear Willi, many happy returns on your 80th birthday. Have a good one and stay healthy and happy!
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