1.08.2025Bayer 04

Birthday boy of the month II: Holger Aden turns 60

Holger Aden was born in Hamburg on 25 August 1965. He learned all about playing football and, above all, scoring goals at the two Hamburg clubs Niendorfer TSV and TSV DuWo 08 Hamburg. After progression from the youth teams, he played for other Hamburg clubs. One after the other he appeared for Concordia Hamburg, Altona 93 and SC Norderstedt. The centre-forward regularly found the back of the opposition net. He scored 22 goals for SC Norderstedt in the 1988/89 season.

That strike rate brought him to the attention of Bayer 04: Holger moved under the Bayer Cross in 1989. However, there was a lot of competition for his position. The Werkself had three other strikers in their squad in the shape of Marek Lesniak, Sven Demandt and the youth striker Heiko Herrlich. Holger made just three substitute appearances in the Hinrunde in the 1989/90 season. And when Andreas Thom came to Leverkusen from the GDR in the winter break, Holger decided to move on to Eintracht Braunschweig in Bundesliga 2.

the penny drops

At Eintracht Braunschweig he played regularly and scored a total of 52 goals in 98 games over two years. VfL Bochum, – at that time bottom of the table in the Bundesliga, signed him in the winter break of the 1992/93 season. His nine goals were not enough to avoid relegation but he demonstrated his striker qualities in the Bundesliga.

Holger had a lot of minor injuries to deal with in the following second division season at Bochum but he did play 20 games and scored seven goals and went straight back up with Bochum. He was fully fit going into the 1994/95 season and he scored four goals in his first five games. After his last goal on 57 minutes in the Bochum home game against SC Freiburg he suffered a torn cruciate in his left knee. He never recovered from that injury and he ended his career in 1996 at the age of 30.

from football player to musician

He stayed with football after his playing career: as a coach at lower league clubs, organiser of a soccer school and promoting young talents in Westphalia. He also worked in various office jobs and went in a new direction with an unusual project – in music. In May 2014, together with the Bochum metal band Secret Discovery, he produced the World Cup song ‘Auf Wiedersehen (in Richtung Sieg)’ for the World Cup finals in Brazil. Holger played the bass in the song. The premier outing at the fan mile in the West Park in Bochum was followed by the first hits. The song was often played in and around Bochum at World Cup parties.

Dear Holger, I wish you all the best on your 60th birthday!

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