Back
1.09.2024Bayer 04

Birthday boy of the month II: Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker turns 40

Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker was born in Schleswig on 23 September 1984. He started his story as a footballer in the state of Schleswig-Holstein at the small village club with TSV Bollingstedt. When his parents moved to Bonn for work in 1995, he signed for SV Beuel 06, a club in the former Federal German capital of Bonn.

Display videos

Yes, I'd like to see videos dispalyed.

Playing in attacking midfield, he came to attention of a Bayer 04 youth scout and he joined the Werkself U14 squad in 1998. Then he dropped back into different positions – first in central defence in midfield for the U16 and U17 teams and then he was a central defender with the U19 and U 23 teams. His way of playing in the back four, that is doing his job in a solid and reliable fashion, attracted the attention of the first-team coaches at the Werkself. He completed his first training session with the first team at the age of 17. Coach Klaus Toppmöller included him in individual sessions with the senior squad in the 2002 season of the three runners-up finishes.

Jan-Ingwer made his debut in the Bundesliga in April 2004 in a 6-0 home win against FC Kaiserslautern. He came on for Juan on 79 minutes. A year later, in March 2005, he scored his first goal for Bayer 04 with a header from a free kick. His career didn't really take off in Leverkusen. He only played 54 Bundesliga games and scored three goals in five years under the Bayer Cross from 2003 to 2008. He did collect valuable experience in his time with the Werkself U23 team but he picked up different injuries including a torn ankle ligament that led to a lot of other injuries and constant muscular problems. He was popular with the Bayer 04 fans. They celebrated his unusual name with chants to the melody of the 80s disco hit Vamos a la Playa by the Italian band Righeira: “Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker oh ohoohoho.

Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker

For the 2008/09 season the lanky central defender moved on to Borussia Mönchengladbach. He was unable to get a regular start there, due in part to an ongoing ligament injury that cost him almost the whole of the 2009/10 season. In January 2011 he started playing for FC Augsburg and he went up to the Bundesliga with the team as a key player and leader and in eight years, with a six-month loan to FC Kaiserslautern, he made 148 appearances for Augsburg.

In 2011 he got to know the sports scientist Lars Lienhard who pursued a neurocentric approach to training and the interest of Jan-Ingwer grew and he took part in online and in-person events during his time at Augsburg. When his career ended after the 2018/19 season, he received an offer from the DFB Academy in Frankfurt to set up a neuronal training centre where he developed programs and training methods for the practice with coaches and experts at the academy.

Jan-Ingwer today lives in Augsburg with his wife and his two children, he is the fitness coach for the Germany Women's team and a member of the FC Augsburg supervisory committee since December 2019.

Dear Jan-Ingwer, I wish you many happy returns on being 40. Stay fit and healthy and have a great time celebrating.

 

Related News

Zoltan Sebescen
Bayer 04 - 01.10.2025

Birthday boy of the month: Zoltan Sebescen turns 50

Zoltan Sebescen was born on 1 October 1975 in Ehingen and he started playing football as a child. His talent stood out early on and he was accepted into the youth section at Stuttgarter Kickers in 1982. There he progressed through all the youth teams and continued to develop. His breakthrough in the men's game came in the mid-1990s, when he moved up to the Kickers first team squad. With his speed, dynamism and attacking drive, he soon made a name for himself beyond the region. He and his team were promoted from the Regional League South to Bundesliga 2 in 1996 and stayed in the league with Stuttgart for three years.

Show more
Jens Nowotny
Bayer 04 - 01.10.2025

Legends: Jens ‘Jenne’ Nowotny

Jens Nowotny was born on 11 January 1974 in Malsch, Baden-Württemberg. As a youngster, he played for SV Spielberg and Germania Friedrichstal and later joined the youth section at Karlsruher SC. As a 15-year-old, he became an integral part of the DFB national youth set-up and played for all of the Germany junior teams. One highlight was an U15 international against England at Wembley.

Show more
Bayer 04 gegen Stuttgart am 24. Oktober 2015
Bayer 04 - 01.10.2025

Match of the month: 10 years ago - Two memorable games within four days

It is Tuesday, 20 October 2015 - a Champions League night at the BayArena. The visitors: AS Roma. What awaits the spectators is a memorable football match full of drama, speed and emotion. The Werkself get off to a flying start and literally overrun the slightly favoured Italians in the early stages. The scoreline was 2-0 after just twenty minutes - both goals were scored by Mexico international Chicharito. Bayer 04 put the visitors under constant pressure with their aggressive pressing and bold attacking play and even had a chance to make it 3-0. Then the AS Roma captain Daniele De Rossi brought his team back into the game with a brace making it 2-2 at half-time.

Show more
Karim Bellarabi
Bayer 04 - 01.10.2025

Goals of the month: From Vöge to Bellarabi

In the video you can see impressive and important goals in Bayer 04 history from the month of October. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.

Show more
Bayer 04 1960/61
Bayer 04 - 01.10.2025

From the archives: 65 years ago - Pokal upset in Schlebusch

On 23 October 1960, a highly anticipated local derby took place in the DFB Pokal, which the team had to qualify for via the regional association cup competitions at the time: SV Schlebusch hosted the Werkself from Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Around 2,000 spectators flocked to the "Am Bühl" stadium to watch the game kicking off at 3 pm.

Show more