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1.10.2022Bayer 04

Birthday boy of the month II: Stephan Hanke turns 50

Stephan Hanke was born in Mannheim on 19 October 1972. He played for youth teams at SSV Vogelsang and Waldhof Mannheim. He moved under the Bayer Cross in 1991 from SV 98 Schwetzingen. The hard-running and keen on training midfielder never made the breakthrough at Leverkusen but he was in the squad of the DFB Cup winning team of 1993.
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He primarily played for the Bayer 04 Reserves and he made one 30-minute appearance for the first team. He came on as a substitute for Franco Foda on 64 minutes in the penultimate home game of the 1993/94 season against VfB Stuttgart.

After that season, he moved on to Hamburg to join FC St. Pauli. In his first season, he gained promotion to the Bundesliga with the Hamburg team. However, it was back to the second division after two years in Germany's top flight. He made a total of 181 appearances and scored four goals for St. Pauli.

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After six years in Hamburg, he went to Turkey to play for Siirt Jetpa Spor in the Süper Lig. On returning to Germany he played for Jahn Regensburg, the Hamburg SV second team, Rot-Weiß Erfurt, Darmstadt 98 and Altona 93. He ended his playing career in 2008.

Stephan Hanke now turns 50. I wish you many happy returns and stay fit and healthy.

Here are TV highlights of the best moments for Stephan Hanke at Bayer 04.

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