As a youth player, he made the step up to the first team and played one or two games in the GDR Oberliga. The midfielder is turned into a right-back at his next club Union Berlin. That remains his usual position with a few exceptions.
Bayer 04 boss Reiner Calmund becomes aware of the fast, dribbling right-back at a Union Berlin game when he was actually watching a different player. ‘Riete’, as his friends called him, joined Bayer 04 Leverkusen in 1994 and he stayed for three years. In those three years, he had three different coaches in Dragoslav Stepanovic, Erich Ribbeck and Christoph Daum but he was only more frequently in the starting line-up under Erich Ribbeck.
He makes a total of 31 appearances for Bayer 04 but doesn’t score. At the same time, he plays a significant role in probably the most important goal for Bayer 04 up to that point. When it comes to the relegation clash with FC Kaiserslautern at the Ullrich Haberland Stadium on 18 May 1996, he is given a special role by the caretaker coach Peter Hermann – he is to mark out the Kaiserslautern playmaker Uwe Wegmann and get involved with attacks. On 82 minutes, he receives the ball from captain Rudi Völler, tries his luck from 22 metres out with the “only decent shot with the instep in my career” (Riete quote) that sends the ball in the direction of the goal. The Kaiserslautern goalkeeper Andreas Reinke can only parry the shot and Markus Münch fires the ball into the back of the net on the rebound for the crucial equaliser. The rest is history.
After the following season under Christoph Daum with just two Bundesliga appearances from the bench, Riete joins Fortuna Düsseldorf in 1997. Then he becomes a German football journeyman. Up to the end of his career in 2009 he plays for SC Freiburg, VfL Bochum, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, MSV Duisburg, Holstein Kiel and Wuppertaler SV.
Mike now lives in Leipzig, in charge of the company Subline Sports and is a co-owner of the soccer school Kick’n Body. He still plays for our Veterans team when he has the time.
Dear Mike, all the best on your 50th birthday! Please keep your ‘Berliner brogue’ and stay healthy.
HERE is an in-depth profile on Mike Rietpietsch at bayer04.de.
Dieter Bast was born in Oberhausen on 28 August 1951. He began playing football in the youth team at DJK Arminia Klosterhardt, a local club in Oberhausen. Whilst training as a toolmaker, he moved to neighbouring club Sterkrade 06/07 to play for their U19s, where he caught the eye of Bundesliga sides Rot-Weiss Essen and Borussia Mönchengladbach. Bast opted for Rot-Weiss and played in the Bundesliga from 1970 onwards. In his very first year, he made 22 appearances as a right winger, scoring three goals. Nevertheless, Essen were unable to avoid relegation.
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José Vítor Roque Júnior was born on 31 August 1976 in Santa Rita do Sapucaí, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. As a youth, he played for São José EC, a club in the east of the state of São Paulo. His professional career began in 1995 with Palmeiras São Paulo. There, Roque Júnior quickly established himself as a key player in the team, making more than 200 appearances and enjoying significant success. With the club, he won the Copa do Brasil in 1998 and the Copa Libertadores in 1999, the South American equivalent of the European Champions League.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 from the month of August. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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The Werkself play their first top-flight match in Bayer 04’s history away at Sportfreunde Katernberg. 7,000 spectators turn up at the Am Lindenbruch stadium in that district of Essen. The Katernbergers have transformed the once ‘barren’ pitch into a real gem. On this Sunday afternoon, 19 August 1951, the lush turf provides the perfect conditions for a good game of football.
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Following a thoroughly successful start with a 2–1 home win against VfL Wolfsburg, the Werkself are organising a team event. On Wednesdays, they head to the Nürburgring together and do a few laps at speed. Manager Klaus Toppmöller welcomes this initiative, as it promotes team spirit and integration. During weekly training sessions, the team works extensively on various defensive tactics, as the manager was dissatisfied with his players’ pressing in the final minutes of the match against the Wolves.
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