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1.08.2023Bayer 04

Birthday boy of the month: Norbert Ziegler turns 70

Norbert Ziegler was born in Caputh near Potsdam on 14 August 1953 and he moved to the Federal Republic of Germany with his parents in 1955. He was a youth player at SSV Hagen. That's where he took his first steps in senior football.

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He played for the Westphalian team in the Verbandsliga for three years before joining the Fortuna Düsseldorf Reserves. The long-haired midfielder attracted the attention of Bayer 04 primarily in matches for Westphalian and Lower Rhine reserve teams. His giant strides and burst of pace across the pitch impressed the Bayer 04 management and they signed the 21-year-old for the 1975/76 season. Ziegler went on to make 137 appearances in the next four years in the Bundesliga 2 North scoring 17 goals along the way. He made 27 appearances and scored three goals in the promotion year of 1979. However, promotion cost him his regular start in the team. In the second Bundesliga season at Bayer 04, he decided to move on to Bundesliga 2 South to join Freiburg FC. Norbert Ziegler finished in tenth place with the team from Baden. At the end of of his career in the 1981/82 season he returned to western Germany to play for Viktoria Köln.

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Seven years later in 1989, managing director Reiner Calmund brought him back to Bayer 04 Leverkusen. This time Ziegler was the head scout of the club. He is considered to be one of the pioneers in scouting and he worked with an internal database on computer. Norbert Ziegler played a large part in the following years in the signing of players like Ulf Kirsten, Jorginho, Lucio, Ze Roberto, Simon Rolfes, Stefan Kießling and Lars Bender, to name just a few. He had a burnout in November 2011 and retired in March 2012 at the age of 57.

Dear Norbert, I wish you many happy returns on your 70th. Stay fit and healthy and enjoy your birthday.

 

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