Michael Ballack, who played for Bayer 04 and Germany, provides insights of how Rudi Völler worked as a coach from 2000 to 2004 and in 2005:
"Rudi Völler became my coach in the middle of 2000, first as the Germany head coach. He was only supposed to fill in for a year but it turned out differently. He got the national team back on course after we were knocked out of the Euros. And then there was the curious situation of Rudi taking over as coach at Leverkusen in October of that year after Christoph Daum was sacked. In seven games as the Bayer 04 coach, he picked up five wins and two draws with us. He was the ideal fit although he didn't have any experience as a coach.
The national team had to win back popularity and that's why Rudi was exactly the right person as a positive role model. He enjoyed incredible popularity. We Leverkusen players, who formed the backbone of the Germany team back then, experienced an intensive time with him. I had a very deep relationship of trust with him and we often talked. Rudi knew exactly what made players tick. When I came to training sessions and said, 'There's nothing doing today,' he didn't ask lots of questions about what was wrong but instead would say: 'You'll be back tomorrow.' He had a gut feeling of when he should ease off and when he had to work very professionally. He knew exactly that top players were burdened with great expectations and he was able to deal well with stress. The pressure was really extreme with the play-off matches against Ukraine for the 2002 World Cup as Germany could have missed out on a World Cup finals for the first time.
Rudi set up his teams well both at Leverkusen and with Germany. He just knew how football worked. We weren't the best Germany team but we unexpectedly finished as World Cup runners-up. With us, he found the right balance of relaxation and training. In the last World Cup group match against Cameroon, which we couldn't afford to lose, Calle Ramelow was shown a red card. The speech in the dressing room at half-time was a key moment and it was emotionally similar to his legendary TV appearance after the Iceland game. Rudi is basically a nice bloke but he could also get annoyed, loud and angry. And he also gained the respect that a coach definitely needs. He gave us a real earful and got everything out of us. We won the game and went through to the final."
#DankeRudi – Part II: Calmund: "Where would Bayer 04 be without Rudi Völler?”
#DankeRudi – Part I: Hermann: "A slick operator full of ambition"
Bayer 04 are through to the second round of the DFB Pokal after a 4-0 win at Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday night. The game was paused after only 18 minutes due to a storm over the ground. After a lengthy delay, play resumed and Patrik Schick opened the scoring. Arthur, Christian Kofane and Alejandro Grimaldo made things more comfortable in the second half, as the fourth-tier side had two players sent off.
Show moreThere were no goals across 115 minutes of football between Bayer 04 Women and PSV Eindhoven in Friday’s friendly. Roberto Pätzold’s team played two 45-minute periods before an extra 25 minutes two days prior to heading to Rieden for their training camp. Their Dutch opponents were preparing for their UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifier in 12 days.
Show moreThe first round of the DFB Pokal takes Bayer 04 to Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday. The amateur club have just gained promotion to the fourth-tier Regionalliga Südwest and kicked off their campaign with two impressive wins. Here’s all you need to know as Erik ten Hag makes his competitive bow as Werkself boss at the WIRmachenDRUCK Arena (kick-off: 6pm CEST).
Show moreAfter two months preparing for the new season, the Werkself play the first game of the 2025/26 campaign on Friday, 15 August (kick-off: 18:00 CEST) away to SG Sonnenhof Großaspach in the first round of the DFB Pokal. Ahead of the tie against the team newly promoted to the Regional League South West, head coach Erik ten Hag talked about his approach to the knockout game and his soft spot for cup competitions.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen has a new Premium Partner in its ranks in Düsseldorf company LumenHaus GmbH. The leading provider of networked home energy solutions has initially agreed a one-year partnership with the Bundesliga runners-up to the end of the 2025/26 season.
Show more