Markus, what's your connection with 9 March 1997?
Feldhoff: People keep asking me about that day. For me, the three goals against Bayern Munich are the highlight of my sporting career. You don't beat Bayern 5-2 every day of the week.
Let's talk about those three goals. Paulo Sergio and René Rydlewicz scored the first two goals and then you made it 3-0 on 42 minutes.
Feldhoff: Calle Ramelow had a shot and I slid into the ball. It wasn't a spectacular goal. In the second half, Bayern came back at 3-2, I was pretty knackered and I'd already indicated I wanted come off. But Christoph Daum left me on.
And then you wrapped it up with two more goals on 80 and 84 minutes.
Feldhoff: The fourth goal came from a set piece with the ball landing at my feet. I just stopped it and shot from 4 or 5 yards out. With the fifth goal Ze Elias hit the ball from the halfway line, I was one-on-one with Oliver Kahn, I beat him and put the ball in the net. Bayern complained that I'd handled it. And I don't think they were completely wrong.
A few weeks later you tore your cruciate in a game against Freiburg. You describe that as a turning point in your career.
Feldhoff: Yes, because I never really recovered from that. I had an operation on 24 March by the specialist Dr Steadman in Colorado and I returned to full training on 26 June after just three months rehab. That was obviously too early. Nowadays it takes at least six months to recover from an injury like that.
How do you rate your three years at Leverkusen between 1995 and 1998?
Feldhoff: For me, the time at Leverkusen was the best in the Bundesliga. In my first year I played with Rudi Völler, Bernd Schuster and Paulo Sergio. Ulf Kirsten was obviously a big rival. In my second season I was on track up to the injury. Bayer 04 are a great club and I have a lot of very good memories. When I returned to Leverkusen in 2014 as part of my coach training to watch Sami Hyypiä, I really felt at home straightaway.
In Germany, the temperatures are currently around zero, leaving even professional footballers freezing - but not the Bayer 04 Women. Roberto Pätzold's team have fled the cold to the south and are preparing for the second half of the season at a training camp in the Algarve, almost 2,000 kilometres away from home as the crow flies. The Leverkusen squad landed in Faro on Saturday morning and have already completed the first three training sessions over the weekend.
Show more
It was a disappointing Saturday night. The Werkself lost 4-1 to VfB Stuttgart to start the new year on Bundesliga matchday 16 in 2025/26, a result that left both players and fans disappointed. "We played without any passion," said Alejandro Grimaldo honestly afterwards. Teammate Jarell Quansah was even more self-critical, emphasising: "We were miles off it in the first half. You can't put in a performance like that, especially in front of our own fans and I can only apologise to them, to be honest." Read on for the reaction, facts and stats from the clash with VfB Stuttgart in the Werkself review.
Show more
Women’s team forward Paulina Bartz is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen to play for Hamburg SV until the end of the season. The 20-year-old, whose contract runs to 2027, joins the Bundesliga newcomers on loan until the summer.
Show more
Jarell Quansah and Alejandro Grimaldo speak to Werkself-TV following Bayer 04's 4-1 defeat to VfB Stuttgart on Bundesliga Matchday 16...
Show more
