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.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
Show more
No points to start the league campaign: Bayer 04 lost 3-2 away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg in the first Bundesliga match of the 2026/27 campaign. Two quick-fire goals from Lukas Petkov (8’) and Cole Campbell (10’) gave the hosts an early lead, before David Mokwa scored the Saarland side’s third shortly after half-time (46’). In the closing stages, the Werkself rallied and staged a late comeback with goals from Patrik Schick (77’) and Christian Kofane (90+1’), but the Black and Reds were denied an equaliser.
Show more
The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
Show more
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
Show more
