That was on the site of today's Neuland park. The players of the two teams changed in the dressing rooms of the recreation centre and they then walked to the football pitch. Entrance costed 50 pfennigs for adults and 30 pfennigs for schoolchildren and anybody who didn't have anything else to do could watch the third team game at two o’clock. Warming up on the pitch was unthinkable for the first team of TuS 04 and their opponents the Rasensportverein Urbach, a small village near Cologne. A week after the match, the General-Anzeiger reported on the game:
"Last Sunday the above team was on the sportsground an der Dhünn for the championship match. At the stroke of four o'clock the two teams lined up for the referee. Leverkusen with a new line-up first played against the wind. The Black and Reds were encamped on the opposition goal. The goalkeeper and the defenders had to work hard but the ball was again and again brought out of the danger zone near the goal with great skill. Urbach gradually found their feet. But the forceful attacks broke down on the good Leverkusen defence with Bartsch today performing outstandingly. There was no score at half-time.
After half-time the Black and Reds took full control but still failed to score. Then – with 26 minutes to play – Bönnen received a good pass but was fouled. The ensuing penalty is converted. Urbach now try to equalise with all their might. The outside left again and again pulls the attack forward. With ten minutes to go Koll handles the ball in a melee. Penalty.
The spectators are highly excited. The heavy rain does not drive them away from the pitch. But the penalty is hit over the bar. "A new penalty!" says the referee as somebody has entered the penalty area too early. The excitement in the crowd grows even more. The shot comes but Nagelschmidt saves to huge applause. Shortly after that the referee ends the game. It was a battle where the better team won."
The players mentioned by the reporter Richard Bartsch, Josef Bönnen and goalkeeper Peter Nagelschmidt are the backbone of the Werkself after the First World War. Richard Bartsch was the captain of the football players at TuS 04 for many years, was a successful goalscorer and playmaker and more physical than his opponents. Due to his size he was considered to be a football giant in our region.
Bernd Schneider, born in Jena on 17 November 1973, spent his early years in the German Democratic Republic. He took his first steps in football at the two Jena clubs BSG Aufbau and FC Carl Zeiss, the biggest club in his hometown. He played in the second division for six years in the 90s. Bernd Schneider stood out as an accomplished dribbler with his experience from street football always evident. His nickname Schnix comes from the Thuringian dialect: ‘Schnixeln’ is a synonym for dribbling, being able to control the ball. After Jena were relegated in 1998, Schnix went in the opposite direction. Newly promoted Eintracht Frankfurt brought into the Bundesliga. He spent a year there.
Show more18 June 1950 saw a friendly match for FC Köln, formed from the merger of two clubs in February 1948, against the Werkself at the Stadion Am Stadtpark. The two teams had already faced each other in May 1949 as winners of the Rhine district leagues in the final for promotion to the Oberliga West. The new club from Cologne came out on top in the two games and were promoted.
Show moreIn a messed-up season in 1984/85 everybody is happy that the battle against relegation is over before the final matchday. The visitors are UEFA Cup contenders SV Waldhof Mannheim in front of a sparse 6,000 spectators at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The Waldhof lads under their coach Klaus Schlappner are the surprise packet of the season. In their second campaign in the Bundesliga, the team from Mannheim are fifth on 35 points (with two points for a win back then) ahead of the game in Leverkusen and in a UEFA Cup qualifying spot. Two points behind them are Bayer 05 Uerdingen and Hamburg SV.
Show moreTranquillo Barnetta was born in St. Gallen in Switzerland on 22 May 1985. Quillo, as he was called in the football world, has Italian roots. His great-grandfather emigrated from Italy to the east of Switzerland. Quillo was interested in football early on and he played for the St. Gallen club FC Rotmonten from the age of six. He joined his favourite club FC St. Gallen at the age of 11. There he became a youth international. He won the European Championships with his teammates in the Switzerland U17 team in 2002. The youngsters from Switzerland beat France 4-2 on penalties in the final to become U17 European champions.
Show moreSince the establishment of the Bundesliga on 28 July 1962 for the 1963/64 season, there have been five Regional Leagues: North, Berlin, West, South-west and South. The champions of those five leagues qualified directly for promotion play-offs that were played in two groups of four teams. That included the two second-placed teams in the West and South-west Regional Leagues. The two runners-up from the North and the South played a qualifier for the eighth place in the promotion games.
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