The board see themselves vindicated, despite animosity from spectators and newspapers, by holding on to Kirchberg and having gone into the season with a lot of young and very inexperienced players in the squad. At the same time, in the home game against Lüner SV on 7 December 1969 there are still six players in the line-up from the Regional League West championship winning side of 1968 in the shape of Willy Haag, Günther Haarmann, Helmut Röhrig, Karl-Heinz Brücken, Fredi Hennecken and Friedhelm Strzelczyk.
Lüner SV come to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium in sixth place in the table. The team from Westphalia have not lost any of the last eight games and have bags of confidence. The Werkself, with the young keeper Dieter Ferner, who later played in the Bundesliga for FC Saarbrücken and in the USA with Chicago Sting the champions in 1981, take the lead in front of 3,500 spectators on three minutes with a headed goal scored by Hans Dieter Schäde from a cross by Friedhelm Strzelczyk. At the start of the season, the lively right winger was seen as "the one-eyed man, king in the land of the blind", as Strelli, as his teammates called him, only had one healthy eye. The other is a glass eye that he takes out when playing cards to have a "look" into the other players’ hands.
Whoever thought the fast goal would give the Bayer team a real boost was disappointed. The visitors were the better team and had three big chances. Shortly before half-time, centre-forward Karl-Heinz Brücken headed in a fine cross from Hans Dieter Schäde to take a 2-0 lead into the break. At the start of the second half, on 46 minutes, the Lüner sweeper Dieter Zorc, father of the long-standing Dortmund Bundesliga player and manager Michael Zorc, handled the ball in the penalty area. Fredi Hennecken fires the ball from the spot into the roof of the net – 3-0. Bayer 04 now dominate the ball and the opponents. And Lüner SV are downhearted 15 minutes later when Werner Thies converts another cross from Friedhelm Strzelczyk to make it 4-0. A bigger win is missed out on in the last 30 minutes because good chances for Hans Dieter Schäde and Fredi Hennecken go begging.
After that win and a mid-table position of eleventh, the Bayer 04 officials are very confident looking to the future. In the last two matches before Christmas, the Werkself lose 3-1 in Bielefeld but are able to secure their position a week later with a 1-0 home win against SSV Velbert. The spectre of relegation is slowly driven out of the Ulrich Haberland Stadium.
Peter Zanter was born on 11 November 1965 in Wermelskirchen in the Rhineland. His passion for football was evident from an early age: As a child, he played enthusiastically for the youth teams at SV Dabringhausen and SV Wermelskirchen. His ability and discipline did not go undetected for long - and he joined the youth section at Bayer 04 at a young age.
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Boris Zivkovic was born on 15 November 1975 in the Bosnian town of Zivinice, which is now part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He played for FK Sarajevo at a young age. However, his youth was characterised by the turmoil of the wars in the former Yugoslavia. At the age of just 17, he was also called up and took part in the fighting - a fate shared by many young men of his generation.
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For once, this is going to be about me. About my path into football, my years as a goalkeeper at Bayer 04 and my ‘career after my career’ at this great club. So, come with me on a little journey through time...
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It is 1 November 1985, a Friday evening, floodlights on. The leaders Werder Bremen with their coach Otto Rehhagel come to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. 15,000 spectators want to watch this top match, as the Werkself, with their new coach Erich Ribbeck, are in fourth place in the table, just five points behind the leaders.
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In the video you can see impressive and important goals in Bayer 04 history from the month of November. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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