From November 1958, the Werkself played their home games at the Stadtpark ground as the pitch at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, completed in 1958, was so damaged in a friendly against MSV Duisburg due to faulty drainage with the result games were moved to an alternative venue. Bayer 04 played the rest of their home games at their old Stadtpark ground.
In spring weather, Bayer 04 took the lead in the first minute with a goal from Horst Stollenwerk. He played alongside two other players from the youth set-up in the shape of Werner Röhrig and Heinz Höher. Heinz Müller was in goal in place of the injured keeper Fredy Mutz. An exciting game developed up to half-time where WSV equalised 20 minutes later and shortly after that took the lead. Heinz Höher levelled at 2-2 before half-time in front of a crowd of 3,500.
Heinz Höher was not the only future Bundesliga coach as the Wuppertal team included a young and ambitious defender called Erich Ribbeck who led the Werkself to the UEFA Cup final win in 1988. Horst Szymaniak was pulling the strings in midfield and he later went on to play in Italy at the start of the 1960s for Catania, Inter Milan and FC Varese in the Italian top-flight.
In the second half, the Wuppertal centre forward Ulrich Kohn put his team ahead again on 69 minutes but the Bayer 04 fans were able to celebrate an equaliser at 3-3 with another goal scored by Horst Stollenwerk.
Christoph Daum was born on 24 October 1953 in Zwickau. As a child, he moved to West Germany with his mother and grew up in Duisburg. He developed a great enthusiasm for football at an early age, even though it soon became clear that his future lay less on the pitch than on the sidelines. Even at a young age, his passion for analysing, explaining and improving things became apparent.
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When the Bayer 04 players celebrated Christmas in 1960, they spent the winter in second place in the Oberliga West 2 on 20 points - but already five points behind leaders Schwarz-Weiß Essen. However, coach Erich Garske's team are struggling to get back on track in the new year. A goalless draw against Bonner FV at home at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium was followed by a 2-1 away defeat in Erkenschwick. The following home game also yielded just one point. As a result, the team's promotion ambitions dwindled to a minimum, as the gap to the coveted spot has now grown to a challenging ten points.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in Bayer 04 history from the month of February. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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It is 11 February 2006 and Schalke 04 and the Werkself kick off at 3.30 p.m. in a match that ends up being historic - at least from a Bayer 04 perspective.
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As league leaders, the Werkself welcomed the relegation-threatened team from Rhenania Würselen. On 4 February 1951, 5,000 spectators line the touchlines despite the Sunday carnival parades. And they see a home team that is superior on the pitch. Without Theo Kirchberg, who was ill, and Emil Becks, who was suspended, the hosts attacked the opposing goal from the start. Battling against a strong wind in the first half, Bayer 04 created chance after chance, but were repeatedly thwarted by the Würselen goalkeeper. With the score at 0-0 at half-time, Karl Heinz Spikofski tried his luck on 55 minutes and hammered the ball into the opposition net from 20 metres out. Rhenania can no longer counterattack. The siege of the Würselen penalty area continued right to the end, but the game ended in a narrow 1-0 win.
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