A week after the glorious 4-0 home win against FC Köln in front of a crowd of 15,000, hopes for another win in Leverkusen are high. And again there is immense interest in the game. The first spectators enter the stadium two hours before kick-off. The stadium announcer again and again asks people to move back. In the end, 17,000 spectators fill the Bayer ground including a young man from Hamburg called Uwe Seeler who wants to get an idea of the strength of the teams in the Oberliga West and perhaps see a future opponent. His team Hamburg SV are already champions of the Oberliga North. When the last fans enter the ground with ten minutes to go before kick-off every vantage point is taken. The bravest climb onto the gates of the entrance and the windows in the houses on Walter-Nernst-Straße are also in high demand.
Referee Helsper from Mülheim starts the game at 15.00. After 15 minutes Josef Zesar goes off injured for treatment in the dressing room. He limps back onto the pitch a couple of minutes later and from then on is a static figure at left back. Nevertheless, the Werkself take the lead on 39 minutes with a goal from playmaker Walter Nußbaum. The same player converted a penalty two minutes to make it 2-0 but Solingen pulled a goal back before half-time at 2-1 to the celebration of the large travelling support.
When centre forward Fritz Tiede is brought down in the penalty area on 56 minutes, referee Helsper again points to the spot. But this time Nußbaum hits the post. Years later, die-hard Bayer 04 fans hold it against him. Three minutes later the referee again awards a penalty – this time for SV Sodingen. Johann Adamik takes the chance to level and leaves the Bayer keeper Fredi Mutz helpless.
The Werkself bombard the goal brilliantly minded by Günter Sawitzki. The Sodingen defenders are tough on the Bayer players and unfortunately often go beyond acceptable limits. The visitors are hemmed in. Leverkusen try with all their might again and again to penetrate the opposition defence and beat the outstanding Sodingen goalkeeper to no avail.
When the final whistle blows after 90 hard-fought minutes, the Sodingen players raise their arms in celebration. The Leverkusen players make their disappointed way to the changing rooms. There is still a minimal chance of second place but the last two opponents for SV Sodingen do not offer much hope for the Werkself. The team from Westphalia appear to be certain of clocking up their points.
In den letzten beiden Spielen bestätigt sich das Gefühl. Der SV Sodingen gewinnt beide Spiele, die Werkself verliert sogar noch am letzten Spieltag bei Alemannia Aachen. So erreicht Bayer 04 mit dem 3. Tabellenplatz zwar seine bisher beste Platzierung der Vereinsgeschichte, aber die Enttäuschung über das Ende der Saison herrscht leider vor.
Ein Jahr später steht Bayer 04 Leverkusen am Abgrund. Nach einer enttäuschenden Saison steigt die Werkself 1956 aus der 1. Oberliga West ab und verschwindet für die nächsten Jahre in der Versenkung des Zweitliga-Daseins.
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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