The team from Cologne were unlucky that Heinz Goffart had to go off injured in the first 15 minutes and in the second half he "played" at right back with his knee bandaged. There were no substitutions back then meaning that an injured player had to either leave the pitch or carry on as best they could. With that advantage, the Werkself took the lead before half-time with the former Köln player Walter Nußbaum, who was pulling the strings in midfield, in the team. From a cross by the right winger Waldemar Langwagen, Leverkusen's first international for the DFB B team, centre forward Fritz Tiede made it 1-0 with a wonderful header.
The Bayer 04 fans are joyful when left winger Horst Schultz scores from a tight angle to make it 2-0 two minutes into the second half. However, Herbert Dörner pulls a goal back two minutes later after a solo run to make it 2-1. Under hectic pressure from FC Köln, the Werkself defend with eleven men and then counter-attack with four, five or six players after regaining possession. And if a Köln player shoots then Fredi Mutz, the goalkeeper with a thousand hands, is on hand to make the save.
The giant in the Bayer 04 goal has been in outstanding form for weeks. "Schäfer shoots, Mutz punches, a Stollenwerk rocket, Mutz saves with one hand, Röhrig hits a low shot, Mutz saves with his foot, Müller with a follow-up shot, Mutz holds on!" (Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger 22.11.1954). And all that in just 15 seconds. But with ten men, the Red and Whites are unable to overcome the outstanding Bayer team. Leo Bering scores to make it 3-1 after clinically exploiting a poor punch from the Köln keeper Klaus Hartenstein. And suddenly, unbelievable today, the whole of the Köln support gets behind Leverkusen. Every Werkself attack is supported loudly by the whole stadium and the goal sealing the win, scored by Waldemar Langwagen on 69 minutes, is celebrated frenetically. Bayer 04 Leverkusen made a lasting impression and at the end of the season third place is just not enough to qualify for the German championship finals but it is the first time finishing ahead of FC Köln in the final table.
Bayer 04 started the new season on 20 July 1950. To the applause from almost 2,000 spectators, the Werkself stepped onto the pitch at the Am Stadtpark stadium and the season target was clear to the supporters: finally achieve promotion to the Oberliga West. Under the direction of new coach Raymond Schwab, who brought one of his Essen players with him in the shape of Karl-Heinz Spikofski, the team did a couple of laps. Coach Schwab gave a speech in front of all the fans where he clearly imparted his request for calm in the stands and he said he hated nothing more than heckling or laughing when mistakes are made. He hoped the Bayer 04 supporters would follow his advice.
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Horst Knauf was born in Cologne on 16 August 1960. As a teenager he played for PSV Köln before signing for the Bayer 04 Leverkusen U19s as a talented midfielder in 1976. He made the move up from the second team to the Bundesliga squad in 1980. Over the following three years he played 39 Bundesliga games and scored two goals. Above all in the difficult 1981/82 season for the Werkself with the play-off games against Kickers Offenbach, he played a big part in saving Bayer 04 with 21 appearances. But under the new coach Dettmar Cramer he rarely made a start and he decided to move on.
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Holger Aden was born in Hamburg on 25 August 1965. He learned all about playing football and, above all, scoring goals at the two Hamburg clubs Niendorfer TSV and TSV DuWo 08 Hamburg. After progression from the youth teams, he played for other Hamburg clubs. One after the other he appeared for Concordia Hamburg, Altona 93 and SC Norderstedt. The centre-forward regularly found the back of the opposition net. He scored 22 goals for SC Norderstedt in the 1988/89 season.
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Michael Ballack was born in Görlitz in the GDR on 26 September 1976. He displayed his talent for football at a young age. After his family moved to Karl-Marx-Stadt, now called Chemnitz, he started playing for BSG Motor ‘Fritz Heckert’ Karl-Marx-Stadt where he constantly continued to develop his ability on the pitch. From year seven he went to the children and youth sports college and there he received systematic support in sport that led, against the background of his increasing ability, to a move to FC Karl-Marx-Stadt. At the age of 16, he had to take a six-month break due to growing pains, but then there was no stopping Michael after that.
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In this video you can watch impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 in the month of August. It is not always about the beauty of the goals but also about remembering special games and players.
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