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.
Hans Sarpei was born on 28 June 1976 in Tema, Ghana, and came to Germany with his parents at the age of three, where he grew up in Cologne. Even before he was born, his mother and father worked in Hamburg in the import-export sector. There they met an older man who introduced them to German culture and supported them. Out of gratitude, Hans was later given his first name, although this man died before he was born. Hans comes from a sporting family; his older brother Edward and his nephews Hans Nunoo Sarpei and Kingsley Sarpei were or are also professional footballers.
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On 3 June 1953, Hans-Josef (‘Sepp’) Kretschmann became the fifth coach in the history of Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Born in Allenstein, East Prussia, on 21 March 1902, the football coach first studied to become a teacher before later switching to football. He took over the Werkself from Franz Strehle, under whom the team twice managed to stay in the 1st Oberliga West. However, Strehle did not extend his contract in Leverkusen after these two very successful years.
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After promotion to Bundesliga North 2 in the summer of 1975, Bayer 04 are fighting relegation just eight months later. The club expects full commitment from everyone in this precarious situation. Promotion coach Manfred Rummel is to give up his main job as a teacher at the Mülheim special school and become a full-time coach at Bayer 04. The coach, who is very popular with the team, does not see himself in a position to fulfil the club's request. Despite a 2-0 home win against SpVgg Erkenschwick, Manfred Rummel is put on gardening leave by "mutual agreement".
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Bayer 04, already been promoted to the 1st Oberliga West, played friendly after friendly in the second half of May 1951. And that continued throughout the following month.
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Jacek Krzynowek was born on 15 May 1976 in Kamiensk, Poland, and grew up as a typical country boy. He spent his childhood less in structured training sessions and more on simple pitches, where he spent hours playing football with older boys. He realised early on that he had exceptional shooting power and enormous stamina. But for a long time, he didn't appreciate just how much talent he had. While others dream of a great career, professional football initially seems like a distant world to him that he only knows from television.
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