The Werkself coped surprisingly well with the difficult surface. Jupp Zesar, usually deployed in defensive midfield or defence, started the game as a centre-forward and scored the first two goals before the break. In the sixth minute, he latched onto a through pass from accomplished string-puller Richard Job and finished with a crisp shot into the far corner. For the second goal a minute before the break, Zesar volleyed home a cross from Job. Bayer 04 deserved the first-half lead and could even have gone into the break further ahead, but Walter Nußbaum missed a penalty.
The men from Sodingen emerged from the dressing room with a completely different mindset and reduced the deficit with their very first attack of the second half. When they then equalised ten minutes later, Bayer 04 seemed completely rattled and the game threatened to slip from their grasp. Goalkeeper Fredy Mutz just managed to fish a wonderful long-range shot out of the top right-hand corner midway through the second half. The game was on a knife-edge and offered plenty of action with chances at both ends. In the 81st minute, Job broke through on the left, charged into the centre and shot from 20 metres out. The effort was straight down the middle, but slipped through the fingers of Sodingen keeper Schmidt and landed in the net, prompting jubilation from the Leverkusen supporters. Staring defeat in the face, the Westphalian club fought to the end but the Werkself held out and the two points remained under the Bayer cross.
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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Carsten ‘Calle’ Ramelow was born in Berlin on 20 March 1974. He began his football career in the youth teams at Tasmania 73, Tennis Borussia, SC Siemensstadt and, last but not least, Hertha Berlin. It was here that he reached the DFB Pokal final in 1993 with the Hertha Bubis team, the amateur team at Hertha Berlin, against his future employer Bayer 04 Leverkusen. But even he was unable to prevent the Werkself's 1-0 victory thanks to a goal from Ulf Kirsten.
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The 1995/1996 season brought some innovations. For the first time, each player was given a squad number with his name printed on the back of the jersey. For the first time, coaches were allowed to make three substitutions and for the first time, three points are awarded for a win. And for the first time, I am no longer my team's number 1. I wear it on my back, but Dirk Heinen has taken over me in goal. So at first I sat on the bench a bit offended, but in the Rückrunde I realised I also had to make my contribution to the success of a team.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 from the month of May. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen, promoted to the Oberliga West, welcome VfL 99 Köln for the last game of a successful season. This time, the crowd of just 2,000 spectators saw more of a friendly than a championship match. Little fight, little goalmouth action and few moves in midfield to warm the hearts of the spectators. It takes a corner to give Bayer 04 the lead. Peter Röger is on hand with his head and nods home on 43 minutes for the half-time lead. When Karl-Heinz Spikofski increased the lead to 2-0 a quarter of an hour after the restart, the result was settled. The team from Cologne were able to reduce the deficit to 2-1 in the final minute, but in the end the spectators went home looking forward to the first season for a Bayer 04 team in Oberliga West 1.
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