“1,200 spectators yesterday witnessed a battle for the title, in the truest sense of the word, at the pitch on Hemmelrather Weg. A battle from the first to the last minute … even if played unfairly at times, and that is part and parcel of it. The referee definitely knew when to step in at the right moment. The Opladen team played well even though their forwards could not score more goals but this was not due to their inability but rather the outstanding work by the Leverkusen goalkeeper. Opladen were particularly on top in the second half with the exception of the first ten minutes and the final attacks. The hosts could certainly say they were lucky to get a point. All the visitors players stuck to their tasks and defended well with good cover particularly in the first half. The halfbacks, namely Schlemper and Kauter, again and again drove their attack forwards and worked so hard in midfield that the team from the paint town were unable to break through. There was harmonious cooperation in the attack even if some things went astray at times.
Leverkusen’s best player was the goalkeeper König, the defence were on their toes and the halfbacks also worked hard. The build-up play left something to be desired at times, the crosses lacked accuracy and were hit too high. The forwards were satisfactory in the first half. Peckhaus stood out as the centre forward. The hosts had the slight advantage in the first half, some good chances were missed and, by contrast as mentioned above, the visitors had the best of the second half. According to the flow of the game, Opladen should have won but defending is also a skill at the end of the day. Let’s take a closer look key moments in the game:
Leverkusen were slightly on top in the first 15 minutes. Peckhaus missed once and the ball went over the bar shortly after that. A corner was cleared then the opposite end, König made a number of saves. The Opladen attack did not really get going and they got tied up in their own moves. Opladen then came into the game, the centre forward passed to the inside right and he scored the first goal with a shot that left König with no chance. Leverkusen did not give up, were courageous in attack but were unable to score before half-time.
Leverkusen applied heavy pressure from the start of the second half. A solo run by Dickbrenner led to a corner. Taken by the same player, the ball landed in the back of the net. Kauter wanted to clear but he only succeeded in putting the ball over the line (it was not his fault). Then it was over for Leverkusen, Opladen were on top with one shot after the next… into the hands of the Leverkusen keeper now … no, against the bar! Then Steinacker is unmarked by the post. The hosts had to survive some long and worrying minutes but the visitors do not manage to do anything and, with a minute to play, the home team can secure victory with Dickbrenner having the ball unmarked in front of goal… but he puts it over the bar. That, gentlemen, is followed by the final whistle. The points are shared between the brothers.”
That was a report from the 1930s. Very authentic, sometimes with a very barbed style, also thoroughly critical and always on the ball. And derby matches were played by brothers back then.
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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