From the archives: Sensational season 1967/68 – February
It's Sunday, 4 February 1968. The Bayer team await the Westphalians of TSV Marl-Hüls. The opponents put on a brave performance in front of 6,000 spectators at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium.
Display videos
Yes, I'd like to see videos dispalyed.
Bayer 04 bombard the opposition goal for over an hour and the keeper Marwig shows what he can do particularly with long-range efforts from the Werkself. Then it finally changes on 67 minutes. Midfielder Helmut Brücken beats three Marl-Hüls players, puts in an accurate cross for Fredi Hennecken and he can choose his corner of the net. The dam is broken: Two minutes later, Günter Haarmann makes it 2-0 from a Klaus Görtz corner. Görtz with the third strike and Helmut Richert with the fourth round off the scoring at 4-0. As the two Rot-Weiß teams from Essen and Oberhausen also win their games, the Kirchberg group maintain a two-point lead.
On 11 February 1968 it's off to Herne to play Westfalia. At the Schloß Strünkede Stadium, the home team fighting relegation, are the underdogs against Bayer 04. And the team with a cross on their chests fulfil their role as favourites. The Werkself deservedly lead 2-0 after 20 minutes with goals from Helmut Richert and Karl-Heinz Brücken. Clearly on top against the opponents, Bayer 04 ease off and the battling Herne team pull a goal back just before half-time. A short and sharp half-time discussion brings the league leaders back to life. Straight after the restart, Richert makes it 3-0 with a shot from the edge of the box. The Herne striker Schubert intercepts a back pass from Helmut Röhrig, beats the keeper Hans Benzler to make it 3-2 with 15 minutes to play giving Westfalia renewed hope. But Bayer 04 are able to see home the victory.
Fifth-placed Fortuna Düsseldorf visit the Ulrich Haberland Stadium a week later. Two goals from centre forward Karl-Heinz Brücken in the first half seal a convincing 2-0 win in front of 11,000 spectators. A well organised defence comfortably maintains the advantage in the second half. When a 2-1 defeat for Rot-Weiß Essen at Victoria Köln is announced over the loudspeakers there is great celebration around the ground. The top of the table is as follows:
1. Bayer 04 (22 games) – 35:9 points
2. RW Oberhausen (23 games) – 33:13 points
3. RW Essen (22 games) – 31:13 points
And March brings the big games against the two direct rivals Oberhausen and Essen as well as a rearranged game at home to Preußen Münster. More on that next month.
Related News
Bayer 04 - 01.12.2024
Birthday boy of the month 4: Michal Kadlec turns 40
Michal ‘Katsche’ Kadlec was born in the Czech town of Vyskov on 13 December 1984. At the age of six, he moved to the Pfalz region in Germany with his parents because his father Miroslav accepted an offer from FC Kaiserslautern where he played as a sweeper for the Red Devils for eight years. Katsche learned German in the kindergarten at Kaiserslautern. And he played football at an early age: first as a teenager at SV Alsenborn and then for FC Kaiserslautern.
Show more
Bayer 04 - 01.12.2024
Birthday boy of the month 1: Helmut Röhrig turns 80
Helmut Röhrig was born in Leverkusen on 14.12.19 44. He learned to play football at Bayer 04 and became a Middle Rhine champion with the U19s in 1963 finishing ahead of FC Köln. He played in the second team at the Werkself in his first year in senior football.
Show more
Bayer 04 - 01.12.2024
Birthday boy of the month 2: Bernd Schuster turns 65
Bernd Schuster was born in Augsburg on 22.12.19 59. His first club as a teenager was local side SV Hammerschmiede. From that time there was an anecdote that a former groundsman told us when we had a Pokal game in Augsburg in 1993. Bernd was always the first person on the training ground after school. With a running track around the pitch and goals without nets, the young Bernd practised free kicks and corners in the knowledge that he had to collect the ball himself. In that way he not only practised his technique but also worked on his stamina as a teenager.
Show more
Bayer 04 - 01.12.2024
Birthday Boy of the Month 3: Wolfgang Rolff turns 65
Wolfgang ‘Wolle’ Rolff was born on 26.12.1959 in Lamstedt, a community in the Lower Saxony administrative district of Cuxhaven. He started his football career at TSV Lamstedt. He moved on to OSC Bremerhaven with the U17s as he trained to be a retail salesman. He started in senior football at the Nordsee Stadium in Bremerhaven.
Show more
Bayer 04 - 01.12.2024
From the archives: 55 years ago – Relief in December 1969
The 1969/70 season begins with four defeats for Bayer 04. That puts the team coached by Theo Kirchberg bottom of the table. The Werkself only lift themselves out of the relegation zone on Matchday 10 with a 4-2 away win in Marl-Hüls. The position in the table improves over the course of the season.
Show more