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The Werkself start brightly in front of a full house at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on 3 June 1968 and go 1-0 up with a goal from Helmut Brücken. But then the home side ease off. TuS Neuendorf grow stronger by the minute and equalise just before half-time through future World Cup winner Bernd Hölzenbein. The game becomes very nervy in the second half and the final result is a fair draw.
The following weekend, on 8 June, brings the “match of the year” with 28,000 spectators making their way to the Bieberer Berg in Offenbach for the top match in the promotion round. The stadium is bursting at the seams as it is a crucial game in this group. A win for Offenbach would make them almost uncatchable with their three-point lead in the group with three games to play. For Bayer 04 that means definitely don’t lose.
Offenbach exert strong pressure on the Bayer 04 goal from the kick-off. They only hit the bar from the penalty spot on 17 minutes and all other efforts on goal are kept out by a brilliant display from Hans Benzler in the Leverkusen net. When Benzler isn’t in the right spot, the crossbar helps him with two long-range shots. But then there is a breakaway attack by the Werkself on 33 minutes. Peter Rübenach gives Bayer 04 a 1-0 lead at half-time.
More of the same in the second half. The Kickers attack is driven on by their frenetic fans, Bayer counter. When the team from Hessen appear to be thwarted by the Bayer 04 keeper, the Kickers captain Hermann Nuber levels with a shot to the far post on 72 minutes. The Werkself have a great chance two minutes later through Willi Haag. As the spectators have already come to terms with a draw, the referee has the whistle at his lips for an Offenbach throw-in, the Kickers Offenbach left winger Becker shoots at goal – and a deflection off Helmut Brücken sees the ball trickle into the back of the net. Coach Theo Kirchberg complains after the game, “that the referee had indicated blowing the final whistle and that annoyed my team." The referee blew his whistle straight after the goal leaving the Werkself pointless. Now it was about hoping that the teams in the group without a chance don't give away any more points.
The Berlin runners-up Tennis Borussia Berlin come to Leverkusen three days later. The Leverkusen supporters have unfortunately already written off promotion and only 5,500 fans find their way to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. They have to wait for over 60 minutes for the first Bayer 04 goal. After going behind on 16 minutes, the Werkself players continue to attack the Berlin goal but the equaliser only comes on 62 minutes with a strike from Helmut Richert. The deadlock is broken and the team can't be held back. Karl-Heinz Brücken with two goals and Helmut Brücken increase the scoreline to 4-1.
There is an indifferent game in Koblenz at TuS Neuendorf on Sunday 16 June. The two sides draw 1-1. The big heat wave in June 1968 affects all the players. Günter Haarmann scores a deserved equaliser late on in the second half. As Kickers Offenbach win in Berlin, the team from Hessen are confirmed as promoted.
For the last unimportant game in this season, Arminia Hannover visit the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The Werkself end the most successful season for a Bayer 04 team on 19 June with a 4-1 win including a hat-trick from striker Fredy Hennecken within seven minutes, between 71 and 81 minutes. Sadly only 4,500 fans witness the performance of their side, that has thrilled them for over a year and will always be the team in the history of Bayer 04 to be the first knocking on the door of the Bundesliga.
Here are TV highlights of the final promotion match against Arminia Hannover!
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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