Blackburn Rovers were the first English team to come to Leverkusen. The fee for the English second division club took up half of the income of at least 3,000 marks. The "Rovers" from the cloth mills of Blackburn were the six-time FA Cup winners and two-time champions of England. The fact those honours were mainly over 40 years before did not bother anybody in Leverkusen. Exactly as little as the fact that the announced international players were not actually internationals as we know today.
The English professionals arrived two days before the game in Leverkusen. They had a packed agenda on the matchday on Saturday 17 May 1952. At nine in the morning there was a tour of the works, lunch at noon, after that time spent at the municipal swimming baths up to five o'clock before 'five o'clock tea' to prepare for the match. By the time of the kick off at 6:30 in the evening there were 7,000 spectators around the pitch to witness the promised great event.
Leverkusen took the lead on 29 minutes with a shot from centre forward Fritz Tiede and they went 2-0 up at the start of the second half with a goal from Emil 'Bubi' Becks. However, the English team hit back to make it 2-1. The deserved equaliser came on 59 minutes and the game ended all square despite chances for both sides. That great day was rounded off with an evening meal for the two teams in the Krahne club pub in Wiesdorf. The only bad news was an injury to midfielder Richard Job who had to go off on 43 minutes.
Michael Ballack was born on 26 September 1976 in Görlitz, in what was then East Germany. His talent for football became apparent at an early age. After his family moved to Karl-Marx-Stadt – now Chemnitz – he began playing football for BSG Motor ‘Fritz Heckert’ Karl-Marx-Stadt, where he steadily developed his skills. From Year 7 onwards, he attended the Children’s and Youth Sports School and received systematic sporting support, which, in 1988 – due to his growing skill as a player – led to a move to FC Karl-Marx-Stadt. At the age of 16, he had to take a six-month break due to growth problems, but after that, Michael was unstoppable.
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José Elias Moedim Júnior, known as Zé Elias, was born on 25 September 1976 in São Paulo. He received his football training at Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, or Corinthians for short, and was promoted to the first team at the age of just 17. PSV Eindhoven had already taken notice of him by this stage, but the move to Europe was still too early for him. The tenacious defensive midfielder established himself in the first team over the following three years. With Corinthians, Zé Elias won the São Paulo City Championship and the Brazilian Cup in 1995. With his excellent vision, his determination and his assured ball control, he made a significant contribution to his team’s success.
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In their second season in Bundesliga 2 North, the Werkself face Fortuna Köln at their home ground, the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, on matchday 7. Both teams are level on seven points, sitting eighth and ninth in the table.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 from the month of September. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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September gets off to a disastrous start, though not for the Werkself: the German national team, featuring Bayer 04 players Jens Nowotny, Michael Ballack and Oliver Neuville, suffer a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of England in a World Cup qualifier at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. Jens Nowotny, in particular, came in for sharp criticism. With this defeat, Germany’s direct qualification is now hanging in the balance.
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