Bayer 04 take the lead on six minutes through Ulf Kirsten and lose two players within 30 seconds on 28 minutes after second yellow cards: Markus Münch and the goalscorer. A third Werkself player is sent off on 63 minutes when Carsten Ramelow gets his marching orders. The seven outfield players battle for 30 minutes in and around the penalty area to deny an equaliser. Wave after wave of attacks roll towards the Bayer 04 goal. Schalke only manage to level the scores at 1-1 on 89 minutes. Bayer 04 are in a relegation battle up to the end of the season and only finally avoid the drop on the final matchday. But more on that next month…
The 2003/04 season gets off to a very good start. Bayer 04 are in the leading group straightaway and are third at the end of the first half of the season on 35 points, level with second-placed Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart in fourth, and only four points behind league leaders Werder Bremen. But form drops off after the winter break with just one point picked up in six games.
At the home game against VfL Wolfsburg, the North Stand is empty for the first 15 minutes as the fans protest with a banner left on the fence: “We don’t support alibi football.” The response from the team comes after a few seconds when Dimitar Berbatov scores the opener. The game ended in a 4-2 victory for the Werkself.
That was the start of the race to get to the Champions League spots, which included a 6-0 victory over FC Kaiserslautern that remains the biggest Bundesliga home win for Bayer 04.The Werkself end the league campaign in third place and qualify for the Champions League.
Francoaldo Sena de Souza, known as Franca, was born on 2 March 1976 in Codó in north-eastern Brazil and is one of the best-known Brazilian football players of the late 1990s and early 2000s. His exceptional talent became apparent early on. He began his career at smaller Brazilian clubs before moving to the tradition-steeped São Paulo FC in 1996. There, Franca quickly developed into one of the most dangerous strikers in the league. His technique, goal-scoring instinct and agility delighted fans and pundits alike, and he scored numerous goals for the club over the years.
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Lars Bender was born on 27 April 1989 in Rosenheim and grew up with his twin brother Sven in a football-loving family. They began playing football in Brannenburg, a small community near Rosenheim. The twins joined Unterhaching to play for the U11 side, followed by a move to the U14s at 1860 Munich. There, Lars and Sven became German champions with the U17s, skipped the Lion's U19s and were directly part of the 1860 Munich first and second team squads.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in Bayer 04 history from the month of March . 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 had their backs to the wall after a 3-1 defeat in a rearranged match at FC Kaiserslautern on 17 March 1981. After a throw-in, which the linesman clearly indicated in favour of the Werkself, but which the Lauter team quickly took and the weak referee did not intervene, a dubious penalty was awarded. Lauter took advantage of this to make it 2-1 in the 84th minute. Finally, a shot by the home side, which did not cross the line, made it 3-1 and Bayer 04 had to go home from Betzenberg without any points.
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It was 4 March 1951 and Bayer 04 were five points ahead going into the decisive home game against second-placed SSV Wuppertal, who would merge with TSG Vohwinkel 80 to form Wuppertaler SV three years later. Bayer 04 press officer Heinz Nelles predicted a big matchday at the sports ground at the Stadtpark and recommends Bayer 04 fans to buy their tickets in advance from the usual ticket outlets, especially from Peter Haas at the Trinkhalle Rathaus. After a four-week injury lay-off, centre-forward Emil ‘Bubi’ Becks will be back for the first time. And when the gates to the Stadtpark are opened on Sunday, the spectators stream into the stadium. The windows of the houses on the neighbouring Walter-Nernst-Straße are also packed.
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