There was a good mix of training, matches and time off in San Francisco, Los Angeles und San Diego. And one or two players used the opportunity to spend their summer holidays in the Californian sun afterwards. During the three-week stay, the idea was born of holding the annual winter training camp, which in the 80s mostly took place on the Canary Islands, in Orlando in January 1991.
The second Gulf War and the American attacks on Baghdad unsettled members of the team and it came to a vote: The majority the players voted to stay in Germany.
With temperatures of minus ten degrees, they trained on Timmendorfer Strand on a frozen surface. But a year later in January 1992 came the change: Sunny and warm Florida awaited. That was certainly what the kit man Harald Wohner thought and he only packed shorts and short sleeve shirts. In the first training session, there was a shock for the team with the temperature at four degrees so it was another case of freezing training. Our good friend Harry then raided the local sports shops. The players were then able to train in colourful but suitable kit.
But the short sleeve shirts were used in matches. And in the words of our physio Dieter Trzolek, "They're supposed to run and not stand still!" The weather in Florida improved and it turned out to be a successful training camp. The Werkself came out on top in games against the USA Olympic team (3-1) and a local amateur side (14-0). There was also a 3-1 victory against Orlando Lions, an American top-flight side.
To end the training camp, Bayer 04 flew to Los Angeles for the final game against the Mexican champions UNA Mexico. There was a clash under real competitive conditions in front of 10,000 passionate Mexican fans. The first real test in 1992 ended with a 1-1 draw.
Unfortunately the training camp did not bring the desired success at the end of the season as Bayer 04 failed to qualify for the UEFA Cup and lost out in the DFB Cup semi-finals on penalties against Borussia Mönchengladbach. But it was back to Orlando a year later. And what happened at the end of the season in 1993 should be familiar to every Bayer 04 fan.
Wolfgang Vöge was born on 15 September 1955 in Ahlen, Westphalia and he was the fourth of seven children of a miner. His father, Erich Vöge, was a football referee as well. At an early age, Wolle, as he was called by his friends and teammates, developed a great passion for football and was an enthusiastic fan of BVB. His first success in football was achieved in the amateur game at his hometown club of SV Ahlen. He scored 26 goals in the first season and he came to the attention of scouts. That led to his move to Borussia Dortmund in 1975.
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Andreas Thom was born on 7 September 1965 in Rüdersdorf near Berlin in Brandenburg. Andreas displayed an exceptional talent on the ball even as a child. Early on, he joined the youth section at BFC Dynamo Berlin, one of the leading football clubs in the German Democratic Republic. There he received targeted, performance-oriented training as part of the GDR sports system. His talent, his vision and his technique led him to make his debut in the first team at BFC Dynamo at the age of 17.
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Jens Melzig was born in Cottbus on 28 September 1965. Melle, as he was called at Leverkusen, started his playing career at his hometown club Energie Cottbus. As a young player there he soon stood out thanks to his strength in challenges and his ability to read the game. He was in the Energie Cottbus first team in 1984 and he played for the club in the GDR league and the Oberliga. With 144 appearances and twelve goals he became one of the big players in defence. He made a major contribution to the club during this period – as a strong-tackling central defender who also displayed leadership qualities.
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Lucio, full name Lucimar Ferreira da Silva, was born on 8 May 1978 in Planaltina, a suburb of the Brazilian capital Brasília. He showed his passion for football even as a child. On the dusty streets of his neighbourhood he spent hours chasing the ball – often in bare feet like many Brazilian children. Despite the simple conditions he grew up in, his family always supported his dream of one day becoming a great football player. He made his first steps in club football at small local clubs before moving onto the youth set-up at the club Guará and later he singed for the big club Internacional Porto Alegre. Bayer 04 signed the internationally completely unknown defender from there in January 2000.
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In this video you can watch impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 in the month of September. It is not always about the beauty of the goals but also about remembering special games and players.
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