History: 45 years ago – 1978/79 promotion season (May)

The Werkself kicked off those crucial weeks of the season on 1 May with a rearranged fixture from Matchday 23. Strugglers Holstein Kiel came to the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion and made things really difficult for the league leaders. The defensive visitors only allowed high crosses, and these all came to nothing. As a result, the score remained an unsatisfactory 0-0 at half-time. Coach Willibert Kremer also had to replace Klaus Bruckmann and Peter Hermann with minor injuries. However, fresh faces Klaus "Atze" Schulze and Willi Korth were able to give the game new impetus. After a foul on Jürgen Gelsdorf, Dieter Herzog was able to convert the resulting penalty in the 58th minute. When Thomas Hörster then fooled three Kiel players with one of his inimitable solo runs in the opposition penalty area and confidently slotted home to make it 2-0, the game appeared to be wrapped up. Holstein were able to reduce the deficit shortly before the end, but it remained a deserved 2-1 win for the Werkself.

A few seconds after the victory, stadium announcer Reiner Calmund announced the 2-1 defeat of second-placed Preußen Münster in Lüdenscheid, meaning that Bayer 04 went into their next eagerly awaited home game against their near rivals with an eight-point lead. Bayer 05 Uerdingen were 10 points behind in third place after this matchday, although the Krefeld side still had two games in hand.

It was Friday evening on 4 May, and 12,000 fans were making the pilgrimage to the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. After 20 minutes, Gelsdorf put his side ahead with a header from a Herzog free-kick, but the visitors countered five minutes later with an equaliser. At half-time, coach Kremer brought Schulze back into the game, but even he was initially unable to provide the desired attacking impact, as Münster were able to take the lead in the 55th minute. Three minutes later, Brücken equalised, and the next 20 minutes were one-way traffic, which was rewarded with the winning goal by Bruckmann in the 72nd minute. The Werkself's advantage was 10 points with five rounds of fixtures to go. The next day, Uerdingen lost at Westfalia Herne and now even the last doubters believed in promotion.

Three-goal deficit overturned

Full of confidence, the Werkself travelled to Aachen on 9 May and won 4-1 in an impressive game with goals from Bruckmann, Peter Szech, Schulze and Brücken. They needed only one more point for promotion, and that was to be secured on Sunday, 13 May, in the all-Bayer clash with Uerdingen.

Some 15,000 expectant Bayer 04 fans flocked to their home stadium for this match. Kremer didn’t want any preparations for a possible promotion party before everything was confirmed. When the Werkself bus arrived at the stadium, he saw the bars and beer tents set up in the small Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. General manager Heinz Heitmann had prepared everything for a big celebration. When Bayer 05 took a 2-0 lead at half-time thanks to two penalties, Kremer raced into the dressing room in a rage and insulted his boss. The mood in the dressing room and in the stands was bad and got even worse after the score was 3-0 in the 62nd minute. Bruckmann got one back four minutes later, and from that moment on only one team looked likely to get another, and that was Leverkusen.

The heated atmosphere on the pitch was taken up by the Werkself fans and the spectators constantly pushed their team forward. Brücken made it 3-2 with a header in the 79th minute and the onslaught continued, which was rewarded in the 85th minute when captain Herzog was able to break through on the left, played the ball sharply into the penalty area for Brücken to take the ball and finish into the corner. The Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion erupted, Bayer 04 youth players ran onto the pitch, and the bench with Kremer, physio Dieter Trzolek and all the substitutes stormed onto the pitch. The players were in each other's arms, cheering and eagerly awaiting the final whistle. When the whistle was finally blown, there was no stopping the celebrations. Werkself fans join the players in a lap of honour. Bayer 04 Leverkusen had made it to the Bundesliga.

A week later, they drew 0-0 at Wacker 04 Berlin, but the Werkself were only thinking about their next highlight in the quarter-final of the DFB Cup at Fortuna Düsseldorf.

Quarter-final in Düsseldorf

On 26 May 1979, 22,500 spectators arrived at the Rheinstadion to watch a Werkself team that played well but unfortunately fell behind after 35 minutes. In the second half, Bruckmann equalised straight from the kick-off and the Bundesliga newcomers took control of the game. The setback came in the 72nd minute when a long-range shot landed in the Leverkusen net and the Werkself were unable to equalise again. The dream of a cup semi-final was shattered, but the joy of promotion prevailed and was only clouded by discussions between the team and club about a promotion bonus. But in the end, an agreement was reached.