The joy at an early opener on four minutes scored by Klaus Röhrig, who has to go off injured on ten minutes, is followed by annoyance about an unnecessary equaliser on 18 minutes. A Werkself side with countless misplaced passes and mistakes fail to thrill their supporters. In a defensive battle, the SSV Troisdorf defenders, served up by the unimaginative attacking football from the Werkself, again and again hit the ball into the stands. After unbroken powerplay from Matthias Brücken, who provided the assist for the first goal, Matthias Hemmersbach is set up to put Leverkusen back in front on 82 minutes. The following seven minutes sees the outstanding Matthias Brücken score a hat-trick to increase the scoreline to an unexpected 5-1.
A week later, the Werkself head to the Sportpark Höhenberg. Bayer 04 are unable to impress in the first half at Viktoria Köln on a very good pitch. After going behind early on six minutes, the team of coach Manfred Rummel are unable to find a response for a long time. They continued to attack the Viktoria goal but have to wait to the 62nd minute for the equaliser. Matthias Brücken was again goalscorer. A quarter of an hour later he is brought down in the penalty area. As usual, the very reliable Willi Rehbach steps up to take the spot-kick but this time the Viktoria keeper Horst Holubek makes the save on 77 minutes. The match ends in a draw that obviously fails to satisfy the Bayer 04 management.
Matchday 10 brings the FC Köln second team to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. 1,600 spectators watch this game but they are bitterly disappointed. The Werkself put on an awfully helpless display and again and again are unable to convert chances on goal against the very defensive approach of the second team at FC Köln. Neither Matthias Brücken, Gerd Kentschke and Norbert Sobbe nor Peter Surbach or Dieter Axemacher are able to beat the Köln keeper Bodo Mattern. The visitors thrive on their efficiency. They score three goals from four chances and push Bayer 04 towards mid-table. The Werkself are fifth on twelve points, four behind leaders SC Brühl. For two weeks the Bayer 04 players and their coach Manfred Rummel have time to lick their wounds.
The Leverkusener Stadt-Anzeiger provides an early critique of the season: "Title and promotion hardly achievable” is the headline in the Anzeiger on 22.11.1974. The Bayer 04 officials including coach Manfred Rummel and football boss Hermann Büchel appear helpless. One thing is certainly clear to everybody: Only a significant improvement in performances can help the Werkself achieve the target of returning to professional football with promotion to the Bundesliga 2 Nord. And so the fans under the Cross eagerly look forward to the two matches in December against third-placed SC Jülich and leaders SC Brühl. Now only wins can help.
Christoph Daum was born on 24 October 1953 in Zwickau. As a child, he moved to West Germany with his mother and grew up in Duisburg. He developed a great enthusiasm for football at an early age, even though it soon became clear that his future lay less on the pitch than on the sidelines. Even at a young age, his passion for analysing, explaining and improving things became apparent.
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When the Bayer 04 players celebrated Christmas in 1960, they spent the winter in second place in the Oberliga West 2 on 20 points - but already five points behind leaders Schwarz-Weiß Essen. However, coach Erich Garske's team are struggling to get back on track in the new year. A goalless draw against Bonner FV at home at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium was followed by a 2-1 away defeat in Erkenschwick. The following home game also yielded just one point. As a result, the team's promotion ambitions dwindled to a minimum, as the gap to the coveted spot has now grown to a challenging ten points.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in Bayer 04 history from the month of February. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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It is 11 February 2006 and Schalke 04 and the Werkself kick off at 3.30 p.m. in a match that ends up being historic - at least from a Bayer 04 perspective.
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As league leaders, the Werkself welcomed the relegation-threatened team from Rhenania Würselen. On 4 February 1951, 5,000 spectators line the touchlines despite the Sunday carnival parades. And they see a home team that is superior on the pitch. Without Theo Kirchberg, who was ill, and Emil Becks, who was suspended, the hosts attacked the opposing goal from the start. Battling against a strong wind in the first half, Bayer 04 created chance after chance, but were repeatedly thwarted by the Würselen goalkeeper. With the score at 0-0 at half-time, Karl Heinz Spikofski tried his luck on 55 minutes and hammered the ball into the opposition net from 20 metres out. Rhenania can no longer counterattack. The siege of the Würselen penalty area continued right to the end, but the game ended in a narrow 1-0 win.
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