Long grass and an uneven pitch makes it almost impossible to play neat passing football - as a result, long balls dominate the action on both sides. The first half is largely uneventful. The most exciting thing: Midfielder Richard Job repeatedly being caught offside. After the ninth time, a nickname was born - "King Richard" quickly became "Offside Job". But it was precisely this "Offside Job" who finally made the breakthrough on 65 minutes. From a fantastic cross by Theo Kirchberg, he scored with a diving header for a deserved 1-0 lead. In the final phase, Bayer 04 made the most of their superior fitness, created several clear goalscoring opportunities - including a penalty missed by Hans Flohr - but the same player doubled the lead at 2-0 with five minutes to play.
With this victory, the Werkself confidently maintain their lead at the top of the table and head into a two-week break. But there is more to come: Just one week after the away win in Solingen, the South-West Oberliga team TuS Neuendorf will visit Leverkusen Stadtpark for a friendly match.
The kick-off is at 14:30 on 12 October. 4,000 spectators turn up to watch the clash between two ambitious teams - and they are not disappointed. Despite dominating the game, Bayer 04 initially fell behind. However, the Werkself turned up the heat after the break: Emil Becks netted the equaliser and Hans Steingans converted a penalty to secure a 2-1 lead. Bayer 04 not only demonstrated their courage that afternoon, but also the quality of their game - another statement on the road to top-flight football.
On the Sunday morning of 19 October 1950, the Bayer squad set off for Cologne. Their opponents were the recently founded Fortuna, set up just one week after their great rivals 1. FC Köln - with the same goal: to form one strong Cologne team from several neighbourhood sides.
The Fortuna pitch is located directly on the Rhine, on Schönhauser Straße, and is taken by storm on this day by Bayer fans and players alike. A veritable mud bath ensued on a pitch that was difficult to play on - but the technical superiority of the visitors made the difference. Time and again, the two wingers Theo Kirchberg and Paul Wiorek burst down the flanks, tearing gaps in the Cologne defence. At half-time, the score was already 3-0 after goals from Karl-Heinz Spikofski, Peter Röger and Theo Kirchberg - a flattering result for Fortuna. The game became more open in the second half, but Bayer remained clinical. Two further goals from Kirchberg and strikes from Wiorek and Job ensured a commanding 7-1 away win.
A few days later, on the Day of Prayer and Repentance, the next friendly match is scheduled. This time it's a real local duel: VfL Leverkusen will be playing at the Stadtpark. 3,000 spectators make their way to the stadium - but the match is not entertaining. The Werkself dominate at will, sending the neighbours from the other side of the Dhünn back over the bridge on Bismarckstraße with a clear 6-1 defeat - and that with a better B team.
Four days later, the regular team is back in action. Leverkusen is football mad - 6,000 spectators want to see the home game against Union Krefeld. After just three minutes, there is no stopping them: Paul Wiorek hammers the ball into the net with his powerful left foot from a melee - the early opener. But after that, the game becomes increasingly flat. Both teams rely on long balls and a classic "kick and rush" approach dominated the action. There was little to be seen of the highlights of the previous week. Playmaker Richard Job in particular is sorely missed - the organiser in the centre is missing. Nevertheless, Bayer 04 manage to hold on to their narrow lead. With their seventh win in a row, the Werkself are on their own at the top of Oberliga West 2 after thirteen games. The euphoria in Leverkusen is growing - the dream of the Oberliga 1 is alive.
Hans Sarpei was born on 28 June 1976 in Tema, Ghana, and came to Germany with his parents at the age of three, where he grew up in Cologne. Even before he was born, his mother and father worked in Hamburg in the import-export sector. There they met an older man who introduced them to German culture and supported them. Out of gratitude, Hans was later given his first name, although this man died before he was born. Hans comes from a sporting family; his older brother Edward and his nephews Hans Nunoo Sarpei and Kingsley Sarpei were or are also professional footballers.
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On 3 June 1953, Hans-Josef (‘Sepp’) Kretschmann became the fifth coach in the history of Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Born in Allenstein, East Prussia, on 21 March 1902, the football coach first studied to become a teacher before later switching to football. He took over the Werkself from Franz Strehle, under whom the team twice managed to stay in the 1st Oberliga West. However, Strehle did not extend his contract in Leverkusen after these two very successful years.
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After promotion to Bundesliga North 2 in the summer of 1975, Bayer 04 are fighting relegation just eight months later. The club expects full commitment from everyone in this precarious situation. Promotion coach Manfred Rummel is to give up his main job as a teacher at the Mülheim special school and become a full-time coach at Bayer 04. The coach, who is very popular with the team, does not see himself in a position to fulfil the club's request. Despite a 2-0 home win against SpVgg Erkenschwick, Manfred Rummel is put on gardening leave by "mutual agreement".
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Bayer 04, already been promoted to the 1st Oberliga West, played friendly after friendly in the second half of May 1951. And that continued throughout the following month.
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Jacek Krzynowek was born on 15 May 1976 in Kamiensk, Poland, and grew up as a typical country boy. He spent his childhood less in structured training sessions and more on simple pitches, where he spent hours playing football with older boys. He realised early on that he had exceptional shooting power and enormous stamina. But for a long time, he didn't appreciate just how much talent he had. While others dream of a great career, professional football initially seems like a distant world to him that he only knows from television.
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