1.05.2026Bayer 04

Legend: Carsten Ramelow - The perennial favourite

Carsten ‘Calle’ Ramelow was born in Berlin on 20 March 1974. He began his football career in the youth teams at Tasmania 73, Tennis Borussia, SC Siemensstadt and, last but not least, Hertha Berlin. It was here that he reached the DFB Pokal final in 1993 with the Hertha Bubis team, the amateur team at Hertha Berlin, against his future employer Bayer 04 Leverkusen. But even he was unable to prevent the Werkself's 1-0 victory thanks to a goal from Ulf Kirsten.

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Werkself captain at Champions League Final

He joined Bayer in the winter of 1996 and quickly developed into a hard-working, physical defensive midfielder whose qualities were sometimes only really appreciated by the fans when he was not in the starting eleven or was unavailable due to injury. Over the years, Calle became a fan favourite and played a key role in Bayer 04's successes from 1996 to 2008, the end of his career. Although it was never enough to win a title, Calle was runner-up in the Bundesliga four times with Bayer 04, he lost the 2002 Pokal final with Bayer 04 against Schalke 04 and in the same year also the Champions League final against Real Madrid, where he led the Werkself onto the pitch as captain - following the serious injury to Jens Nowotny. Calle made a total of 430 appearances for Bayer 04 and he scored 31 goals. At the end of his career in 2008, he was named a Bayer 04 honorary captain.

world cup runner-up with germany

He played a total of 46 times for Germany. He was in the side that reached the final of the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, where Germany lost 2-0 to Brazil. In addition to Calle, his Leverkusen team-mates Oliver Neuville and Bernd Schneider were also in the starting eleven for coach Rudi Völler's team.

He maintained his connection to football after his playing career. He became involved in youth development, worked as a pundit and since 2024 he has been president of the players' union VDV, which represents the interests of its members in dealings with associations, clubs, players' agents and journalists and also supports players off the pitch. If time and his knees allow, Calle still plays for our Veterans team from time to time. He is also a co-partner of Booker GmbH in the area of ticketing and event marketing.

Calle has lived quietly and close to nature in Kürten-Bechen in the Bergisches Land region for many years. He enjoys country life with his wife Steffi, daughter Melina and numerous animals. He is actively involved in village life, organises events and supports the local football club SV Bechen 1930, for example with the renovation of the sports ground. Community and solidarity are important to him.

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