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.

Display videos

Yes, I'd like to see videos dispalyed.

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.

Related News

Minas Hantzidis wird 60 | Geburtstagskind des Monats Juli

Bayer 04 - 01.07.2026

Birthday Boy of the Month 1: Minas Hantzidis turns 60

Minas Hantzidis was born on 4 July 1966 in Kettwig, near Essen, and he grew up in Germany. He developed a passion for football at a young age and, whilst still a youth player, moved from Wuppertaler SV to Bayer 04. The attacking and goal-scoring midfielder then made a name for himself in his first senior season at Bayer 04. In the reserve team, he scored goal after goal in the first half of the season, soon began training with the first team and was brought on as a substitute for the first time by manager Erich Ribbeck on 22 November 1985 in a home match against Bayern Munich.

Sascha Dum wird 40 | Geburtstagskind des Monats Juli

Bayer 04 - 01.07.2026

Birthday Boy of the Month 2: Sascha Dum turns 40

Sascha was born on 3 July 1986 in Leverkusen. He is the son of former Bundesliga 2 player Manfred Dum, who mainly scored goals for Union Solingen but also played for FC Saarbrücken, SC Freiburg and Wuppertaler SV. Sascha started playing for the youth teams at HSV Langenfeld at an early age. There, he caught the eye of scouts from Bayer 04 and joined the club at a young age. Following a growth spurt in the U15 team, which forced him to take a nine-month break, the left-footed player finally had the ideal conditions to establish himself in the Bayer 04 youth ranks. Even as an U17 player, he made the leap into the U19 team. Blessed with immense pace, Sascha primarily played in attacking midfield. Not the most technically gifted, but possessing a powerful shot, he found himself training with the first team in the summer of 2005 alongside Gonzalo Castro, while he was still a U19 player.

Bayer 04 - 01.07.2026

From the archives: 50 years ago – A pre-season debacle

The Werkself could not have hoped for a better start to the Bundesliga 2 North season in 1976/77. At the end of a week-long training camp in Quickborn, Schleswig-Holstein, coach Willibert Kremer’s side secured two convincing victories over BSC Brunsbüttel (5–0) and TuS Holstein Quickborn (6–0). Following this flying start, Bayer 04 faced a considerably tougher challenge on 23 July 1976 at 19:30 CEST at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium against Bundesliga side Karlsruher SC.

Vor 25 Jahren – Die Vize-Triple-Saison 2001/02 | Geschichte des Monats Juli

Bayer 04 - 01.07.2026

History: 25 years ago – The 2001/02 treble runners-up season (July)

On 27 June 2001, new head coach Klaus Toppmöller and his assistant Peter Hermann led the Werkself out of the changing rooms for their first training session. Joining them as they stepped onto the pitch at training ground 1 were the four new signings: Hans Jörg Butt, Yildiray Bastürk (with special permission from VfL Bochum, as Bayer 04 and VfL had not yet agreed on a transfer fee), Zoltan Sebescen and Michael Zepek, the record holder for appearances for the youth national team.

Hans Sarpei wird 50 | Geburtstagskind des Monats Juni

Bayer 04 - 01.06.2026

Birthday boy of the month: Hans Sarpei turns 50

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.