Legends: Stefan Kießling - goalscorer, team player and club idol

He started playing club football at the age of four at Eintracht Bamberg before moving on to FC Nürnberg in 2001. There he quickly made a name for himself as a prolific, strong striker with great commitment. In Nuremberg, he developed into one of the most promising young forwards in Germany.

from nuremberg to Leverkusen

In 2006, he made the move to Bayer 04 - to the club that would become his home from then on. Stefan arrives as a young, ambitious player who is set to play up front alongside the elegant Dimitar Berbatov. It was a difficult start and expectations were high. After Berbatov's move to Tottenham Hotspur, enormous responsibility suddenly rests on his shoulders. Critics mocked him as the "most expensive sausage from Nuremberg". But ‘Kies’, as he is known to his team-mates and fans, is undeterred. He trains harder than ever before, fights for every ball and works his way through every crisis. He has come to stay - and that is exactly what he does.

Over the years, he becomes the face of Bayer 04 Leverkusen. He wore the Werkself jersey for twelve years, played 344 Bundesliga games for the Black and Reds scoring 131 goals. This makes him the Bayer 04 player with the second highest number of goals in the Bundesliga behind Ulf Kirsten. Including his games for FC Nürnberg, he made 403 appearances in Germany's top flight - an impressive record. He played a total of 443 games for the Werkself and put the ball in the back of the opposition net 162 times. The highlights of his time under the Bayer Cross are the 2009 DFB Pokal final, which unfortunately ended in a 1-0 defeat against Werder Bremen, and being a runner-up in the Bundesliga 2011.

In his twelve years at Bayer 04, Kies has also impressed with his team spirit, discipline and loyalty. He didn't play for glory, but for the team. Coaches and team-mates praised him as an absolute team player, as a striker who not only scores, but also works - both up front and in defence. Former Bayer 04 coach Jupp Heynckes called him "one of the most hard-working and team-minded players" he has ever coached.

top scorer in 2013 with 25 goals

In the 2012/13 season, Stefan experienced his personal best: He became the Bundesliga's top scorer with 25 goals. In the final minute of the last Bundesliga match at Hamburg SV, he scored the decisive goal against his former team-mate René Adler. His team-mates and the Bayer 04 fans celebrated the goal like a title win. It is his well-deserved reward for years of consistency. But even at that moment, he doesn’t think about himself. He has a small duplicate of the top goalscorer trophy made for each team-mate and staff member and thanks everyone involved.

At the last Bundesliga match in December 2015, a 5-0 win with two Kies goals, Stefan bids a more intense farewell to the Bayer 04 home end than usual. The fans, who had become aware of what was not yet known but was already planned by Kies - a move to Hannover 96. Stunned, they chanted his name for several minutes, prompting sporting director Rudi Völler to announce a day later that Kies was not for sale.

Stefan had less luck with Germany. Between 2007 and 2010, he only made six appearances and scored two goals. Despite his consistent performances, he was denied a breakthrough in the Germany team. Although he went to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and played just under 20 minutes in the match for third place, he felt more like a holidaymaker than part of the team. But he accepted that without moaning.

Kies and the Fans – a special relationship

He has long been a legend in Leverkusen. The fans celebrate him as a ‘football god’, a symbol of club loyalty in a fast-moving world of football. Kies and the Bayer 04 fans - it's a special bond that has grown out of respect, being close and passion.

His playing career ends in May 2018. In his last match against Hannover 96, the entire BayArena bids him farewell with a huge choreography. It is an emotional moment, a farewell full of gratitude. But for Kießling, it is not a farewell to Bayer 04 - just a new beginning. In October 2018, he started as a management consultant at Bayer 04, supporting the management and acting as a link between the team, coaching team and club management. Today, years after his last game, Stefan is more than ever what you would call a club legend. In 2023, Bayer 04 appointed him as a club representative.

Today, Stefan Kießling lives in Düsseldorf with his wife Norina and his two children, enjoys playing golf when time permits and is also part of the Bayer 04 Veterans team.