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The situation in the table is as follows: The Werkself are eighth with 17 points just two behind third-placed Borussia Mönchengladbach. Köln are thirteenth on 13 points five points above the relegation spots. But as so often in this fixture, the position in the table is not important but instead the attitude on the pitch – and that proves to be right from the first minute. Both teams give their all, Bayer 04 take the lead on 19 minutes through Rudi Völler who was outstanding on the day.
Without the injured Bernd Schuster, Hans-Peter Lehnhoff and Ulf Kirsten, the Werkself only hold onto the lead for two minutes when a low shot from Bruno Labbadia from 18 metres out appears to be going wide but surprises me by ending up in the net. From that point I gave everything to keep out several shots on goal from the Köln team and in the first half I am bundled into the net by the Köln centre-forward Toni Polster at a cross. I carry on playing with a painful jaw. Heiko Scholz puts us back in front with a goal on 33 minutes. That is the scoreline at half-time. I'm given some ice for my jaw and we carry on in the second half. Köln try everything but go a player down on 65 minutes with a second yellow card for defender Karsten Baumann. From now on it is somewhat easier for the Werkself to control the game. With 88 minutes gone, substitute Markus Münch settles the Bayer 04 fans and his teammates with a great shot from the edge of the box for the final scoreline of 3-1.
We do a lap of honour after the game, shower and then go into the VIP room in our area is always after a home game. When I sit down at the table where my wife sitting she just says: Your face is crooked." I say: "Well, the jaws a bit painful but I know it will be better tomorrow." I pick up a prawn, bite into it with gusto and scream. My wife: "I think we'll go to hospital." Said and done. The x-rays show a broken jaw, my mouth is wired up and that means: only liquid food for the next three weeks and no sport at all. The next three days I only eat soup and lose three kilos in weight. From that point, my wife makes me mash potatoes alternatively mixed with carrots and broccoli. The first solid meal for me comes on Christmas Eve as you have to have turkey at Christmas.
Dirk Heinen is in the Bayer 04 goal for the remaining two games of the year, in the UEFA Cup against GKS Katowice (4-0) and in the Bundesliga in Dresden (1-1) and he does a very good job.
Zoltan Sebescen was born on 1 October 1975 in Ehingen and he started playing football as a child. His talent stood out early on and he was accepted into the youth section at Stuttgarter Kickers in 1982. There he progressed through all the youth teams and continued to develop. His breakthrough in the men's game came in the mid-1990s, when he moved up to the Kickers first team squad. With his speed, dynamism and attacking drive, he soon made a name for himself beyond the region. He and his team were promoted from the Regional League South to Bundesliga 2 in 1996 and stayed in the league with Stuttgart for three years.
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Jens Nowotny was born on 11 January 1974 in Malsch, Baden-Württemberg. As a youngster, he played for SV Spielberg and Germania Friedrichstal and later joined the youth section at Karlsruher SC. As a 15-year-old, he became an integral part of the DFB national youth set-up and played for all of the Germany junior teams. One highlight was an U15 international against England at Wembley.
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It is Tuesday, 20 October 2015 - a Champions League night at the BayArena. The visitors: AS Roma. What awaits the spectators is a memorable football match full of drama, speed and emotion. The Werkself get off to a flying start and literally overrun the slightly favoured Italians in the early stages. The scoreline was 2-0 after just twenty minutes - both goals were scored by Mexico international Chicharito. Bayer 04 put the visitors under constant pressure with their aggressive pressing and bold attacking play and even had a chance to make it 3-0. Then the AS Roma captain Daniele De Rossi brought his team back into the game with a brace making it 2-2 at half-time.
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In the video you can see impressive and important goals in Bayer 04 history from the month of October. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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On 23 October 1960, a highly anticipated local derby took place in the DFB Pokal, which the team had to qualify for via the regional association cup competitions at the time: SV Schlebusch hosted the Werkself from Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Around 2,000 spectators flocked to the "Am Bühl" stadium to watch the game kicking off at 3 pm.
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