Yes, I'd like to see videos dispalyed.
The next day we had a light training session at a Hertha ground on Siebenendenweg in Zehlendorf. However, nobody knew about it and the gates were locked. There was only one alternative: climb and jump over the gate. We were lucky nobody was injured.
When we woke up the next morning on the day of the match it felt like the temperature had dropped by 20 degrees and it was raining. The many Bayer 04 fans, who set off to Berlin on the matchday from Leverkusen in bright sunshine and high temperatures by bus, car or on special trains, were in for a chilly surprise on arrival. And nobody was prepared for rain. Bayer 04 general manager Reiner Calmund reacted immediately. He organised 10,000 red cagoules and distributed them to the Bayer fans.
Coach Dragoslav Stepanovic set out the approach to the game in a final pre-match meeting. We wanted to play with focus, commitment and pressure. Don't give anything away and take our chances.
There was great tension in the bus on the way to the match. Everybody is self-absorbed and focus on their job. It's the same in the dressing room until the Hertha lads arrived in the dressing room next door. Loud music booms out from a music system. "Eye Of The Tiger" by the group Survivor from the Rocky film is ringing in our ears but does not disturb our preparations. As the Women's final is being played, we go to warm up on the Mayfeld. With studs on asphalt, through loads of people and back again after warming up. But there weren't any comments or at least I didn't hear them because I was focused on the game.
We took control from the start to non-stop whistles from 60,000 Berliners. As Hertha rarely got the ball to launch their own attacks, the whistles formed a constant sound in the stadium. The scoreline at half-time was 0-0 but that does not put us off at all. We carried out the orders of the coach to not give anything away and we created one or two slight chances.
The breakthrough comes on 77 minutes. From a Pavel Hapal cross, Ulf Kirsten rises highest to head home the only goal of the game. There is boundless celebration at the final whistle. Basically we only achieved what everybody expected of us but it was a big relief for us to have deservedly won the cup even if the results was not so emphatic.
When the cup was presented, ARD just switched over to show the Tagesschau news programme. It was similar in the evening with the Aktuelles Sportstudio on ZDF. Only the Bayer 04 fans are happy like us and the same on the next day at the town hall. After our own party in the evening and little sleep, we flew to Cologne the next morning. From there we went by bus to the town hall in Leverkusen to be welcomed by a crowd of 5,000 Bayer 04 fans. Some of them had been in the stadium the day before and had travelled through the night.
It was my second title with my Bayer but also unfortunately the last one. It's time for another one again!
A longer report on the cup triumph in 1993 (in German) is in a special edition of the Werkself Magazine available HERE.
Peter Zanter was born on 11 November 1965 in Wermelskirchen in the Rhineland. His passion for football was evident from an early age: As a child, he played enthusiastically for the youth teams at SV Dabringhausen and SV Wermelskirchen. His ability and discipline did not go undetected for long - and he joined the youth section at Bayer 04 at a young age.
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Boris Zivkovic was born on 15 November 1975 in the Bosnian town of Zivinice, which is now part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He played for FK Sarajevo at a young age. However, his youth was characterised by the turmoil of the wars in the former Yugoslavia. At the age of just 17, he was also called up and took part in the fighting - a fate shared by many young men of his generation.
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For once, this is going to be about me. About my path into football, my years as a goalkeeper at Bayer 04 and my ‘career after my career’ at this great club. So, come with me on a little journey through time...
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It is 1 November 1985, a Friday evening, floodlights on. The leaders Werder Bremen with their coach Otto Rehhagel come to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. 15,000 spectators want to watch this top match, as the Werkself, with their new coach Erich Ribbeck, are in fourth place in the table, just five points behind the leaders.
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In the video you can see impressive and important goals in Bayer 04 history from the month of November. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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