St. Nicholas Day 1996, a Friday: Bayer 04 are the league leaders when they travel to the previously unbeaten at home newcomers and fifth-placed VfL Bochum. A week after the terrific home win in the derby, the Werkself are solid in defence and put VfL, coached by the future Bayer 04 boss Klaus Toppmöller, under heavy pressure with their pressing. After a deserved opener from Ulf Kirsten on 18 minutes, Bochum are awarded a disputed penalty that Thomas Stickroth converted to equalise. The game threatens to turn round with Bochum having two really good goalscoring opportunities before half-time.
Bayer 04 regain the upper hand after the restart, retake the lead and have the game under control after a red card is shown to the Bochum player Kracht. With 89 minutes played, a wonderful strike from a free-kick by Dariusz Wosz levels the scores at 2-2 and stops Bayer 04 being top of the table at the end of the first half of the season. The Werkself drop two points that, as we know today, will be sorely missed at the end of the campaign.
HERE are TV highlights of the clash in Bochum.
Klaus Toppmöller is the Bayer 04 coach five years later and he has taken his team to the top of the table. On 8 December, four days after a brilliant 3-0 home win against Deportivo La Coruna in the Champions League, FC Nürnberg under coach Klaus Augenthaler visit the Ulrich Haberland Stadium.
As so often in that season, the Werkself had to go behind, and even twice this time, before waking up. The match ended in a hard-fought 4-2 home win with top spot maintained. Despite two away defeats in Berlin and Wolfsburg, Bayer 04 are top of the league at the halfway stage and then at Christmas because Borussia Dortmund can only manage to draw twice. Here too: Today we know what a point in these two games would have brought.
Claus-Dieter, known as ‘Pele’, Wollitz was born in Brakel on 19 July 1965 in Brakel. He earned the nickname of the Brazilian global super star at the age of six because he was able to the juggle the ball for a long time as a child. What was originally meant as a stunt would follow him all his life. Every football fan associates the name Wollwitz with his nickname: Pele.
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José Roberto da Silva Junior, Zé Roberto for short, was born in the Brazilian city of São Paulo on 6 July 1974. He started playing football at the Pequeninos de Joquey soccer school at the age of seven. Via the club Palestra Sao Bernardo, the left footer moved on to the professional club Portuguesa de Desportos where he made his debut in 1994.
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25 years ago, the Bayer 04 U19 team under their two coaches Thomas Hörster and Dirk Dreher were Regional League West champions and thereby participants in the finals of the German championship.
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After promotion to Bundesliga 2, the football boss Hermann Bacall had his hands full putting together a powerful team. For the first training session at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on 14 July 1975 there were nine new signings including five players who became regular starters in the team that won promotion to the Bundesliga in 1979.
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After the success of the previous year, the gymnastics and sports club Leverkusen hold the ‘Wiesdorfer Sportwoche’ week of sports for a second time (the city of Leverkusen is only founded in 1930). The week of sport started on Sunday, 12 July 1925. In the years before World War I there were municipal gymnastics and games festivals. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the club in 1924 the board and many helping hands started the week of sports. An internal municipal games festival developed into a national event which made a name for itself after a year particularly due to the relay element.
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