The 1996/97 season starts with a new coach: Christoph Daum. It also sees the arrival of a lot of new players: Jens Nowotny from Karlsruher SC, Jan Heintze and Erik Meijer from relegated KFC Uerdingen, Niko Kovac from almost relegated from the second division Hertha Berlin and his brother Robert from FC Nürnberg who had just been relegated from the second division. Rene Rydlewicz returns from 1860 Munich. Other signings include Zé Elias from Brazil and Manuel Cardoni from Luxembourg.
A new formation, two tough training camps and a tight-knit group turn almost relegated Bayer 04 into title contenders with a barn-storming performance on matchday one bringing a 4-2 home win against the reigning champions of Germany Borussia Dortmund.
The home win for Bayer 04 in the opening match in 2001/02 against VfL Wolfsburg is followed by a convincing 3-0 away win in Rostock and a 1-1 draw at home to Bayern Munich. Then it's off to AufSchalke, the name of the new arena in Gelsenkirchen. The Werkself help inaugurate this great stadium in front of a full house of over 60,000. The match thrills everybody with Bernd Schneider putting Bayer 04 level at 3-3 in the final minute. HERE are highlights of the match in Gelsenkirchen
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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