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
Francoaldo Sena de Souza, known as Franca, was born on 2 March 1976 in Codó in north-eastern Brazil and is one of the best-known Brazilian football players of the late 1990s and early 2000s. His exceptional talent became apparent early on. He began his career at smaller Brazilian clubs before moving to the tradition-steeped São Paulo FC in 1996. There, Franca quickly developed into one of the most dangerous strikers in the league. His technique, goal-scoring instinct and agility delighted fans and pundits alike, and he scored numerous goals for the club over the years.
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Lars Bender was born on 27 April 1989 in Rosenheim and grew up with his twin brother Sven in a football-loving family. They began playing football in Brannenburg, a small community near Rosenheim. The twins joined Unterhaching to play for the U11 side, followed by a move to the U14s at 1860 Munich. There, Lars and Sven became German champions with the U17s, skipped the Lion's U19s and were directly part of the 1860 Munich first and second team squads.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in Bayer 04 history from the month of March . It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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Bayer 04 had their backs to the wall after a 3-1 defeat in a rearranged match at FC Kaiserslautern on 17 March 1981. After a throw-in, which the linesman clearly indicated in favour of the Werkself, but which the Lauter team quickly took and the weak referee did not intervene, a dubious penalty was awarded. Lauter took advantage of this to make it 2-1 in the 84th minute. Finally, a shot by the home side, which did not cross the line, made it 3-1 and Bayer 04 had to go home from Betzenberg without any points.
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It was 4 March 1951 and Bayer 04 were five points ahead going into the decisive home game against second-placed SSV Wuppertal, who would merge with TSG Vohwinkel 80 to form Wuppertaler SV three years later. Bayer 04 press officer Heinz Nelles predicted a big matchday at the sports ground at the Stadtpark and recommends Bayer 04 fans to buy their tickets in advance from the usual ticket outlets, especially from Peter Haas at the Trinkhalle Rathaus. After a four-week injury lay-off, centre-forward Emil ‘Bubi’ Becks will be back for the first time. And when the gates to the Stadtpark are opened on Sunday, the spectators stream into the stadium. The windows of the houses on the neighbouring Walter-Nernst-Straße are also packed.
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