Yes, I'd like to see videos dispalyed.
I officially started at Bayer 04 40 years ago. I signed the contract, which came into effect on 1 July 1981, in Leverkusen in April. I'll never forget how I went down to the pitch to a corner flag at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium immediately after signing. I had a good look round and said to myself: "You'll celebrate your success here."
But, of course, I never dreamt I would still be here 40 years later. Where have those 40 years gone? Sometimes I don't even know myself. You can get nostalgic looking back over that long period of time.
My years as a player at this great club stand out in my memory. Winning the UEFA Cup win on 18 May 1988 and the DFB Cup on 12 June 1993 are the sporting highlights. But my other jobs at the club have always been fun whether that's as a goalkeeping coach, fan liaison officer or storyteller. At the same time, the sun doesn’t always shine. For example, I'll never forget the tears of 20 May 2000 in Unterhaching.
Titles, wins, defeats, dramas, friendships: I've got 40 exciting years behind me and I'm proud of that time and grateful to the club close to my heart Bayer 04 for being able to experience all that.
And now a few moving images from my playing career. In the video you will find a few saves but also my two worst howlers.
In this video you can watch impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 in the month of October. It is not always about the beauty of the goals but also about remembering special games and players.
Show moreThe Werkself secured victory against Bayern Munich for the first time on 1 November 1986. On matchday 12, Bayer 04 beat the Bundesliga league leaders 3-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Munich and go top of the table.
Show moreTorben Hoffman was born in Kiel on 27 October 1974. In his youth he played for TuS Schwarz-Weiß Elmschershagen. The qualified policeman joined Holstein Kiel in 1993. Two years later he moved on to VfB Lübeck in Bundesliga two. After relegation with Lübeck in 1997 he came to attention of SC Freiburg and they signed the defender. The team relegated from the Bundesliga went straight back up with Torben who moved under the Bayer Cross in 1999 after another year in the Bundesliga. However, he was unable to establish himself at Leverkusen making only sporadic appearances and he was rarely in the starting XI. He played in a total of 30 games for the Werkself.
Show moreThomas ‘Thommy’ Reichenberger was born in Bad Kreuznach on 14 October 1974. The son of a former Bundesliga player – his father Max made 38 Bundesliga appearances for 1860 Munich – played for Eintracht Bad Kreuznach as a youth player before moving up to the first team.
Show moreManfred ‘Manni’ Pomp was born in Aachen on 25 October 1964. His first football club was the Aachen police sports club (PSV) but he signed for Alemannia Aachen after a year.
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