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.
Bayer 04 started the new season on 20 July 1950. To the applause from almost 2,000 spectators, the Werkself stepped onto the pitch at the Am Stadtpark stadium and the season target was clear to the supporters: finally achieve promotion to the Oberliga West. Under the direction of new coach Raymond Schwab, who brought one of his Essen players with him in the shape of Karl-Heinz Spikofski, the team did a couple of laps. Coach Schwab gave a speech in front of all the fans where he clearly imparted his request for calm in the stands and he said he hated nothing more than heckling or laughing when mistakes are made. He hoped the Bayer 04 supporters would follow his advice.
Show moreHorst Knauf was born in Cologne on 16 August 1960. As a teenager he played for PSV Köln before signing for the Bayer 04 Leverkusen U19s as a talented midfielder in 1976. He made the move up from the second team to the Bundesliga squad in 1980. Over the following three years he played 39 Bundesliga games and scored two goals. Above all in the difficult 1981/82 season for the Werkself with the play-off games against Kickers Offenbach, he played a big part in saving Bayer 04 with 21 appearances. But under the new coach Dettmar Cramer he rarely made a start and he decided to move on.
Show moreHolger Aden was born in Hamburg on 25 August 1965. He learned all about playing football and, above all, scoring goals at the two Hamburg clubs Niendorfer TSV and TSV DuWo 08 Hamburg. After progression from the youth teams, he played for other Hamburg clubs. One after the other he appeared for Concordia Hamburg, Altona 93 and SC Norderstedt. The centre-forward regularly found the back of the opposition net. He scored 22 goals for SC Norderstedt in the 1988/89 season.
Show moreMichael Ballack was born in Görlitz in the GDR on 26 September 1976. He displayed his talent for football at a young age. After his family moved to Karl-Marx-Stadt, now called Chemnitz, he started playing for BSG Motor ‘Fritz Heckert’ Karl-Marx-Stadt where he constantly continued to develop his ability on the pitch. From year seven he went to the children and youth sports college and there he received systematic support in sport that led, against the background of his increasing ability, to a move to FC Karl-Marx-Stadt. At the age of 16, he had to take a six-month break due to growing pains, but then there was no stopping Michael after that.
Show moreIn this video you can watch impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 in the month of August. It is not always about the beauty of the goals but also about remembering special games and players.
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