I thank you for twelve years of commitment, battle and passion for my club. Now you are ending your career together with your brother Sven – as is fitting for twins. With you I always knew what I'd get on the pitch. I loved watching you play!
For your future, I wish good health for you and your family, a role that fulfils you and one or two visits to the BayArena. Whenever we two 'football pensioners' meet again, you can tell me whether the legend is right. All the best, Lars!
The video clip shows you one or two highlights from Lars' twelve years at Bayer 04.
21 May is also the 25th anniversary of another end of a career. 2 days after the relegation thriller against FC Kaiserslautern, Rudi Völler played his personal farewell game at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. In front of a full house, 'Rudi's friends' played against Germany, the future you champions of Europe, and lost narrowly (1-2).
In the morning, Rudi asked me to come to the game as the second goalkeeper amongst his invited friends had to cry off at the last moment. Rudi played alongside his friends in the first half and with the national team in the second half and that was against me because I was allowed to play in the second half. I knew Rudi would be substituted on 70 minutes and that would obviously be after a goal if possible.
After I pulled off two terrific saves within a few minutes to keep out a shot and a header from Rudi, time was getting tight. The ball came into the penalty area around 75 minutes, I saw Rudi unmarked in front of me and he headed straight at my legs. I didn't manage to hold onto the ball and it ended up in the back of the net. So Rudi was able to do his well-deserved lap of honour.
Franco Foda was born on 23 April 1966 in Mainz to an Italian father and a German mother. He started playing football at the age of seven at the Weisenau Sports Club. After six years, he transferred to the then third-tier FSV Mainz 05 before joining the youth section at FC Kaiserslautern two years later. Franco made his debut in the Bundesliga in October 1983.
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Emerson Ferreira da Rosa, known as Emerson or just Emma, was born on 4 April 1976 in the Brazilian city of Pelotas in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. His footballing talent became apparent at an early age, laying the foundations for an extraordinary career. Emerson began his professional career at Grêmio Porto Alegre. He enjoyed great success at a young age, winning the Copa do Brasil in 1994, the Brazilian league title in 1996 and the prestigious Copa Libertadores in 1995, trophies that attracted the attention of European clubs.
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Simon Rolfes was born on 21 January 1982 in Ibbenbüren in North Rhine-Westphalia. He started playing football at the age of four. He joined TuS Recke. He remained loyal to his club up to the senior team, but Simon was ambitious. The left-footer tried his luck at Werder Bremen and made it into the Hanseatic club's U19 squad. On 2 July 2000, Simon played at the BayArena for the first time and scored, but only in a 4-2 defeat - the Green and Whites lost the final against the Werkself youngsters.
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In April 2001, a thrilling six-way battle for the German championship unfolds. There are just three points between league leaders Bayern Munich and sixth-placed FC Kaiserslautern. Bayer 04 are level on points with Lauterer, Hertha Berlin and Schalke 04 in fourth place. A week earlier, on 31 March 2001, the Werkself lost their home game against the Royal Blues from Gelsenkirchen 3-0 and now have an away game against relegation-threatened Eintracht Frankfurt to look forward to.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in Bayer 04 history from the month of April . It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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