The floodlights, sponsored by Bayer AG to mark the company's centenary, were unveiled on 10 August 1963. The most modern and brightest system in Europe at the time passed its performance test behind closed doors on 17 December 1963 for a friendly against a Middle Rhine team and was only used again on Maundy Thursday in 1964 for a friendly against Wacker Innsbruck. The Werkself won that game 2-0.
After the event on New Year, the other three floodlight pylons were used as 'VIP seats' whenever the stadium was full. The fourth floodlight pylon was only replaced in 1970.
Our team played their first league match under floodlights on a Friday night. Bayer 04 beat Alemannia Aachen 2-1 at home in the Regional League West on 17 October 1970. However, the brightness of the lights became a problem over the years. Bayer 04 had to dim the floodlights to stop dazzling drivers on the A1 autobahn. That meant the Werkself players had to strain their eyes in night games to maintain a clear vision of proceedings.
Only with the rebuilding of the "Gem of the Bundesliga" and the completion of the first half of the construction of the new East Stand in October 1986 did the Ulrich Haberland Stadium have two new floodlight pylons in the north-east and south-east of the ground so that the drivers on the A1 were no longer dazzled. That meant our team played night matches at the time with light from two new and two old floodlight pylons. All four floodlight pylons were upgraded in October 1988.
Lighting at the stadium was no longer a problem with one exception: After an away game in the Champions League qualifier at Dinamo Tbilisi in 1997, coach Christoph Daum organised a training session at the stadium on their return at four in the morning – with all the lights on. Residents around the stadium experienced significant disruption during the night. Since then, there has never been another similar hush-hush operation.
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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