Up until it was demolished in 2007 it was not the favourite building of Leverkusen residents but it had been used three times for Bayer 04 celebrations. Three times? Yes, three times: 1988, 1993 and 1997. There was a motorcade through the city centre both to celebrate the UEFA Cup win and the DFB Cup win. In 1988, in rain and with protesting pedestrians ("Why are cars driving through the centre of the city?!" "They won the UEFA Cup yesterday." I don't care two hoots, this is a pedestrian zone and cars aren't allowed here!"). And another time in brilliant sunshine in 1993. On both occasions, a stand was built up in front of the town hall and the fans were able to celebrate.
Following the party after the DFB Cup win in 1993, the team met up in a restaurant with a big terrace and a view of the town hall square. The fans were singing and dancing there and waiting for their heroes to come out so they could throw them into the town hall fountain one after the other when they left the restaurant. It was too dangerous for me. I grinned at the lads, took a run and I dived in myself. When we finished as league runners-up for the first time in 1997 we used the balcony of the town hall this time without the motorcade. We don't have a town hall balcony any more since it was demolished in 2007 but there are definitely enough alternative venues in Leverkusen where we can celebrate. The only thing missing is the title we've been waiting almost 30 years for.
Bernd Schneider, born in Jena on 17 November 1973, spent his early years in the German Democratic Republic. He took his first steps in football at the two Jena clubs BSG Aufbau and FC Carl Zeiss, the biggest club in his hometown. He played in the second division for six years in the 90s. Bernd Schneider stood out as an accomplished dribbler with his experience from street football always evident. His nickname Schnix comes from the Thuringian dialect: ‘Schnixeln’ is a synonym for dribbling, being able to control the ball. After Jena were relegated in 1998, Schnix went in the opposite direction. Newly promoted Eintracht Frankfurt brought into the Bundesliga. He spent a year there.
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18 June 1950 saw a friendly match for FC Köln, formed from the merger of two clubs in February 1948, against the Werkself at the Stadion Am Stadtpark. The two teams had already faced each other in May 1949 as winners of the Rhine district leagues in the final for promotion to the Oberliga West. The new club from Cologne came out on top in the two games and were promoted.
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In a messed-up season in 1984/85 everybody is happy that the battle against relegation is over before the final matchday. The visitors are UEFA Cup contenders SV Waldhof Mannheim in front of a sparse 6,000 spectators at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The Waldhof lads under their coach Klaus Schlappner are the surprise packet of the season. In their second campaign in the Bundesliga, the team from Mannheim are fifth on 35 points (with two points for a win back then) ahead of the game in Leverkusen and in a UEFA Cup qualifying spot. Two points behind them are Bayer 05 Uerdingen and Hamburg SV.
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Tranquillo Barnetta was born in St. Gallen in Switzerland on 22 May 1985. Quillo, as he was called in the football world, has Italian roots. His great-grandfather emigrated from Italy to the east of Switzerland. Quillo was interested in football early on and he played for the St. Gallen club FC Rotmonten from the age of six. He joined his favourite club FC St. Gallen at the age of 11. There he became a youth international. He won the European Championships with his teammates in the Switzerland U17 team in 2002. The youngsters from Switzerland beat France 4-2 on penalties in the final to become U17 European champions.
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Since the establishment of the Bundesliga on 28 July 1962 for the 1963/64 season, there have been five Regional Leagues: North, Berlin, West, South-west and South. The champions of those five leagues qualified directly for promotion play-offs that were played in two groups of four teams. That included the two second-placed teams in the West and South-west Regional Leagues. The two runners-up from the North and the South played a qualifier for the eighth place in the promotion games.
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