Unfortunately, the training facilities are not so good. The pitch is very uneven and there's not much sign of grass. Training is usually held three times a day in the summer pre-season. Everybody is working hard for the next challenge in the UEFA Cup against Barcelona. We have a tournament and draw 1-1 with HSV but then lose 2-1 against the then Spanish second division side CD Teneriffa. The training camp ends with a 3-0 victory against CF Puerta de la Cruz, another club on the island. But training has priority.
The best anecdote from the training camp is provided by an incident after the match against HSV: We were staying in the same hotel as a former second division referee. In the evening before the game against HSV there was a bet with Reiner 'Calli' Calmund. It was a matter of the sprinting abilities of the two gentlemen, to be more exact about who would finish first across the length of the pitch. The former referee was really fit and Calli still somewhat slimmer than for his marriage but he was considered to be fat. Calli, given a 20 metre start for this race, lifted up his belly with both hands and at the sound of the starting pistol he sets off over the pitch with treble steps like Ben Johnson. The spectators are crying with laughter. His fellow competitor comes nearer and nearer, Calli's trousers start slipping and almost bring him into a stumble. But, in the end, he gets to the target with a slight lead. The bet was for a bottle of champagne that Calli shares with his guests in the evening with great pleasure and a wide grin.
We played in Nuremberg on 20 February 1988. We lost 2-1 in a very decent match where we did not take our chances. The first home fixture of the New Year against Borussia Mönchengladbach was supposed to be the dress rehearsal for the game against Barcelona but unfortunately the match was postponed. So we only had one match in preparation for our first big dual against one of the world famous clubs. That happened in Cologne at the Müngersdorfer Stadium. But that was in March.
Heiko Scholz was born on 7 January 1966 in Görlitz. His first club as a youth player was Dynamo Görlitz. From there, he moved up to the sports school in Dresden and played in the youth teams at SG Dynamo Dresden from 1978-1982. Not considered good enough, Scholle, as he was nicknamed, had to leave the sports school to play his last two youth years at ISG Hagenwerder. Via BSG Chemie Leipzig and 1.FC Lokomotive Leipzig, who Heiko won the DDR Pokal with in 1987 and he also reached the European Cup Winners' Cup final (a 1-0 defeat against Ajax), his path finally led him back to his favourite club, Dynamo Dresden. For one million Deutschmarks, the highest transfer fee ever paid for a player in the former GDR, he moved from Lok Leipzig to the capital of Saxony in 1990.
Show more
Stefan Kießling was born on 25 January 1984 in Lichtenfels, Franconia. Even as a young boy, he spent countless hours on the football pitches of his home town, chasing after the ball and dreaming of playing football. His parents supported him, but they bring him up in a down-to-earth manner - hard work, honesty and modesty are values that characterise him from an early age. His talent became apparent early on, but his ambition was even more striking. Kießling always wants to improve, wants to give more than others.
Show more
On Sunday 26 January 1936, the local derby between relegation-threatened BV Wiesdorf and league leaders SSV ‘Bayer’ Leverkusen took place in the first district league of the Rhein-Wupper district. On the old BV Wiesdorf pitch, where the Leverkusen job centre is today, 1,800 spectators gather to watch the match.
Show more
It is Friday, 31 January 1986, the derby in Cologne is coming up and we're full of confidence after the home win against Hamburg SV a week earlier, having turned a 2-0 deficit at the break into a 3-2 victory. In particular, the Greek amateur player Minas Hantzidis, who came on as a half-time substitute, turned the game around. Two goals from Bum-kun Cha and a penalty from Christian Schreier gave us two important points in the battle for a UEFA Cup place. We are one point behind the North Germans in fifth place in the table, six points ahead of our neighbours from Cologne.
Show more
In this video you can see impressive and important goals in Bayer 04 history from the month of January. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
Show more
