After winning the Middle Rhine championship, Bayer 04, with Rummel at the helm, beat Union Solingen and Arminia Hannover in the promotion play-offs to move up to Germany's second tier – establishing the base for promotion to the Bundesliga four years later.
Manfred Rummel's main job was as a PE teacher at the Essen Special School for children with learning disabilities. After his stay at Bayer 04 , he went on to coach ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen and Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. At both clubs he went on to be a member of management after his coaching roles: CEO at Essen, general manager and vice-president at Oberhausen. As a player, Manfred Rummel was a successful striker at Schwarz-Weiß Essen and in 1959 he played a significant part in the biggest success in the club's history in winning the DFB Cup. He scored both goals in the 2-1 semi-final victory over Hamburg SV and he also netted a brace in the 5-2 win in the final against Borussia Neunkirchen. In 1961/62 Manfred Rummel was the top scorer in the Oberliga West - the top tier in German football at the time - with 26 goals.
After back-to-back away defeats, Bayer 04 Women now face their penultimate home fixture of 2026 as they welcome Hamburg to the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Saturday (14:00 CET) seeking three important points in the Google Pixel Bundesliga.
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Several Werkself players are set to represent their national teams during the final international break of 2026. Here’s an overview of who has been called up and what matches they will face in November. This article will be updated regularly.
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After three consecutive wins in the Europa League, the Werkself suffered their first European defeat of the season against Marseille. In a first half with few chances, the Black and Reds gradually gained more and more control of the game, but were unable to convert that advantage into goals. Miguel Gutiérrez came closest to putting Leverkusen ahead with a shot that hit the crossbar. In the second half, the French side produced clinical finishing, with Amine Gouiri scoring from a counter-attack to make it 1-0 (77’). Right up to the final whistle, the Werkself threw everything forward in search of an equaliser, but were unable to find a way back into the game.
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Bayer 04 are riding a wave of success on the European stage: After three wins from their first three games and as the only team yet to concede a goal, the Werkself sit second in the table in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. With another three points in their first-ever competitive match against Olympique Marseille on Thursday night, 5 November (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Bayer 04 could leap to the top of the table. Meanwhile, the French side are riding the wave of a winning streak in Ligue 1, but are yet to pick up any points in the Europa League. For one Werkself player, Thursday night will mark a reunion with his former team-mates. Today’s matchday news.
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The Bundesliga has finalised the fixtures for matchdays 12 to 18 of the 2026/27 season. Here is an overview of the dates.
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