13.02.2021Bayer 04

On his 58th birthday: Vollborn's 'Rudi recounts' starts

Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for nearly 40 years, he has the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Cup (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. From February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a small trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month...

Vollborn, who is 58 years old on this Friday (Bayer 04 wish Rudi a Happy Birthday), looks back at goals, games, personalities and stories off the pitch from the Bayer 04 club history. In February, the Leverkusen legend put together an interesting TV report for Werkself fans on the goal-packed derby win against FC Köln in the snow on 17 February 1963.

Also in the month of February: An abandoned game from 1948 and photos of the Werkself team photo shoot in the Grünewald Halle in 1991. Click HERE for all the reports.

Related News

Women - 10.05.2026

Bayer 04 Women looking to keep Champions League hopes alive at Leipzig

The Werkself need a win in their penultimate match of the season at RB Leipzig on Monday evening (18:00 CEST) to keep their hopes of third place alive until the final day. After Eintracht Frankfurt lost on Saturday, Roberto Pätzold's side can close the gap on their rivals to two points and leave it all to play for next Sunday.

Werkself slip to sixth after 1-3 defeat in Stuttgart showdown | 33rd matchday

Werkself-TV - 09.05.2026

TV highlights of 1-3 loss at VfB Stuttgart

Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-3 loss at VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 33 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...

Ibrahim Maza gegen Stuttgarts Jamie Leweling

Bundesliga - 09.05.2026

Werkself slip to sixth after 3-1 defeat in Stuttgart showdown

Down to fifth from fourth place despite taking an early lead: in the head-to-head for a Champions League spot, Bayer 04 were 1-0 up at VfB Stuttgart with just a minute played thanks to an Aleix Garcia strike, but ultimately lost 3-1 (2-1) to the more determined hosts. It meant the Swabians leapfrogged the Werkself in the Bundesliga table on the penultimate matchday.

Bundesliga - 09.05.2026

Matchday news #VfBB04: Taking the next big step with the full weight of our fans behind us

Today sees Bayer 04 go head-to-head with their next direct rivals in the race for Champions League qualification (kick-off 15:30 CEST). Opponents Stuttgart are currently fifth in the table, level on points with the Werkself but one place below them due to a three-goal inferior goal difference. The Black and Reds' record at Bad Cannstatt tells a clearer story: they've not lost at VfB for over 16 years. One important factor in securing what would be three crucial points away from home is Leverkusen's strength on the counter-attack. Whilst Stuttgart are also extremely dangerous going forward, they will be without their captain. Today’s matchday news.