"First of all, I'd like to say a big thank you to Rüdiger Vollborn. He made it possible for some of the players from that team to meet up again here at the BayArena. It's great to be back," said Karl-Heinz Brücken in conversation with the stadium announcers Pitti Dahl and Tobias Ufer at half-time.
The former Leverkusen midfielder provided an insight into the training regime for the team that achieved such success back then that few people would understand today: "We only trained three times a week. That was the most at the amateur level as things were at the time. We all had jobs or were studying." Brücken was a student back then and he joined Bayer 04 from Fortuna Düsseldorf after he came to the attention of the then head coach Theo Kirchberg who offered him a trial and then a contract.
Asked about how the team prepared for matches back then, the 75-year-old Brücken was happy to recall: "We only had 13 outfield players and two keepers in the whole squad – it was simply a completely different time. Although it was possible to substitute players from the 1967/68 season – one player could be replaced. Of course, it was difficult with such a small squad given all the commitments. We met up on Saturdays before matches and often went to the Bergische where we could prepare for matches with walks and discussions. That led to a really good team spirit and that was definitely important for us going on to win the title given the small size of the squad."
There won’t just be plenty of excitement on the pitch as Bayer 04 host Borussia Dortmund at the BayArena at 18:30 CET on Saturday. Outside the stadium there will be collection points for food donations to the Leverkusen Foodbank, which will also benefit from the profits of a jersey raffle in the Fanwelt afterwards. There will also be a minute’s silence before kick-off following the passing of long-time Werkself player Dieter Herzog, before two fan clubs are honoured for their decades-long support at half-time and fans receive a talk about Orange Day, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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Bayer 04 go into the first of two successive clashes with Borussia Dortmund boosted by their Champions League win at Manchester City. Ahead of the Bundesliga top match on Saturday, 29 November (kick-off: 18:30 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the tight schedule, BVB's strengths and returning squad members.
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Borussia Dortmund are doing very well in terms of points and results in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. BVB have only suffered two defeats to date this term. Now coach Niko Kovac's team are away to the Werkself on Saturday night, 29 November (kick-off: 18:30 CET) in the top match on Bundesliga matchday 12. The two teams meet again three days later in the DFB Pokal Round of 16 tie in Dortmund. Two very competitive encounters are on the cards. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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The Bayer 04 Women clcoked up a 3-2 win in a friendly against Twente Enschede on Thursday afternoon in the last international break of 2025. In drizzle, Lilla Turanyi (16’), Kristin Kögel (65’) and Paulina Bartz (69’) scored the goals for the Werkself against the Dutch Eredivisie Vrouwen leaders, who are still unbeaten in the league.
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