The farewell for one of the biggest personalities in German football evoked great emotion at the BayArena in Leverkusen: The fans celebrated the Bayer 04 legend with a huge piece of choreography, standing ovations and chants of ‘There’s only one Rudi Völler.’ In addition, 25,000 T-shirts were distributed before the start of the game. All these actions had one message: “Thank you, Rudi!”
Werner Wenning, chairman of the shareholders committee at Bayer 04, plus CEO Fernando Carro presented Völler with a collage of images from over 28 years at the Werkself on the pitch and also praised the work of the 1990 World Cup winner for the Black and Reds. Völler then took to the microphone himself: “Today is the day where I say thank you to everybody who has supported our wonderful club from the bottom of their hearts over the years. As the club anthem says, we have to stand together in coming years with a cross on our chest in good and bad times – for a great atmosphere like today! That’s how I want to see you!”
With the exception of long break when he was the Germany coach (2000 to 2004), Rudi Völler has been part of Bayer 04 since 1994 and over the years developed into the face of the Werkself. Before his move to Leverkusen as a player, the Germany international with 90 caps had already seen a lot and achieved much more: In addition to the World Cup, the now 62-year-old played for AS Roma for five years and he won the UEFA Champions League with Olympique Marseille in 1993.
Towards the end of his career as a player, the Hanau-born striker played for Bayer 04 for two years from 1994 to 1996. The former world-class central striker explained his decision to join the Werkself back then in an interview in the Süddeutsche Zeitung: “It was a gut decision in the end to join Bayer 04 because I saw: At Leverkusen there was Bernd Schuster and Andi Thom plus a few others of the like who could set me up.” That’s what they did. He scored 31 goals in his 75 appearances for the Black and Reds.
Völler remained under the Bayer Cross when he hung up his boots in 1996 and he was introduced to the secrets of the management business by the then boss Reiner Calmund. Before his job with the DFB, he was the sporting director at Bayer 04 for four years and he worked in the same role for 13 years after his time with Germany before taking over the running of the Werkself as sporting managing director alongside Fernando Carro (CEO) in 2018.
Rudi Völler does not need to have any second thoughts about his successor with the Black and Reds: The 62-year-old has passed on the baton to sporting director Simon Rolfes who officially takes over as the sporting managing director on 1 July – and he will certainly have passed on one or two important lessons and anecdotes from his 28 years with Bayer 04 Leverkusen…
New signing Miguel Gutiérrez has made a good start at Leverkusen and has promptly earned a nomination for Player of the Month in his first few weeks in the Bundesliga. He has scored one goal and provided three assists in four league games. The Spanish left-back has also brought some impressive stats with him to Bayer 04. Issue #56 of the Werkself magazine has taken a look at these figures. ‘Facts & Fun’ with Miguel Gutiérrez.
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With seven points, Mainz 05 are currently joint seventh, level on points with sixth-placed Bayer 04. In today’s head-to-head clash (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself must be particularly wary of the clinical Mainz strike duo. For Leverkusen fans who have left it to the last minute, there are still a few tickets available from the matchday ticket office. Those following the Black and Reds from home, on the other hand, have a choice: RTL is broadcasting the match on free-to-air TV, and Werkself Radio is also offering the expert commentary of former Bayer 04 player Falko Götz. Today’s matchday news.
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Back from the international break: On Saturday 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself are away to Mainz 05. Ahead of the clash at the MEWA ARENA against the side currently sixth in the table, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about the team’s work during the extended international break. The Spaniard also commented, when asked, on a number of squad matters, including Ibrahim Maza.
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FSV Mainz 05 went into the international break on the back of an away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Currently sixth in the table, the Rheinhessen side – who have been impressive on the road – now aim to continue their good start to the Bundesliga campaign at home when they face the Werkself on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). In terms of squad selection, Urs Fischer once again has more options at his disposal. Up front, the Mainz coach is likely to continue relying on what is currently the league’s most successful strike partnership. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Thomas Eichin has been working for Bayer 04 for six years – as Director of Professional Teams since July 2023 – and has contributed to the successful development of our club in many areas. Today, Friday 9 October, Freiburg-born Eichin is celebrating his 60th birthday. We wish him a very happy birthday.
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