It was matchday 25 in the 1999/00 season – the match away to SSV Ulm at the Donau Stadium kicked off at 15.30 CET in front of 23,500 spectators. Bayer 04, then second in the table behind Bayern Munich, had gone six games unbeaten; at the same time, the 'Sparrows' were in confident mood after two wins in succession and an unbeaten run stretching back to November of the previous year.
Ulm missed two chances at the start of the game – the Werkself were more clinical: Emerson and Paulo Rink started the goal fest. Ulf Kirsten added a third and Emerson doubled his tally to make it 4-0 at half-time.
The Werkself were on top of their game in the first half and the team coached by Christoph Daum carried on in the same vein in the second 45 minutes: Oliver Neuville, Michael Ballack, Zé Roberto with a brace and Bernd Schneider scored to make it 9-0 for Bayer 04. Ulm's Leandro netted a consolation goal just before the end of the game for the final score of 9-1.
Bayer 04: Juric – Nowotny, Ramelow, R. Kovac – Emerson, Ballack, Zé Roberto (Bernd Schneider 82'), Beinlich (Gresko 78') – Neuville, Rink, Kirsten (Zivkovic 52')
Goals: 0-1 Emerson (10’)
0-2 Rink (14’)
0-3 Kirsten (19’)
0-4 Emerson (39’)
0-5 Neuville (68’)
0-6 Zé Roberto (74’)
0-7 Ballack (75’)
0-8 Zé Roberto (81’)
0-9 B. Schneider (85’)
1-9 Leandro (90’)
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds 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 Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career working as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
Show more
Fans at the BayArena got to enjoy a spectacle on Wednesday as the Werkself came from behind to beat Nürnberg 5-2 in the DFB Pokal. Now with the sixth home game of the season, can Bayer 04 maintain their perfect record in Leverkusen as VfB Stuttgart come to town in the Bundesliga on Saturday (15:30 CET)? The visitors have had issues domestically this term, sitting in 15th place, although they have had much better results in the UEFA Champions League. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 8 encounter…
Show more
Three days after the spectacular comeback in the DFB Pokal tie against FC Nürnberg (5–2), the Werkself face their next challenge in the Bundesliga. On Saturday, 31 October (kick-off: 15:30 CET), Bayer 04 host VfB Stuttgart, currently 15th in the table, at the BayArena. Ahead of the match, Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about important factors in preparing for this next game given a tight fixture list.
Show more
Despite VfB Stuttgart performing well in the Champions League, they are facing a difficult spell early on in the Bundesliga. Three days after their last-minute victory in the DFB Pokal at SC Paderborn 07, the Swabians can now take to the pitch at the BayArena with greater confidence on Saturday, 31 October (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
