Bayer 04 mourn the loss of Harald Wohner

Harald Wohner was a daily sight at the BayArena last season as he could not do without his beloved Werkself even in his advanced years. Contact with the Bayer 04 support staff and pros was dear to his heart and it kept him young.

"We are all sad and touched by Harald Wohner's death. He was already a club institution when I joined Leverkusen in 1994 and he was always reliable with his heart in the right place," recalled Rudi Völler. "Harry was only ever interested in Bayer 04. We'll miss him very much and our thoughts go out to his family."

'Harry', as he was universally known at Bayer 04, came to the Rhineland from Thüringen in 1956 where he started in the support staff looking after the Bayer 04 Reserves while at the same time working as a fork-lift driver in the transport section at the Bayer works. In 1980 he took up a full-time support role with the first team at the instigation of Reiner Calmund – after a lot of persuasion. "I was worried about giving my job up at the works. I was coming up to 25-years service and I thought: 'What happens if the coach doesn't like me? Then I'll end up on the street,'" he said about his background.

Those doubts proved to be unfounded. A lot of coaches have come and gone at the Werkself over the past 40 years but Harald Wohner was always there. How could anyone not like him?

Wohner was responsible for much more than washing the kit, packing bags for away games and looking after the dressing rooms. His particular passion was for boots, the vital piece of equipment for every player. He had his realm in the basement of the BayArena opposite the home dressing room where he spent his team cleaning, polishing and repairing the first team players' boots. The  black boots of yesteryear are  a rarity now with the advent of a range of loud colour options. "Paulo Sergio was the first. Back then, he turned up with white boots, which made everybody stare," said Harald Wohner. Boots were in safe hands with him and his care and attention was highly rated. He learned that from Dettmar Cramer, the Werkself coach from 1982. "He always said to me: 'Harald, the boots always have to be in top condition.' I always stuck to that."

Wohner's value to the Werkself went far beyond looking after kit. He always had a friendly ear for the players and he had a solution for all problems and niggling pain. For the lads, 'Harry' was “ a confidant, confessor and understood what made people tick. And the pros could always be certain he would never disclose their secrets. "Harry was  a father figure for a lot of people with his warm heart," said Bayer 04 honorary captain Simon Rolfes about him.

Unforgettable, for example, was the way he took Wendell to one side in his first season at Bayer 04 in 2014 ahead of the game against Stuttgart to gave him some tips. When the Brazilian heeded his advice and scored his first goal for the  Werkself he ran straight to Harry on the touchline to embrace him. Harry was so moved that he was unable to hold back the tears.

Moments like that will always be associated with Harald Wohner. Bayer 04 mourn the loss of a legend.