He played for Rot-Weiß Hütte, a small club in the town Troisdorf, up to the younger year for the U19s. He then moved on to join the U19 team of the "bigger" SV Siegburg 04, playing in the top Middle Rhine U19 league that included Bayer 04. Playing against the Werkself, the attacking midfielder came to the attention of Bayer 04 boss Reiner Calmund who then brought him to the Bayer Cross to play for the U19 team.
He first played for the Bayer 04 reserve team before the Leverkusen head coach Erich Ribbeck brought him into the first-team squad in 1986. He very quickly established himself as a valuable squad player. The ball-winning Jean Pierre could play in midfield as well as in both full-back positions and as a central defender.
He made his first Bundesliga appearance on 22 November 1986. John Pierre came on as a substitute on 85 minutes in place of Herbert Waas in a 2-1 away win at FC Homburg. He made a total of 81 Bundesliga appearances for Bayer 04 scoring one goal. Up to 1991 he also played in six DFB Pokal and ten UEFA Cup games. His biggest success with Bayer 04 was winning the UEFA Cup in 1988. John Pierre played in five of the twelve games in that competition.
After his time at Leverkusen, he played for second division VfL Osnabrück. He ended his professional career at the end of the season and in 1992 he played as an amateur for VfL Hamm/Sieg. He also played for FV Bad Honnef and he played his last football match for the district league club SpVg Wesseling-Urfeld. He gave up the attempt to stay in football as a coach. He quickly recognised that it wasn't for him.
Nevertheless, Jean Pierre, who speaks fluent Dutch, French, English and German, is still to be seen on football pitches around the Middle Rhine. First as the chair of FC Blau-Weiß Büsdorf and since 2015 as the sporting director at SC Fliesteden.
Since 2019, the father of two children has lived with his English wife Samantha in Rheidt-Hückelhoven, a small community near Bergheim/Erft. The owner of two industrial companies that produce products for pipeline construction he has extended the stables in the style of old farms.
Dear Jean Pierre, I wish you all the best on your 60th birthday. Enjoy the celebrations and remain fit and healthy.
Thomas Hörster was born in Essen on 27 November 1956. As a child, he took part in high diving and judo, but was also passionate about football. After starting out at Blau-Weiß Holsterhausen-Essen, he moved on to ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen. As a U19 player, he trained with the senior side for the first time. And at just under 18 years of age, Thommy – as he is known – made his debut in Bundesliga 2. Over two-and-a-half seasons, he made 71 appearances for Schwarz-Weiß Essen.
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Bernd Dreher was born in Leverkusen on 2 November 1966 and he began playing football at SV Schlebusch at the age of five. At the age of nine, he joined the youth academy at Bayer 04. There, the goalkeeper progressed through all the youth teams and, with the U19s in 1985, he reached the final of the German Championship, that Bayer 04 lost 4-2 to Eintracht Frankfurt.
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Robson Ponte was born on 6 November 1976 in São Paulo. He began his football career in Brazil with CA Juventus. He then played for América FC and Guarani FC. In 1999, he joined Bayer 04. Robson initially played for the Werkself until 2001. He then moved to VfL Wolfsburg on a two-year loan. There, he continued to develop and gained valuable experience in the Bundesliga. In 2003, he returned to Leverkusen, where he particularly showcased his dribbling skills and his ability in attacking midfield. In total, he made 79 appearances for Bayer 04 and scored six goals.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 from the month of November. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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On Sunday, 4 November 1951, the first league derby between Bayer 04 and FC Köln took place. The FC Köln stadium in Müngersdorf was absolutely bursting at the seams for this clash. A veritable invasion of Bayer 04 fans from Leverkusen set off for Cologne by tram and bus. From midday onwards, in addition to the scheduled services, six extra tram services ran at the standard fare from Leverkusen Town Hall to the stadium in Cologne. At the same time, buses operated by Grein ran regularly from Wiesdorf market square to Cologne. In the end, over 5,000 Bayer 04 fans waved their black and red flags in the stands at the FC Köln stadium and got behind their team for ninety minutes.
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