Birthday boy of the month II: Hans-Peter Lehnhoff turns 60

Over the next three years, Peter becomes first choice making 98 Bundesliga appearances and scoring nine goals. In 1986 he reached the UEFA Cup final with the Cologne team where they lost to Real Madrid. He starts the 1987/88 season at FC Köln but moves to Belgium after matchday four to join the oldest Belgian football club, FC Royal Antwerpen. Here a becomes a crowd favourite in the next seven years and he wins the Belgian Cup with his teammates in 1992.

The following season is one of his most successful in the European Cup Winners Cup. After wins against Glenavon (on penalties), Admira Wacker Vienna (after extra time) and Steaua Bucharest (on away goals), Royal Antwerpen play Spartak Moscow in the semi-finals. After a 1-0 defeat in the first leg, Hans-Peter Lehnhoff converts a penalty 86 minutes into the second leg to make it 2-1, which takes his team to the final at Wembley Stadium. The Belgian side lose 3-1 to AC Parma on 12 May 1993. On the 125th anniversary of FC Royal Antwerpen Hans-Peter is voted the most important player in the club's history.

He faces AC Parma again two years later. In his first season at Leverkusen, Bayer 04 reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup where they lose to the Italian side 2-1 and 3-0. Hans-Peter settled in quickly at Leverkusen, thrilled the crowd with his attacking runs. The Bayer 04 fans cheering on with drawn-out chants of “Peeeeteeeer, Peeeeteeeer”, When he sprints down the wing with his flowing mane or when he scores one of his eleven Bundesliga goals for Bayer 04. When the Danish left-back Jan Heintze joins Bayer 04 from Uerdingen in 1996, the "oldest pair of wingers in the world" (quote from coach Christoph Daum) is complete. The two 33-year-olds are like whippersnappers on the wings in the autumn of their careers.

Lehnhoff finishes second in the Bundesliga with the Werkself in 1997 and 1999. Peter retires from the first team after the second time as runner-up. But he does not hang up his boots but plays for the Reserves for a season before finally ending his playing career in 2000. He does develop into a very important additional player in training. Assistant coach Peter Hermann described him as his most important player, who should never get injured, as with an odd number of outfield players Lehnhoff may be brought into the training match to up the training quality. At the age of 48 under coach Jupp Heynckes, he plays 20 minutes with the first team in a friendly as a thank you for his commitment in training. He still puts on his boots today for our Veterans team.

Peter has been the team liaison manager for the senior side since 2000 organising things in and around the Werkself such as arranging dates and hotel bookings and being as ever part of the Bayer 04 family.

Dear Peter, many happy returns on your 60th birthday, stay healthy and celebrate!