Now comes the first friendly match. At that time it was usual for the clubs in Germany to play friendly matches many weeks before the start of the season to raise a few marks from the spectators to cover the costs of their teams.
FC Köln, who finished fifth in the Oberliga a month before, field their best possible side as did the Werkself. 5,000 spectators are at the stadium for the kick-off and they see a Werkself side on top of their game. The Bayer team produce a flawless performance, are quicker and more nimble and creative in attack. Constant harrying from the Werkself strikers creates a real threat for the Köln defence.
Manfred Höher and new signing Hans Flohe put Bayer 04 2-0 up. FC Köln pull a goal back seconds before half-time. After the restart, Manfred Höher volleys a corner from Anton Mauth into the net to make it 3-1. Shortly after that Theo Kirchberg converts a cross from Manfred Höher for the fourth Leverkusen goal. Höher scores again for his hat-trick and Mauth makes it 6-1. To date, 6-1 is the biggest victory for Bayer 04 in the clash with the neighbours.
Striking in 1950: Neither the sports journal Der Fußball-Sport nor NWDR report the result. It is probably embarrassing for the two media outlets given what happened to their Köln players in Leverkusen.
Harry Gniech was born on 14 October 1951 in Leverkusen-Schlebusch. At the age of six, he joined SV Bayer 04, initially in the athletics section. The boy actually wanted to play football, but was only allowed to switch to the football team when he turned nine. Harry quickly established himself as a playmaker in midfield. Despite his talent, the path from the youth team to the first-team squad was a long one back then. In the 1973–74 season, his former U19 coach, Friedhelm Renno – who was by then in charge of Bayer 04’s first team – selected him for his first match with the professional squad.
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Henrique Adriano Buss, known as Henrique, was born on 14 October 1986 in Marechal Cândido Rondon, a town in the Brazilian state of Paraná. At the age of 13, he joined Coritiba FC and made the step up to the first team in 2006. Henrique helped the team gain promotion to the Brazilian top flight and then moved on to Palmeiras FC. After just five matches for his new club, the 1.85-metre-tall centre-back was signed by Barcelona in 2008 for ten million euros and loaned to Bayer 04 for one year for a fee of €400,000.
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Constant Djakpa was born on 17 October 1986 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He started playing football at the age of five. He took his first steps in professional football at Stella Club d’Adjamé, before moving on to Sogndal IL in Norway. His path eventually led him to Germany via the Romanian club Pandurii Târgu Jiu.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 from the month of October. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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In the first week of October 1966, professional footballers decided to take an unusual step – they went on strike. They felt compelled to resort to this action, which was relatively uncommon until then, to give greater weight to their demands for fair pay. They reasoned that, with three draws, they were entitled to a bonus; at the very least, a points bonus of 75 Deutschmarks that was agreed before the start of the season.
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