Dr. Jürgen Schwericke: From 1975 to the reunion of TuS 04 and SV Bayer 04 in 1984, he was the president of SV Bayer 04 Leverkusen and in that role he played a significant part in the promotion to the Bundesliga. He was rarely seen in the stands in the second half of games as he preferred to spend time on the edge of the pitch, preferably next to the opposition goal, to be closer to the action. HERE is an announcement in honour of Dr. Jürgen Schwericke.
Richard Seuser: The gentleman on the left in the second photo. He had been a club member since 1907 and one of the first footballers. He later went on to manage our club as a member of the football committee and, above all, in his role as the deputy chairman of Bayer 04, a post he held for a long time. Seuser, after over 40 years working on the Bayer 04 board, finally retired in 1971 and he was then named the honorary chairman. He died in 1993 at the age of 100.
Gustav Schmitz: The gentleman on the right in the second photo. The first groundsman at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium and the adjoining training pitches was responsible for looking after the turf at Bayer 04 for a total of 19 years up to his retirement in 1976. He has passed on his love for the club and "his" turf as his grandson Georg is now our head groundsman.
Harald Wohner: The man on the left in the third photo. He worked at the club from 1956, first looking after the Reserve and Amateur teams and later he was the kit man for the senior squad in the 1980s. For almost 40 years he was primarily responsible for looking after the players’ boots and he had to tolerate one or two foibles from me. He passed away after a long illness in 2018 shortly after meeting up with the UEFA Cup winners. HERE is the announcement in honour of Harald Wohner.
Dieter Treckentrup: Dieter knew every first team player and coach at Bayer 04 over many years. I don't think he ever missed a training session in the 80s or 90s. His written analysis of the next opponents and his recommended line-ups for the Bayer 04 coaches are legendary. The players also received free advice on their way from the dressing room to the training ground. Dieter was simply a one-off!
Other images from the match:
Hans Sarpei was born on 28 June 1976 in Tema, Ghana, and came to Germany with his parents at the age of three, where he grew up in Cologne. Even before he was born, his mother and father worked in Hamburg in the import-export sector. There they met an older man who introduced them to German culture and supported them. Out of gratitude, Hans was later given his first name, although this man died before he was born. Hans comes from a sporting family; his older brother Edward and his nephews Hans Nunoo Sarpei and Kingsley Sarpei were or are also professional footballers.
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On 3 June 1953, Hans-Josef (‘Sepp’) Kretschmann became the fifth coach in the history of Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Born in Allenstein, East Prussia, on 21 March 1902, the football coach first studied to become a teacher before later switching to football. He took over the Werkself from Franz Strehle, under whom the team twice managed to stay in the 1st Oberliga West. However, Strehle did not extend his contract in Leverkusen after these two very successful years.
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After promotion to Bundesliga North 2 in the summer of 1975, Bayer 04 are fighting relegation just eight months later. The club expects full commitment from everyone in this precarious situation. Promotion coach Manfred Rummel is to give up his main job as a teacher at the Mülheim special school and become a full-time coach at Bayer 04. The coach, who is very popular with the team, does not see himself in a position to fulfil the club's request. Despite a 2-0 home win against SpVgg Erkenschwick, Manfred Rummel is put on gardening leave by "mutual agreement".
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Bayer 04, already been promoted to the 1st Oberliga West, played friendly after friendly in the second half of May 1951. And that continued throughout the following month.
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Jacek Krzynowek was born on 15 May 1976 in Kamiensk, Poland, and grew up as a typical country boy. He spent his childhood less in structured training sessions and more on simple pitches, where he spent hours playing football with older boys. He realised early on that he had exceptional shooting power and enormous stamina. But for a long time, he didn't appreciate just how much talent he had. While others dream of a great career, professional football initially seems like a distant world to him that he only knows from television.
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