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:
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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