Happy 60th birthday, Hans-Peter Lehnhoff

Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, said about the 60-year-old: "Hans-Peter Lehnhoff is not only a football legend in Belgium but also here in Leverkusen. One of his whipped-in crosses set up Rudi Völler to score his first goal for the Werkself in 1994. He gets excited, celebrates and suffers with Bayer 04 – and he's as fit as a 40-year-old and that's impressive."

And sporting managing director Simon Rolfe also remembers Lehnhoff's crosses well and he describes the 60-year-old, tongue-in-cheek, as the "best dressed member of staff at Bayer 04." Medical director Dr Karl-Heinrich Dittmar added: "Hans-Peter has always kept his feet on the ground despite his success in football." Over more than two decades under the Bayer Cross, Lehnhoff has become "a real friend over the years."

Lehnhoff has now been in Leverkusen for 29 years.

via cologne and belgium to Leverkusen

Lehnhoff started his professional playing career at rivals FC Köln and he went on to attain legend status in Belgium playing for Royal Antwerp. The biggest honours from that time were reaching the final of the UEFA Cup with FC Köln in 1986 and winning the Belgium Cup with Antwerp in 1992. The following season he reached the final of the European Cup Winners Cup with the Belgian side. Those are historic achievements for the club and Lehnhoff and he was later given a very special award: Lehnhoff was named the best player in the club's history on the 125th anniversary of Royal Antwerp.

Lehnhoff finally moved on to Leverkusen in 1994 and he quickly became established at his new club. At the end of the 1990s, he impressed the Bayer 04 fans with his inimitable runs down the wing. It was a time that his former teammate Rüdiger Vollborn is very happy to remember: "For me, Hans-Peter with Jan Heintze were the best and, at the same time, oldest pair of wingers in the world in the middle of the 1990s. I'm very happy that he is still with us today. He did used to play for FC Köln but that has fortunately been forgotten after his very successful and long time in Belgium (he laughs). Unfortunately we don't often bump into each other. But when we do meet we always give each other a warm welcome. I wish him many happy returns."

contact, Footall expert, Friend

Rudi Völler, Lehnhoff's teammate from 1994 to 1996 and a long-standing colleague at the club, has fond memories of the 60-year-old: "For me, there is hardly anybody who has identified himself with Bayer 04 more than Hans-Peter Lehnhoff. He was – and still is today – always there. Above all as a contact for everything for the players. But also for many other members of staff around the Werkself. He's always available if they are looking for advice, support or just someone to talk to."

Völler added: "In the many, many years we've worked for the club there were no Sunday mornings where he didn't suffer when we lost and there were no days where he didn't celebrate with everybody else after wins. How often was I in his office at times like that with a coffee in my hand talking to him about football. His opinion as an expert in football was important to me when I had to make significant decisions for our club. Characters like Hans-Peter Lehnhoff are priceless. I'm very grateful that I was always able to rely on Peter in my time as a player and also as a manager. He has been a friend to me over all that time."

first one there every day

Lehnhoff made 177 appearances for the Werkself and experienced turbulent times under the Bayer Cross: After he and his teammates avoided relegation on the final matchday in 1996, he finished runner-up in the following year as well as in 1999. He then hung up his boots. But he stayed with the Werkself. The 60-year-old, considered unbeatable in football tennis, is a member of the Bayer 04 Veterans team where he gets the chance to play again from time to time. As the team liaison manager he looks after organisational matters for the first team.

Lehnhoff is also appreciated by the players. Jonathan Tah: "Hans-Peter is the first one training every day. When we get to the dressing room he's already finished his first run. And he's always the one who is here longest in the afternoon. The whole squad wishes him a happy birthday."

Bayer 04 also wish you, dear Hans-Peter, all the best on your 60th birthday. Stay fit and healthy and enjoy the day.