Because after the club’s founding, there was another alpha male at FC besides Kremer, one who was never particularly keen to subordinate himself: Hennes Weisweiler. Born in Lechenich, Weisweiler had already played for predecessor club KBC in the late 1930s. After the war he coached VfB Lechenich, before Franz Kremer brought him back to Cologne.
As a coach, Weisweiler established 1. FC Köln as a top side in the Oberliga West with fifth places in 1950 and 1952 and fourth in 1951, even if qualification for the German championship still eluded them. He first left FC from 1952 to 1955, coaching Rheydter SV and spending a year as assistant to Sepp Herberger. Kremer brought him back in 1955. Weisweiler wanted to rely on young local players and let them play his kind of football.
Despite financially strong backers such as department-store giant Kaufhof and consistently large crowds, he rejected expensive signings and fell out with established players who did not fit his concept - above all 34-year-old star Tschik Čajkovski, whose defensive effort irritated him deeply.
