Friends,
It will be thirty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The year is 1991. The German Democratic Republic (GDR) has firm control over the Eastern side of Germany and is joining hands with the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). The Cold War is ending.
The fall of the Berlin Wall marked a reunion of the great German dream prior to the World War. At times, the dream often looked a distant one. Two sides of the same coin. Yet so different.
West Germany was a democracy while the East was Marxist Socialist. Perceptions and beliefs made their way into the fabric of families shaping society itself. Inevitably, sports had a crucial role to play in this divorce of beliefs.
Germany v Germany
It is the 1974 World Cup. The East defeats the Western thanks to a late goal by Jurgen Sparwasser. However, it would be West Germany who would go on to have the last laugh as they lifted their second World Cup.
As for the East German Sparwasser, he defected to the West a year before the Wall fell. He would not be the last.
If the game revealed anything, it was that the two parts of Germany were as different as night and day.
While the West German football team composed of professional football players, the East German players were picked out from the police forces or from the Army.
Club clashes between the two sides were often feisty and heavily contested. Passion ran deep among the East German faithful.
The clubs from both countries did not play each other till the 1973-74 edition of the European Cup, where East German champions, FC Dynamo Dresden met West German champions Bayern Munich.
Dresden ended up losing 7-6 on aggregate, putting an end to one of the most thrilling encounters of all time. It ended up being one of the most-watched games in football history with the return leg in Dresden witnessing nearly 300,000 ticket requests.
From then onwards, club clashes between the countries became far more frequent.
One of the most memorable encounters was the 1985-86 European Cup Winners Cup clash between Bayer 05 Uerdingen and Dynamo Dresden- the latter representing East Germany.
The match was termed “Miracle of the Grotenburg” and is still well remembered among the Uerdigen faithful.
Dresden had won the first leg 2–0 at home and led 3–1 at half time in Uerdingen when the latter scored six unanswered goals to win the tie 7–5 on aggregate.
Since then, many of the West German clubs sent scouts to watch East German players, as they tried to lure them away by offering better contracts.
The faltering East German economy could not stop the mass exodus of players leaving for the West. Once the Berlin wall was opened in 1989, the demise of East German football seemed inevitable.
In 1990, East German football heard its final death knell when they played their last international game against Belgium.
This was a fiercely emotional game where a young Matthias Sammer starred as captain and netted two goals. Sammer later moved to the Bundesliga after reunification, where he made his lasting legacy.
The last season of the East German Oberliga saw the top two teams automatically placed in the Bundesliga the following season. The next six teams were made to play in the 2. Bundesliga.
Hansa Rostock finished the Oberliga as winners with Dynamo Dresden finishing in second. Both clubs went on to play in the Bundesliga the following season.
Much has changed however since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the German dream of reunification 28 years later.
Apart from RB Leipzig, there is not a single East German side playing in the Bundesliga at present. There still seems to exist an invisible wall between the Eastern and Western sides of Germany.
Where the West has flourished, the East has failed.
The Eastern clubs, though supported by the local population, often lack the financial prowess required to attract the good biggest and move up the top of the German football ladder.
While clubs like Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg have had the support of sponsors like T-Mobile and Volkswagen, traditional clubs like Dresden seem to be reminiscing in their glory days.
Even today, the East lags far behind the west in terms of overall progress.
Unemployment is nearly twice as high in the East than it is in the West. There is far less scope of investment in the East, and far lesser corporations or even small private firms. East Germany’s population is steadily on the decline with nearly two million people having fled for the West since the fall of the Wall.
An invisible iron curtain has now fallen between the Western and Eastern parts of Germany.
For traditional clubs like Dresden to re-emerge to their glory days, there has to be a change in the socio-economic order of Eastern Germany.
One might view RB Leipzig as a success story, with the club now challenging for the Bundesliga. The question of whether we might witness a reunification of German football at the top flight, however, yet remains to be answered.
For football lovers, of course, such a renaissance would indeed be welcomed.uix
Did you know?? 🤔
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has an ASTEROID named after him?
Yes. It’s the 33179Arsenewenger.
Quiz 🧠
Which team qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup but refused to play because FIFA wouldn’t let them play barefoot?
The answer will be revealed next week.
In the meantime, send in your answers, and we promise we’ll make it up to you for being uber-smart 😉
Today’s Quote 😎
Tell him he’s Pele and get him back on
Legendary Partick Thistle manager John Lambie's response to being told that the striker Colin McGlashan was concussed and didn't know who he was.
Player to Watch 🧐
Ruslan Malinovskyi - The Ukrainian is in fine form.
The attacking midfielder is scoring goals for fun now. Look at this strike against champions Juventus.
His partnership with Papu Gomez and Duvan Zapata has fired Atalanta into second place- the best ever finish in the club’s history.
Word is out that AC Milan are keen on acquiring his services. Who knows what’s gonna happen?
For now, Malinovyski bleeds black and blue.