Bundesliga
History
04.11.2009 10:40:42
Feb. 17th 1990: Andreas Thom puts Leverkusen 1-0 up against Homburg on his Bundesliga debut
When the wall came down...
On November 9th 1989, the government of the German Democratic Republic opened up the Berlin Wall, and in so doing effectively rang time on its own existence. For the citizens of East and West Germany alike, it was a period of great joy, but also great uncertainty.
And great change: in politics, in the economy, and in sport. German football went through its own process of reunification, which likewise got underway on that historic November night.
On the eve
At the start of the month, Dynamo Dresden were top of the East German First Division, unbeaten and on 17 points at the end of matchday 10. The evening before the wall came down they had played 1. FC Magdeburg, winning 3-1. The Bundesliga meanwhile was fast-approaching the winter break. By the end of matchday 16 (November 3rd/4th), 1. FC Köln had moved above Bayern München and Bayer Leverkusen to the top of the table courtesy of a 2-0 win at Hamburger SV.
Odd situation
Then there was a break for international action. It was a strange situation for the players representing the GDR, given that the fall of the wall had more or less consigned their home country to the history books. Nevertheless, a place at the 1990 World Cup finals was still at stake for the team coached by Eduard Geyer when they took to the pitch against Austria. Perhaps not surprisingly, East Germany went down to a 3-0 defeat. "The players were totally distracted and being bombarded with offers”, recalled Geyer, the last-ever coach of a GDR national side.
Tight at the top in the Bundesliga
After league action recommenced, things were never the same again. Scouts from the west arrived en masse to run a check on East Germany's top players. The Bundesliga was calling: a Bundesliga which was developing into a particularly tight affair in 1989-90, with three teams separated by goal difference alone at the top at the midway point. A few extra games were played before Christmas however, on account of the World Cup finals in Italy the following summer. When the Bundesliga finally broke up for winter, eventual champions Bayern were out in front on their own on 29 points, closely followed by Frankfurt (28), Köln (27) and Leverkusen (27).
Thom makes history
Bayer at that stage had one game in hand. They played it on February 17th, against FC 08 Homburg and in doing so created a little piece of history, as Andreas Thom became the first player officially transferred from a club in East Germany to take his bow in the Bundesliga. He duly rose to the occasion, putting Bayer in front after just 14 minutes and on the road to a 3-1 victory. Leverkusen's sporting director at the time, Reiner Calmund, had organised Thom's move from BFC Dynamo, making initial contact with the gifted midfielder during the aforementioned contest between the GDR and Austria. Thom put pen to paper at Bayer on December 12th 1989. "It's a great sporting challenge”, he said at the time, "and if I succeed in the west it will definitely be a motivation for the young players back home.”
From east to west
Others would soon follow in his footsteps. Established stars like Matthias Sammer (Dynamo Dresden to VfB Stuttgart), Ulf Kirsten (Dynamo Dresden to Leverkusen) and Thomas Doll (BFC to Hamburg) all made the move to the Bundesliga in the summer of 1990. In the five years following reunification, some 150 East German players headed west and signed on at Bundesliga or 2. Bundesliga clubs. The days of GDR football as an entity were numbered when the wall came down; on July 19th 1990 the process was made official. It was agreed that for 1991-92 the Bundesliga would be expanded to 20 teams and the 2. Bundesliga to 24 - split into two echelons – in each case for one season only. The East German Football Association, the DVF, was integrated into the DFB.
Rostock on top
The light finally went out on May 25th 1991, the final day of action in the East German top flight. Hansa Rostock were the last-ever champions, securing a place in the 1991-92 Bundesliga alongside runners-up Dresden. Erfurt, Halle, Chemnitz and Jena all qualified directly for the 2. Bundesliga. VfB Leipzig (then still known as Lokomotiv) and Stahl Brandenburg subsequently joined them there. By the summer of 1991, football in the German Democratic Republic was strictly one for the archives. A new chapter opened in the game in Germany, and a club from the east made its mark on the very first side: Rostock beat 1. FC Nürnberg 4-0, to top the Bundesliga table at the end of matchday one in the 1991-92 season.
Sebastian Stolz / translation Angus Davison
Watch a special report on German football at the time the Berlin Wall came down in this week's edition of "GOAL! The Bundesliga Magazine"
On the eve
At the start of the month, Dynamo Dresden were top of the East German First Division, unbeaten and on 17 points at the end of matchday 10. The evening before the wall came down they had played 1. FC Magdeburg, winning 3-1. The Bundesliga meanwhile was fast-approaching the winter break. By the end of matchday 16 (November 3rd/4th), 1. FC Köln had moved above Bayern München and Bayer Leverkusen to the top of the table courtesy of a 2-0 win at Hamburger SV.
Odd situation
Then there was a break for international action. It was a strange situation for the players representing the GDR, given that the fall of the wall had more or less consigned their home country to the history books. Nevertheless, a place at the 1990 World Cup finals was still at stake for the team coached by Eduard Geyer when they took to the pitch against Austria. Perhaps not surprisingly, East Germany went down to a 3-0 defeat. "The players were totally distracted and being bombarded with offers”, recalled Geyer, the last-ever coach of a GDR national side.
Tight at the top in the Bundesliga
After league action recommenced, things were never the same again. Scouts from the west arrived en masse to run a check on East Germany's top players. The Bundesliga was calling: a Bundesliga which was developing into a particularly tight affair in 1989-90, with three teams separated by goal difference alone at the top at the midway point. A few extra games were played before Christmas however, on account of the World Cup finals in Italy the following summer. When the Bundesliga finally broke up for winter, eventual champions Bayern were out in front on their own on 29 points, closely followed by Frankfurt (28), Köln (27) and Leverkusen (27).
Thom makes history
Bayer at that stage had one game in hand. They played it on February 17th, against FC 08 Homburg and in doing so created a little piece of history, as Andreas Thom became the first player officially transferred from a club in East Germany to take his bow in the Bundesliga. He duly rose to the occasion, putting Bayer in front after just 14 minutes and on the road to a 3-1 victory. Leverkusen's sporting director at the time, Reiner Calmund, had organised Thom's move from BFC Dynamo, making initial contact with the gifted midfielder during the aforementioned contest between the GDR and Austria. Thom put pen to paper at Bayer on December 12th 1989. "It's a great sporting challenge”, he said at the time, "and if I succeed in the west it will definitely be a motivation for the young players back home.”
From east to west
Others would soon follow in his footsteps. Established stars like Matthias Sammer (Dynamo Dresden to VfB Stuttgart), Ulf Kirsten (Dynamo Dresden to Leverkusen) and Thomas Doll (BFC to Hamburg) all made the move to the Bundesliga in the summer of 1990. In the five years following reunification, some 150 East German players headed west and signed on at Bundesliga or 2. Bundesliga clubs. The days of GDR football as an entity were numbered when the wall came down; on July 19th 1990 the process was made official. It was agreed that for 1991-92 the Bundesliga would be expanded to 20 teams and the 2. Bundesliga to 24 - split into two echelons – in each case for one season only. The East German Football Association, the DVF, was integrated into the DFB.
Rostock on top
The light finally went out on May 25th 1991, the final day of action in the East German top flight. Hansa Rostock were the last-ever champions, securing a place in the 1991-92 Bundesliga alongside runners-up Dresden. Erfurt, Halle, Chemnitz and Jena all qualified directly for the 2. Bundesliga. VfB Leipzig (then still known as Lokomotiv) and Stahl Brandenburg subsequently joined them there. By the summer of 1991, football in the German Democratic Republic was strictly one for the archives. A new chapter opened in the game in Germany, and a club from the east made its mark on the very first side: Rostock beat 1. FC Nürnberg 4-0, to top the Bundesliga table at the end of matchday one in the 1991-92 season.
Sebastian Stolz / translation Angus Davison
Watch a special report on German football at the time the Berlin Wall came down in this week's edition of "GOAL! The Bundesliga Magazine"
