Dynamo Dresden

SG Dynamo Dresden are a German association football club, based in Dresden, Saxony.^[4] They were founded in 1950, as a club affiliated with the East German police,^[1] and became one of the most popular and successful clubs in East German football, winning eight league titles.^[5] After the reunification of Germany, Dynamo played four seasons in the top division Bundesliga (1991–95),^[5][6] but have since drifted between the second and fourth tiers.^[7] The club achieved promotion to the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga for the 2011–12 season.

History

Early years (1950–1954)

The city of Dresden had played a significant part in German football, pre- and during World War II – its local club, Dresdner SC were national champions in 1943 and 1944. However, after the end of the war the Allied occupiers dissolved all sports clubs in an attempt to clear the slate of Nazi Germany. DSC reformed in 1946, now named SG Friedrichstadt, but Dresden was now under Communist rule, and the authorities considered the club to be too bourgeois. After a riot at the final of the 1950 East German championship, the club was dissolved.^[1]

The city needed a new, ideologically safe representative, and a new football club as founded, as part of SG Deutsche Volkspolizei Dresden. A team was assembled with players delegated from 11 other police-affiliated clubs,^[1] and quickly established itself as a force in East German football, winning its first cup in 1952.^[1] In April 1953, the central sports society SV Dynamo was founded, to which VP Dresden were affiliated, taking the name of SG Dynamo Dresden.^[1] Shortly after this the club claimed its first East German title.^[1]

This success, though, proved to be the club's undoing. Erich Mielke, head of the Stasi, of which Dynamo were now part,^[8] was unhappy that Dresden was enjoying footballing success, while the capital, East Berlin, lacked a strong footballing team.^[9] In 1954, Dynamo's team were moved to Berlin, to form Dynamo Berlin.^[1][9] Among the players lost to Berlin were Dynamo's first internationals, including Johannes Matzen, Herbert Schoen and Günter Schröter, while the remainder of the club was left to regroup in the second-tier DDR-Liga.^[1]

Re-emergence (1954–1969)

Dynamo Dresden were left with a team composed of youth and reserve players, and by 1957 had dropped to the fourth tier, playing in the local Bezirksliga.^[1] They began to climb the leagues, though,^[1][10] and by 1962 they were back in the DDR-Oberliga,^[10] and although this first season ended in relegation, they bounced back immediately.^[10] They recovered equally well from another relegation in 1968,^[10] and remained in the Oberliga from 1969 until its dissolution in 1991. This relegation came after a fourth place finish in 1967, which enabled Dynamo's first foray into European football – they entered the 1967–68 Fairs Cup, where they were eliminated by Scottish side Rangers in the first round.^[10]

During the 1965–66 season, 11 East German clubs were separated from their parent sports clubs to be designated as Fußballclubs: clubs focused entirely on football, where the country's best talent would be transferred with the object of developing players for the national team. Dynamo Dresden were one of these, although they retained the title of Sportgemeinschaft (SG).^[9]

Glory years (1969–1978)

During the 1970s, Dynamo established themselves as one of the top teams in East Germany, under the management of Walter Fritzsch. They won five league titles (1971, 1973, 1976, 1977 and 1978),^[5] and two cups, (1971 and 1977).^[5] They battled with 1. FC Magdeburg for domination of the league, and became the most popular the side in the country, regularly drawing crowds of 25,000, around three times what other clubs were attracting.^[9] They also began to establish themselves as a presence in European football – they played in European competition every year during the 1970s, and eliminated some big names – beating FC Porto, Juventus^[11] and Benfica on their way to four quarter-final finishes.^[12] During this time Dynamo came up against West German opposition for the first time, losing against Bayern Munich 7–6 on aggregate in the last 16 of the 1973–74 European Cup.^[11] On three occasions they were eliminated by English side Liverpool, twice in the UEFA Cup and once in the European Cup,^[12] and each time Liverpool went on to win the competition. In 1973, Hans-Jürgen Kreische was the first Dynamo Dresden player to be named East German Footballer of the Year, and was followed by Hans-Jürgen Dörner in 1977.^[13] Kreische was the league's leading goalscorer on four occasions,^[14] and was named in East Germany's squad for the 1974 World Cup, along with team-mate Siegmar Wätzlich.^[15]

History was to repeat itself, though, at the end of the 1970s. Erich Mielke, again jealous that provincial clubs were dominating the league while his beloved Dynamo Berlin were starved of success, began to manipulate the league in favour of the side from the capital.^[8][16]

Capital dominance (1978–1991)

East German football had generally been set up in favour of the "Fußballclubs", who were usually delegated the best players, but the authorities had usually kept out of on-pitch matters. This changed in the late-1970s and 80s though, as players and referees were coerced by the Stasi into helping the cause of Berliner FC Dynamo.^[8][16] BFC won ten consecutive titles, from 1979 to 1988. Of all clubs, Dynamo Dresden were the most affected by this, finishing second on six occasions,^[7] although they did win the FDGB-Pokal three times (1982 and 1984, 1985).^[5] Torwards the end of the 1980s, the Stasi's influence was waning,^[8] and Dynamo Dresden reclaimed the title in 1989, and retained it in 1990, adding a cup win to complete a double.^[6]

By this point the Berlin Wall had fallen, and many of the top players in East Germany took the opportunity to head west. In the summer of 1990, Dynamo Dresden lost two star players, Ulf Kirsten and Matthias Sammer joining VfB Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen respectively. With German reunification looming, many clubs in the East changed their name to shed their Soviet image, and Dynamo Dresden changed from SG to the more traditional 1. FC.^[6] The Oberliga also changed name for its final season: the league, now called the NOFV-Oberliga, was used to determine which places the East German clubs would take in the unified German league. Dynamo Dresden finished 2nd, behind Hansa Rostock, thus qualifying for the Bundesliga.^[6]

Walter Fritzsch had retired in 1978, and was succeeded by Gerhard Prautzsch,^[7] who was in turn followed by former players Klaus Sammer (1983–86), Eduard Geyer (1986–90) and Reinhard Häfner (1990–91).^[7] The star players of the 1970 were replaced by a new generation, including Torsten Gütschow, Ulf Kirsten, Matthias Sammer, and Andreas Trautmann, although the club lost three key players in 1981: Gerd Weber, who along with teammates Peter Kotte and Matthias Müller had been offered a lucrative contract with 1. FC Köln, intended to flee to the West while in Udine for national team match against Italy in April 1981. The Stasi somehow got wind of this plan, and in January 1981 the three players were arrested at Schönefeld Airport, from where the national team was about depart for Argentina, and banned for life from the DDR-Oberliga. Weber was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. Kotte and Müller, who had decided to stay in Dresden, were nonetheless punished for their knowledge of Weber's plans.^[17]

During the 1980s, the club continued to be a regular participant in European football, generally earning respectable results.^[12] In the 1985–86 Cup Winners' Cup, however, they were on the receiving end of a shocking defeat against Bayer Uerdingen of West Germany: having won the first leg 2–0, they were 3–1 up at half-time in the second leg, when goalkeeper Bernd Jakubowski was injured by Uerdingen's Wolfgang Funkel. Debutant Jens Ramme was introduced, and proceeded to let in six goals, as the team lost 7–3.^[18] In addition to this, striker Frank Lippmann took the opportunity of the match in Krefeld to escape to the west. Dynamo recorded their best ever European performance in the 1988–89 UEFA Cup, beating AS Roma on the way to a semi-final defeat against VfB Stuttgart.^[18] Their last European campaign was the 1990–91 European Cup, which ended in defeat to eventual winners Red Star Belgrade. Dynamo's fans rioted at the second leg, which resulted in the club being banned from Europe for the following season.^[6]

Bundesliga (1991–1995)

Having been among the top club in the East, Dynamo found life in the Bundesliga much harder, struggling both financially and on the pitch. They spent four years at this level,^[7] during which they were in a near-constant battle against relegation. Their highest placing was 13th in 1993–94, but the following year they succumbed to the drop, finishing in last place,^[6] having gone through three managers (Siegfried Held, Horst Hrubesch and Ralf Minge) during the season.^[7] To add to this, the club had accumulated debts of more than 10 million DM, and were denied a license to play in the 2. Bundesliga, and had to drop down to the third tier Regionalliga Nordost.^[6] Rolf-Jürgen Otto, the club's president was jailed for having embezzled around 3 Million DM from the club.^[6]

While many of the stars of the 1980s had moved west, some remained for Dynamo's Bundesliga tenure, including Torsten Gütschow and Hans-Uwe Pilz, while the club was able to attract players from other Eastern clubs, including Olaf Marschall, René Müller and Heiko Scholz. The fall of the wall brought the influx of Dynamo's first foreign players, and the club saw internationals from Australia (Mark Schwarzer), Poland (Piotr Nowak), Russia (Stanislav Cherchesov) and Sweden (Johnny Ekström), among others.

Ups and downs (1995–2006)

Dynamo sought to regroup in the Regionalliga, and again looked to former players to manage the team, being led by Hans-Jürgen Kreische (1995–96), Udo Schmuck (1996) and Hartmut Schade (1996–1998), but failed to seriously challenge for promotion. In 1999 they finished second in the table, but with 60 points: 32 behind champions Tennis Borussia Berlin. 1999–2000 saw a restructuring of the Regionalliga: the four leagues were to be reduced to two, and Dynamo would have to finish in the top 7 to avoid relegation. Having finished 11th in the previous season they turned to Colin Bell,^[6] an English coach who had had some success with youth football in Germany, but he left in March 2000 after poor results and a player revolt.^[19] Cor Pot, a Dutchman, was brought in to replace him,^[19] and he turned the team around, but it was too late – they finished in eighth place, and were relegated to the fourth-tier Oberliga Nordost-Süd.^[19] By this point Dynamo were not even the top team in Dresden: Dresdner SC had returned after reunification, and finished as runners-up in the Regionalliga Nordost in 2000.

Optimism was high, though, after the way the last season had ended, and the slogan "Wir kommen wieder" (we're coming back), was adopted. However, the Oberliga was now highly competitive with VfB Leipzig, 1. FC Magdeburg and FSV Zwickau also having been relegated, and Dynamo couldn't match the consistency of their main promotion rivals Magdeburg and Leipzig. A 2–1 defeat against Magdeburg in February ended their promotion chances, and Pot resigned.^[19] With nothing to play for, Dynamo slumped to fifth place.^[19] For the following season Christoph Franke was brought in as manager,^[19] and led the club to promotion – they won the league^[19] with only two defeats, and beat Hertha BSC's reserve team in a playoff to earn their place in the Regionalliga Nord.^[19] Dynamo's youth system was particularly successful during this period, with players including Lars Jungnickel, Silvio Schröter, Maik Wagefeld and Daniel Ziebig going on to play at a higher level.

Dynamo finished a respectable 7th in their first season back in the third tier, and followed that with another promotion,^[19] finishing second behind Rot-Weiß Essen. Life in the 2. Bundesliga began brightly, with a 3–1 win against MSV Duisburg, but by the halfway point of their first season they were facing relegation, with only 18 points. They recovered strongly in the second half of the season though, and finished in 8th place, thanks in part to signings such as Ansgar Brinkmann, Joshua Kennedy and Klemen Lavric. The 2005–06 season began similarly brightly, as Dynamo climbed to third place with a 2–1 win over 1860 Munich in the Allianz Arena,^[19] but this was followed by twelve matches without a win, resulting in the dismissal of Christoph Franke. Austrian manager Peter Pacult was brought in,^[19] and results improved, but Dynamo could not escape the drop, finishing 15th.^[19]

Stablisation (2006–present)

Dynamo were back in the Regionalliga with the immediate aim of promotion, and things started brightly, but Peter Pacult left the club after six matches, to manage his former club, Rapid Vienna.^[19] He was replaced by Norbert Meier,^[19] but Dynamo could not keep up their promotion bid, and finished 7th, due in part to poor away form. Another reorganisation of the league structure was looming, and Dynamo knew they'd have to finish in the top 10 to qualify for the new national 3rd Liga. A number of former star players returned, including Lars Jungnickel, Marek Penksa and Maik Wagefeld,^[19] but results were not consistent, and Meier was sacked, replaced by former coach Eduard Geyer.^[19] Dynamo secured qualification on the last day, finishing 8th,^[19] but Geyer was dismissed due to disagreements with the board.^[19]

The club turned to Ruud Kaiser, a Dutchman with a good reputation at youth level, as Geyer's replacement.^[19] They played in the first ever match of the 3rd Liga, beating Rot-Weiß Erfurt 1–0 with a goal from Halil Savran,^[19] but results were not consistent, and they could only finish in mid-table.^[19] The 2009–10 season began badly, and Dynamo were in relegation trouble, so Kaiser was sacked and replaced by Matthias Maucksch, a former player who had had some success with the reserve team.^[19] Maucksch managed to drag the team safe from relegation, and they finished the season in 12th place. Mauksch led the team to contention for a playoff place during the 2010–11 season, but was sacked in April after a run of five games without a win, and was replaced by Ralf Loose.^[20] Loose ended the season unbeaten and secured 3rd place, and a playoff against VfL Osnabrück which Dynamo won 4–2 on aggregate to earn promotion to the 2. Bundesliga.^[21]

In 2007 the club reverted to the name SG Dynamo Dresden.^[19]

Season-by-season record

Stasi

When they were founded as SG Volkspolizei, the club was sponsored by the East German police force, and in 1953, when they became Dynamo Dresden they were part of the SV Dynamo organisation, an arm of the intelligence service – the Ministerium für Staatsicherheit (Stasi).^[8] Dynamo were the most powerful of all the sports societies, and this conferred certain advantages on the club, although several of its players worked as Inoffizielle Mitarbeiter (paid informants), spying and reporting on their colleagues.^[9][22] While many former security service clubs have struggled to shed their negative image, particularly Berliner FC Dynamo, Dynamo Dresden and remain popular and well-supported, having come to represent their home city.

Stadium

Dynamo play at the Glücksgas Stadium,^[2] which was opened in 1923, originally named the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion after local track and field athlete Rudolf Harbig. The stadium was renamed Dynamo-Stadion by the East German authorities in 1971, but reverted to its former name after reunification. With an original capacity of 24,000, the stadium was rebuilt in the 1990s, in line with DFB and FIFA regulations, and was thoroughly modernised between 2006 and 2009. The rebuilt stadium opened on 15 September 2009 with a friendly match against Schalke 04. In 2010, the stadium was renamed in line with its new sponsor, Glücksgas.

Supporters

Dynamo were one of East Germany's best-supported clubs, regularly drawing crowds of around 25,000 during their heyday. Since reunification attendance levels have fluctuated along with the team's fortunes, while today they are one of the most well-supported teams in the lower leagues, drawing an average of aound 10-15,000 fans in the 3rd League. Following their 2010 advance to the 2nd League, they are currently drawing an average of 25,000, which is at level with the Italian top-team Juventus. In common with many clubs from the former east, the club has had problems with hooliganism, occasionally spilling over into racism and anti-semitism, but has taken steps to reduce this.

Relationships with other clubs

Dynamo Dresden have a particularly fractious relationship with Berliner FC Dynamo, who were formed out of the club in 1954, and were their main obstacle to success in the 1980s, but the two clubs rarely meet these days. Lokomotive Leipzig are traditionally Dynamo's main rivals in the battle for Saxon dominance, although this to extends to other clubs including Chemnitzer FC, Sachsen Leipzig and currently Erzgebirge Aue. In Dresden, Dynamo's main rivals are Dresdner SC, although they are currently ill-matched as DSC are mired in local football. Another club, SC Borea Dresden were formed out of SG Dynamo Dresden-Heide, a former feeder club for Dynamo, but there is no longer an official connection.

Colours and crest

When they were formed as SG Volkspolizei Dresden, the club wore green and white, the state colours of Saxony,^[1] but when the team became part of SV Dynamo they adopted the sports society's wine red colour scheme.^[1] In 1968, the club adopted its current colours of yellow and black, the city colours of Dresden.^[10]

The club's original crest was built around the shield of the Volkspolizei, to whom they were affiliated. In 1953 they adopted the D logo of SV Dynamo, which was retained until reunification, when its wine red background was replaced with Saxon green. They reverted to the red background in the early 2000s.

Current squad

As of 31 August 2011 (2011 -08-31)^[update][3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Technical staff

Dynamo Dresden II

Dynamo Dresden's reserve team is managed by Thomas Köhler and plays in the NOFV-Oberliga Süd (V).

Reserve team squad

As of 23 August 2011 (2011 -08-23)^[update]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Managers

Dynamo enjoyed its greatest successes under Walter Fritzsch, capturing the first division DDR-Oberliga title in 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, as well as finishing as vice-champions four times. The team also took the East German Cup (FDGB Pokal) in 1971 and 1977.

Notable former players

As one of the leading clubs in East Germany, Dynamo Dresden provided 36 DDR internationals,^[23] including the country's second most-capped player, Hans-Jürgen Dörner, and its joint top scorer, Hans-Jürgen Kreische.^[24] Twelve Dynamo players won Olympic medals, including six gold medallists in 1976. After German reunification a number of Dynamo players went on to represent the Germany national team, including Jens Jeremies, Ulf Kirsten, Olaf Marschall and Alexander Zickler.

Five Dynamo Dresden players were named East German Footballer of the Year: Hans-Jürgen Dörner, Hans-Jürgen Kreische, Andreas Trautmann, Ulf Kirsten and Torsten Gütschow. Dörner won the award three times, and the latter three players were its last three winners.^[13] Kreische and Gütschow were the leading scorers in the DDR-Oberliga seven times between them.^[14]

Perhaps the most notable Dynamo Dresden player is Matthias Sammer. He played for the club from 1985 to 1990, during which he won 23 caps for East Germany. He later made 51 appearances for Germany, winning the European Championship in 1996 and played at club level for VfB Stuttgart, Internazionale and Borussia Dortmund. With the latter he won two German titles, the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup, and was named European Footballer of the Year in 1997.

Honours

• DDR-Oberliga: 8
  • Champions 1953, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1989, 1990
• FDGB-Pokal: 7 (Record, shared with 1. FC Magdeburg)
  • Winners 1952, 1971, 1977, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1990
• UEFA Cup
  • Semi-final 1989
• NOFV-Oberliga: 1
  • Winners 2002
• Saxony Cup: 3
  • Winners 2003, 2007, 2009
• GDR Junior Champion: 2
  • 1982, 1985
• Junge Welt Junior Cup: 2
  • 1976, 1985
• Indoor-Regio-Cup: 1
  • 2007
• Deutschland Cup: 1
  • 1990

In Europe

References

External links

• Official team site
• Atmosphere at Dynamos Rudolf-Harbig-Stadium
• Abseits Guide to German Soccer
• Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv historical German domestic league tables (German)

GDR sports · Sports and games