Dynamo Dresden: an east German club to watch

They once battled out domestic and European titles, then fought for their bare survival, and now - at least for some of them - the football elite in the former East Germany are edging towards resurrection.

Dynamo Berlin, Carl Zeiss Jena, Dynamo Dresden and Magdeburg are inching their way up in the minor leagues after years of licence withdrawals and insolvencies following German reunification in 1990.

But there seems to be little hope of saving VfB Leipzig - who won the first German championship in 1908 - and the club with a proud tradition may be gone for good after another insolvency.

"The best East German clubs will only be able to knock on the door of professional football again if they are built on an economically sound basis," said Joachim Streich, who holds the East German record for caps with 102 matches.

The eight-time East German champions Dynamo Dresden seem on the best way to return to the professional game. They have undergone a remarkable turnaround after it all went downhill following relegation from the Bundesliga in 1995 and a temporary fall into the fourth division.

Dresden are now well-placed to achieve promotion into the second division, ranked second in the northern division of the Regionalliga.

Joachim Streich: former East German football star

Rudi took the job in 2002 and reduced the budget from EUR 3.4 to EUR 2.4 million. An additional EUR 150,000 was generated through jersey sales in a unique search for a title sponsor which was eventually found as well.

"We have revived Dynamo and are now on a solid footing," said Rudi.

A return of Dresden into pro football could be encouraging for the other former East German heavyweights.

Dynamo Berlin, who won 10 East German championships, currently languish in the fifth division following a 2001 bankruptcy.

Financial consolidation is underway at the favourite club of the deceased boss of the feared East German secret police, Erich Mielke, with club president Mike Peters claiming his small knowledge of the game was a blessing in disguise when he took over in 2002.

*quote1*"I didn't have a clue about football when I took the job. I lead the club like a company, it's about figures and not emotions," said Peters.

"We have no more debts and I want to continue the consolidation process," he added.

Magdeburg were the only East German club to hold aloft a European trophy when they won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1974. After amassing debts of EUR 8 million the long-term plan of the fourth-division team is a return to pro football by 2008.

"We have learnt our lesson," said president Ingolf Nitzschke.

Jena, for their part, are knocking on the door of the third division again, while VfB Leipzig seem beyond hope.

Creditors are seemingly unwilling to lose money again after making concessions at the club's first insolvency in 2000 and have rejected a plan to save the club.

VfB Leipzig now face the end as a football club just a few weeks after the city's Zentralstadion-renovation for the 2006 World Cup was completed.

April 2004

DPA

Subject: Life in Germany, German football