Bundesliga History

[olafgb]

Kicker today started a highly interesting topic on the history of the Bundesliga because of the 40th birthday. I think it’s worth translating and maybe even for sticky as it explains a lot and is a huge help for understanding Bundesliga.

Starting with some records:

Record Player: Karl-Heinz Körbel (Frankfurt) – 602 Games
Foreign Record Player: Ole Björnmose (Hamburg) – 323 Games
Player with most clubs: Michael Spies – 7 (Wolfsburg, Dresden, Hamburg, Rostock, Mönchengladbach, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart)
Player with most wins: Manfred Kaltz (Hamburg) – 291
Player with most draws: Karl-Heinz Körbel (Frankfurt) – 155
Player with most losses: Bernhard Dietz (Bochum) – 221
Most consecutive Games: Sepp Maier (Bayern) – 442
Youngest Player: Jürgen Friedl (Frankfurt) – 17 + 25 days
Oldest Player: Klaus Fichtel (Schalke) – 43 + 184 days
Fastest Goals: Giovane Elber (Bayern) and Ulf Kirsten (Leverkusen) – 11 seconds
Club with most Goals: Bayern – 101 (1971/72)
Club with fewest Goals: Tasmania Berlin – 15 (1965/66)
Club with fewest Goals Against: Bremen – 22 (1987/88)
Club with most Goals Against: Tasmania Berlin – 108 (1965/66)
Record Goal Scorer: Gerd Müller (Bayern) – 365
Youngest Goal Scorer: Lars Ricken (Dortmund) – 17+244
Oldest Goal Scorer: Richard Kreß (Frankfurt) – 38+248
Most Goals in a Game: Dieter Müller (Cologne) – 6
Most Points in a Season: Bayern Munich – 79 (1971/72)
Fewest Points in a Season: Tasmania Berlin – 10 (1965/66)
Most Games without Loss: Hamburg – 36 (January 82 until January 83)
Most Home Games without Loss: Bayern – 73 (April 70 until September 74)
Most Games without Loss from the start: Bayern – 23 (1988/89)



ALWAYS SATURDAY AT 3.30 P.M.

The last Heroes from Bern still had their starting spots when on August 24, 1963 the first matchday of the first Bundesliga season was started. A trio of the “great olds” helped to push into a new era: Helmut Rahn eight days after his 34th birthday with a goal for Meidericher SV [today MSV Duisburg]; Max Morlock, 38, scored goal for 1.FC Nuremberg; and the almost 36 year old Hans Schäfer with a superb performance for 1.FC Cologne. Nine years afters succeeding with the “Wonder of Bern”, they helped ‘Wunderkind Bundesliga’.

When in ten weeks, on May 24 at 3.30 p.m. the last nine games of this season will be started, Bundesliga can look back to a story of success. 40 years of dreams, tears and triumphes, always Saturday at 3.30 p.m. 40 years moved by managers, media and money. Bundesliga, Germany’s beloved kid.

Nothing expresses the sometimes tumbling, but never falling affection than one number: 280.000.000! 280 million people will have passed the stadium gates on May 24 in the past 12.182 games in 40 years. No musical, no opera, no cinema can prove such an attractiveness. Neither the increased costs, nor scandals and affairs could lower the attraction.

Sure, time and again there were scaring moments. Mainly in the 80s when a big number of the stars caused low attendance with arrogance towards the fans and ignorance regarding the basic duties of pro behaviour. “Either we let Bundesliga die or we give her a further chance”, said Günter Netzer, back then GM of Hamburg in a dramatic speech about the situation of the league.

One decade earlier Bundesliga already seemed to have dug the own grave with the cheating scandal that was detected on June 6, 1971. Also the self-clearance with hard punishments for about fifty players and many coaches and officials calmed the shocked fans down.

An exceptional appearance is only born once in a while. In the early 70s Franz Beckenbauer, Günter Netzer, Gerd Müller, Sepp Maier and Uwe Seeler were some of them at the same time. Surrounded by international frame personnel they were the biggest luck for the nicest bloom of German soccer.

Money and stars, which are produced by the money machine Bundesliga since 40 years, are necessary – but not the base for the success though. But why are so many addicted to the drug Bundesliga? As the identification in the Bundesliga stadiums at 3.30 p.m. on Saturdays can’t be compared to anything else. Whenever it was tried to change the kickoff time, there were massive fan protests. Even in the most exciting thriller the best director can’t completely avoid the impression that happiness and pain, good and bad luck, coincidence and intention are in a firm script and just acted. “Theatre Bundesliga” delivers the real affects, real nervous crisis, real jumps of joy, real tears and pain – total identification.

The secret of success of the Bundesliga is in the fascinating mixture of lottery and performance. The fascination that opens the doors for coincidences, but at the end almost always deserved winners and relegating teams are determined. Since forty years. Always Saturday at 3.30 p.m. But this isn’t the full truth: the very first matchday was started at 5 p.m.; the change to 3.30 p.m. happened at the eighth matchday.

Since then the unexplainable is reduced to the magic of one explanation: everything is possible in Bundesliga.



And a choice, in which you can win Bundesliga tickets, and also flight, hotel and tickets for the three road games of a German CL participant in the first group stage of the next season. Pick the All Star Team of the 40 years:

GOALIES:
1 Ronnie Hellström (Kaiserslautern)
2 Bodo Illgner (Cologne)
3 Oliver Kahn (Bayern)
4 Andreas Köpke (Nuremberg)
5 Sepp Maier (Bayern)
6 Norbert Nigbur (Schalke)
7 Jean-Marie Pfaff (Bayern)
8 Petar Radenkovic (1860)
9 Toni Schumacher (Cologne)
10 Uli Stein (Hamburg)
11 Hans Tilkowski (Dortmund)

RIGHT BACKERS:
1 Thomas Berthold (Stuttgart)
2 Bernd Förster (Stuttgart)
3 Horst Höttges (Bremen)
4 Jorginho (Leverkusen)
5 Manfred Kaltz (Hamburg)
6 Friedel Lutz (Frankfurt)
7 Hans Nowak (Schalke)
8 Sepp Piontek (Bremen)
9 Marko Rehmer (Hertha)
10 Stefan Reuter (Dortmund)
11 Berti Vogts (Mönchengladbach)

You can vote here, but probably you can’t win outside of Germany: http://www.kicker.de/content/umfrage/umfrage_browse.asp?folder=3100&umfrage=107

[olafgb]

Second Part:

FULL PROS AND FINISHING TIME KICKERS

Wild founding years! Sportive ups and downs happened in the first years after inauguration in 1963, and just the very first of the first seven title winners was logical. “We were one step ahead of all opponents”, remembers Wolfgang Weber of 1.FC Cologne, which was dominated by the club with the goat that jumps over the towers of the Cathedral in the logo. At the end there were six points difference to the surprising second Meidericher SV, whose coach Rudi Gutendorf used lots of concrete and because of that entered the history books as Riegel-Rudi (=Bolt/Bar-Rudi).

In the first season Timo Konietzka scored the premier goal directly after the kickoff for Borussia Dortmund at Werder Bremen. The black-yellow ones entered the history books for that. “We scored the last goal in the old mode and the first in the new era”, remembers Borussia veteran Alfred “Aki” Schmidt. It was not enough for defending the title though, “as Cologne was ahead of the others”.

Ahead mainly because of Franz Kremer. “Soccer was our profession”, says Weber about his team of full pros. Back then as 20 year old add-on player, he could fully concentrate on the work with the round leather. Dortmund’s championship winning team from 1963 still were finishing time kickers. Timo Konietzka: “We just had one training unit on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We don’t have to speak about medical treatment”. Aki Schmidt, ten years older than Weber, WC participant and established national player was working in the bureau at Hösch. “Not as long as an usual employee, but always some hours a day. As family father soccer only was not enough.”

The fathers in Cologne had it easier. Because of Kremer’s begging, because of his tireless efforts there were gas stations or newspaper stands for players, which mainly just represented the shops. And otherwise could focus on soccer.

Sportive FC had a roster, which was superior to the others. Ewert in the goal, Regh, Pott, Wilden, Benthaus, Sturm, Hornig and the young Thielen, Overath, Weber and on top of all others Hans Schäfer. The World Champion from 1954, the big idol from Cologne, “and”, says Aki Schmidt, “the director of the team, still a world class player although being far older than 30. Hans was unique.”

Unique also was the experience championship for 1.FC Cologne. Expected to win many championships, watched with envy and copied by the rivals – 1964 two mean from Munich did an internship. They were Wilhelm Neudecker and Robert Schwan and formed a world class team some years later with FC Bayern Munich. Cologne had to wait until 1978 to celebrate the next championship. “I don’t know why it never worked again”, says Weber still today.

The Champions changed year after year. “Usually it was a triumph of the team spirit”, analyses Weber. Werder Bremen with (“Fischken” Multhaupt as Coach), Eintracht Braunschweig (with Helmut Johannsen), 1860 Munich and 1.FC Nuremberg (both with Max Merkel as Coach). One time champions, in their shadows the later permanent winners Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach were growing.

One day events, which just stayed for one summer in the league, were Preußen Münster and Borussia Neunkirchen. And of course Tasmania 1900, the cannon feed of the third season – never again a team was as bad as this.


FINAL RESULT GOALIE RANKING:
1 Sepp Maier 40.4%
2 Oliver Kahn 30.5%
3 Toni Schumacher 9.4%
4 Andy Köpke 3.9%
5 Uli Stein 3.7%
6 Ronnie Hellström 3.2%
7 Norbert Nigbur 2.2%
8 Jean-Marie Pfaff 2.1%
9 Petar Radenkovic 1.8%
10 Hans Tilkowski 1.5%
11 Bodo Illgner 1.3%


New Election: 11 Liberos

1 Klaus Augenthaler, Bayern
2 Franz Beckenbauer, Bayern
3 Rune Bratseth, Bremen
4 Klaus Fichtel, Schalke
5 Matthias Herget, Uerdingen
6 Miroslav Kadlec, Kaiserslautern
7 Jens Nowotny, Leverkusen
8 Bruno Pezzey, Frankfurt
9 Matthias Sammer, Dortmund
10 Willi Schulz, Hamburg
11 Klaus-Dieter Sieloff, Stuttgart

Vote here: http://www.kicker.de/content/umfrage/umfrage_browse.asp?folder=3100&umfrage=109