Dynamo Dresden
File:Dynamo Dresden.png | |||
Full name | 1. FC Dynamo Dresden e.V. | ||
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Nickname(s) | "SGD" | ||
Founded | 1953 | ||
Ground | Rudolf Harbig Stadion | ||
Capacity | 23,940 | ||
Chairman | ![]() | ||
Manager | ![]() | ||
League | Regionalliga Nord | ||
2005-06 | 2. Bundesliga, 15th (relegated) | ||
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Dynamo Dresden are a German football club, based in Dresden, Saxony.
History
In 1950, Dresden's most popular local club, SG Friedrichstadt, ran afoul of the occupying Soviet authorities as being too bourgeoisie and not properly representative of East Germany's new socialist society. After their appearance that year against Horch Zwickau in a farcial national final manipulated by the authorities, the club was broken up and its players exiled to other cities with many fleeing to the west. What was left of the club was tacked onto the worker's side VVB Tabak Dresden.
Uncertainty and success
Predecessor side BSG Deutsche Volkspolizei Dresden was established after the war in October 1948 and was then groomed as an ideologically safe "replacement" side for the city. In July 1950, 17 players from 11 other police-sponsored clubs, most of them from SG Mickten, were delivered to Dresden to create a competitive team playing as SG Deutsche Volkspolizei Dresden in the green and white of Saxony. The new club soon enjoyed some success. They began to attract a following and inaugurated a new stadium, winning the FDGB Pokal (East German Cup) in 1952, and sending their first representatives to the national side. The club was formally re-established as SG Dynamo Dresden on April 12, 1953 and changed its colors to red and white.
Erich Mielke, head of East Germany's secret police known as the Stasi, was upset that Dresden was represented in the national league by several good sides while Berlin did not have even one. In late 1954, Dynamo Dresden was packed up and moved off to the capital to become Berliner FC Dynamo. What was left of the team – reserves and younger players – ended up as a 2nd division side which fell to tier III after just one season of play. They made their way back to the 1st division in 1962.
In January of 1966, 11 East German clubs including Dresden were separated from their parent sports clubs to be designated as football-only "focus clubs" where the country's best talent would be transferred with the object of developing players for the national team. In 1968, Dynamo Dresden took on the current team colors of black and yellow. They soon emerged as one of the DDR-Oberliga's best sides, enjoying a run of five championships and two Cup wins in eight years from 1971 to 1978 under trainer Walter Fritzsch. During this time Dresden was the country's most popular side, regularly drawing crowds of 25,000, when most other clubs were attracting less than a third of that.
Second place to the Stasi
Dresden and the rest of the league then came hard up against Stasi-sponsored Dynamo Berlin. After a decade-and-a-half of football that had been relatively free of interference from above, there would not be a real opportunity to challenge for the title on fair terms for a decade as circumstances were manipulated in favour of Mielke's pet side: between 1979 and 1988, Dynamo Berlin won 10 consecutive titles. Dynamo Dresden earned six second-place finishes in that same period and could take some consolation in becoming East Germany's top performing side internationally. Once the hold of the secret police on the nation's football was loosened, Dynamo Dresden started winning titles again, making the double (national and cup titles) in 1989 and 1990.
German reunification and the Bundesliga
After German re-unification in 1990 the club was re-named 1. FC Dynamo Dresden.
With the merger of the eastern and western leagues, they played four years in the Bundesliga, always finishing in the bottom half of the slate. A last place finish in 1994-95 led to relegation, compounded by financial problems that saw the club's president imprisoned for fraud. The club was denied a license and sent all the way down to Regionalliga Nordost (tier III). The team then struggled for some time, at one point falling to Oberliga Nordost-Süd (tier IV), before clawing their way back to 2.Bundesliga in 2004, despite on-going financial problems. Dynamo played there for two seasons, but have been relegated to the Regionalliga Nord for the 2006-07 season.
Stadium
The club plays its home fixtures at the Rudolf Harbig Stadion opened in 1923.
Famous players
Dynamo Dresden sent 37 players to the East German national team.
- Hans-Jürgen "Dixie" Dörner, 106 caps for East Germany (1969-1985).
- Ulf Kirsten, 49 caps for East Germany (1985-1990), 51 caps for Germany (1991-2003).
- Matthias Sammer, 23 caps for East Germany (1986-1990), 51 caps for Germany (1991-1998), European Footballer of the Year in 1996.
- Mark Schwarzer
Honours
- East German champions (DDR-Oberliga) (8): 1953, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1989, 1990
- East German Cup (FDGB Pokal) winners (7): 1952, 1971, 1977, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1990
- UEFA Cup semi-finalist: 1989
- Oberliga Nord champions: 2002
- Saxony Cup (Sachsenpokal) winners: 2003
- Europeans Cup matches: 98
- 1/2-Final of the UEFA-Cup: 1989
- Bundesliga 1991-1995
- Oberliga champion: 2001/2002
- Relegation for the 2. Bundesliga: 2004
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Trainers
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.
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Team trivia
- Playing internationally, the team was able to knock out such well-known teams as Roma, Juventus, and Benfica, but never reached a European final.
- Dynamo Dresden won the last two DDR-Oberliga championships before reunification (1989, and 1990), as well as the last East German Cup (1990).
Dynamo Dresden in euro competitions
Season | Competition | Round | Nation | Club | Score |
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1967/1968 | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
Rangers FC | 1:1, 1:2 |
1970/1971 | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
FK Partizan | 0:0, 6:0 |
2nd round | ![]() |
Leeds United | 0:1, 2:1 | ||
1971/1972 | European Clubs' Champions Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
Ajax Amsterdam | 0:2, 0:0 |
1972/1973 | UEFA Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
SK VÖEST Linz | 2:0, 2:2 |
2nd round | ![]() |
Ruch Chorzów | 1:0, 3:0 | ||
Eighth final | ![]() |
FC Porto | 2:1, 1:0 | ||
Quarter final | ![]() |
Liverpool FC | 0:2, 0:1 | ||
1973/1974 | European Clubs' Champions Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
Juventus | 2:0, 2:3 |
Eighth final | ![]() |
Bayern München | 3:4, 3:3 | ||
1974/1975 | UEFA Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
Randers Freja | 1:1, 0:0 |
2nd round | ![]() |
Dynamo Moscow | 1:0, 0:1 (4:3 a.p.) | ||
Eighth final | ![]() |
Hamburger SV | 1:4, 2:2 | ||
1975/1976 | UEFA Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
ASA Târgu Mureş | 2:2, 4:1 |
2nd round | ![]() |
Budapest Honvéd FC | 2:2, 3:0 | ||
Eighth final | ![]() |
Torpedo Moscow | 3:0, 1:1 | ||
Quarter final | ![]() |
Liverpool FC | 0:0, 1:2 | ||
1976/1977 | European Clubs' Champions Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
SL Benfica | 2:0, 0:0 |
Eighth final | ![]() |
Ferencvaros | 0:1, 4:0 | ||
Quarter final | ![]() |
FC Zürich | 1:2, 3:2 | ||
1977/1978 | European Clubs' Champions Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
Halmstads BK | 2:0, 1:2 |
Eighth final | ![]() |
Liverpool FC | 1:5, 2:1 | ||
1978/1979 | European Clubs' Champions Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
FK Partizan | 0:2, 2:0 (5:4 a.p.) |
Eighth final | ![]() |
Bohemians FC | 0:0, 6:0 | ||
Quarter final | ![]() |
FK Austria Wien | 1:3, 1:0 | ||
1979/1980 | UEFA Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
Atlético Madrid | 2:1, 3:0 |
2nd round | ![]() |
VfB Stuttgart | 1:1, 0:0 | ||
1980/1981 | UEFA Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
Napredak Krusevac | 1:0, 1:0 |
2nd round | ![]() |
FC Twente | 1:1, 0:0 | ||
Eighth final | ![]() |
Standard Liège | 1:1, 1:4 | ||
1981/1982 | UEFA Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
Zenit Leningrad | 2:1, 4:1 |
2nd round | ![]() |
Feyenoord Rotterdam | 1:2, 1:1 | ||
1982/1983 | European Clubs' Champions Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
B93 Kopenhagen | 2:0, 1:5 |
1984/1985 | European Clubs' Champions Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
Malmö FF | 0:2, 4:1 |
Eighth final | ![]() |
FC Metz | 3:1, 0:0 | ||
Quarter final | ![]() |
SK Rapid Wien | 3:0, 0:5 | ||
1985/1986 | European Clubs' Champions Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
Cercle Brugge | 2:3, 2:1 |
Eighth final | ![]() |
HJK Helsinki | 0:1, 7:2 | ||
Quarter final | ![]() |
Bayer Uerdingen | 2:0, 3:7 | ||
1987/1988 | UEFA Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
Spartak Moscow | 0:3, 1:0 |
1988/1989 | UEFA Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
Aberdeen FC | 0:0, 2:0 |
2nd round | ![]() |
K.S.V. Waregem | 4:1, 1:2 | ||
Eighth final | ![]() |
AS Roma | 2-0, 2-0 | ||
Quarter final | ![]() |
Victoria Bucarest | 1:1, 4:0 | ||
Semi-final | ![]() |
VfB Stuttgart | 0:1, 1:1 | ||
1989/1990 | European Clubs' Champions Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
AEK Athens FC | 1:0, 3:5 |
1990/1991 | European Clubs' Champions Cup | 1st round | ![]() |
Union Luxembourg | 3:1, 3:0 |
Eighth final | ![]() |
Malmö FF | 1:1, 1:1 (5:4 a.p.) | ||
Quarter final | ![]() |
Red Star Belgrade | 0:3, 0:3 (break off 75 min 1:2) |