between feeling of rejection and affirmation of identity, football in the former GDR is still trying to exist

The France team faces the Netherlands on Friday in Leipzig, which is the only city in the former GDR to host Euro matches.

Only one of the host stadiums located in the former GDR, only three players born in the former East Germany among the 26 in the German selection… Even 34 years after the reunification of the country, the Euro which is organized there reflects the disparities which still exist in football between the territories of the former German Federal Republic (FRG) and German Democratic Republic (GDR). RB Leipzig, whose Red Bull Arena will be the scene of France-Netherlands on Friday June 21, does not really represent its region. It is even rejected by Eastern fans due to its lack of history and tradition.

“Who doesn’t let themselves be bought by the West? The Iron Union!”. Every week, supporters of Union Berlin, the only Bundesliga club located in the former GDR with RB Leipzig, sing their rejection of Western capitalism. A rejection that the Eastern clubs felt at the time of reunification, when only two places were granted to them in the new national championship, and they had to face a new economy. “In the GDR, all sports were regulated by the state, as in all the countries of the USSR, so all organizations were financed by the party, explains Jutta Braun, president of the Center for German Sports History. This system collapsed and clubs had to find funds themselves, except that in general they look for sponsors in their regional area, and the economic environment in the East is not as stable as in West.”

In addition to this forced opening to capitalism, clubs from the former GDR must face the globalization of football, with the Bosman ruling which, in 1995, put an end to the quota of foreign players in clubs. “This decision caused a sharp increase in player salaries, and Eastern clubs could not align and compete,” assures the historian. While they had already lost their best players who left for the West as soon as they had the chance, like Matthias Sammer and Ulf Kirsten, the East German clubs quickly found themselves vegetating in lower divisions without to be able to play leading roles.

“The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Football Association were not interested in truly acting in solidarity and allowed GDR football to disappear.”, regrets Frank Willmann, writer and author of several books on the history of German football. Thus, even beyond Bundesliga 1, the teams located in the former GDR and which manage to maintain themselves at a high level can be counted on the fingers of one hand: two in the second division, and three in the third division.

“This feeling of alienation is reflected in society, and this is why the far right has a head start in the East, because many East Germans feel that they are practically second-rate Germans”adds Frank Willmann. “With the economic decline of the region, there was a lot of unemployment and people still talk about it todayadds Jutta Braun. Young people have been educated in this context and feel like outsiders. You can feel this atmosphere in the stadiums, with a lot of ultras and sometimes violence.”

Dynamo Dresden is one of its symbols. Eight times champion of the GDR and semi-finalist of the UEFA Cup (C3) in 1989, the club now plays in the third division but is supported by very numerous ultra supporters. “The fans have remained loyal because the clubs represent a part of the East German identity that has been lost elsewhere and to which they are attached“, explains the historian. “For me, Dresden looks a bit like Marseille with a fervor of the whole city and of all generationsdescribes Romain Brégerie, French player who played there between 2011 and 2014, and who even wore the captain’s armband. All matches against clubs from the former GDR are derbies for them, sometimes with somewhat virulent supporters and clashes, because some are politically marked and assimilated to far-right fringes. But I think it remains a minority and I don’t want to generalize“.

The Frenchman remembers training conditions “not very professional” due to sports infrastructure not yet at the level of Western clubs. But he also remembered the three seasons with an average of 30,000 spectators in a 32,000-seat stadium. “For my second home match, in the cup, we fell against Michael Ballack’s Bayer Leverkusen. We played at home, we lost 3-0 in the 60th^e minute, but we come back to 3-3 and we win in overtime. It’s the only time in my career where my ears hurt a lot. It was untenable because they were whistling the opponent so much.”he says.

Very involved, the supporters also financially support the club, which has finished paying off its debts “just before the Covid crisis”according to Lukas Kerzendörfer, presenter of the “Dynamo-Fan” podcast. “We purchased over 200,000 ghost tickets for behind closed doors matches during the coronavirus crisis to help the club get through this bad period“, he adds.

As fervent as they are, the Dresden ultras still sometimes distinguish themselves by outrageous actions, like in 2016, where they threw a severed and bloody bull’s head to the side of the pitch while their club faced RB Leipzig. “Tradition cannot be bought”, completed a banner. It must be said that the club, owned by the Red Bull firm, founded in 2009 and which managed to climb very quickly into the Bundesliga, does not convey the East German identity. Nicknamed “the plastic club” in Germany, “RB Leipzig is singled out for being a commercial club”confirms Jutta Braun.

So Leipzig’s other clubs, Chemie and Lokomotiv, who play in the fourth division, have remained popular with local fans. Chemie Leipzig even recently celebrated 60 years of its surprise title of champion of the GDR. “The politicians of the time had stolen the best players from the club at the time, to make them play teams favored by those in power. Things like this were possible under the GDR dictatorship, players were ordered to change clubs And at that time, Chemie won on the field and thwarted the dictatorship by becoming champion, explains Jutta Braun. This kind of history, people are still very attached to it today, and a new club like RB Leipzig cannot compete with this past.. This season, Chemie Leipzig has attracted an average of 4,400 spectators per match, more than some French Ligue 2 clubs.