The Football Tragic

January 9, 1988. The former Magdeburg captain Wolfgang Seguin is at a luncheon reception in the West German town of Saarbrücken, where his old club colleagues have come to take part in a veterans' tournament. He suddenly notices that two of his compatriots are missing: the old attacking duo of Martin Hoffmann and Jürgen Sparwasser.

In the case of Hoffmann, the mystery is readily solved; the notoriously absent-minded "little Martin" got lost on the way, and trudges in a quarter of an hour late. But Sparwasser does not appear.

Seguin goes to Sparwasser's hotel room, along with the club masseur. There, he finds a letter from the former international, addressed to his club colleagues. Seguin reads the letter, and then turns sadly to the masseur. "We won't see him again," he says.

It had been no snap decision, no Alec Leamas-style climb over the Berlin Wall. Sparwasser's defection had taken a good deal of planning, and nearly came unstuck at various stages.

In 1987, in the wake of glasnost, the rules governing visits by GDR citizens to relations in the West had been slightly relaxed, and Christa Sparwasser was invited to a family reunion in the West German town of Lüneburg. By chance, a veterans' tournament was taking place in Saarbrücken at the same time. The Sparwassers sensed an opportunity.

Things almost went wrong immediately, when a district officer refused Christa permission for the trip. An enraged Jürgen gave the functionary a piece of his mind, adding some frank comments about the GDR in the process.

They thought they had blown it, but gave it another try. This time, a more pliant official treated them with unexpected courtesy, and the request was approved. Part One successfully accomplished.

Part Two was fraught with worry. A two-hour delay on the Magdeburg players' bus journey to West Germany understandably had Sparwasser in a panic. Had their plans been discovered? (They had discussed them on nature walks - the only safe way to do so in East Germany.) Seguin remembered in hindsight that his old teammate was unusually nervous at the time. But there was no official car to drag Sparwasser back to some distant location for interrogation; his passport was waved through along with the others.

On arrival at his hotel, Jürgen Sparwasser called his wife, using the agreed password. All was ready.

The next morning, the Magdeburg players went on a stroll through the city. Sparwasser pretended to have left some money behind in the hotel. Back he went, to be met there by an acquaintance from the town. After writing the letter - an attempt to explain his act to some of his closest friends, who he might never see again - he hopped into the acquaintance's car, and they were off to Frankfurt and freedom.

The next day, a grim paragraph appeared in the GDR official media. "The presence of a veteran team from 1.FC Magdeburg in Saarbrücken was used by anti-sports forces to poach Jürgen Sparwasser, who betrayed his team."

Sparwasser was long retired, and his defection caused few ripples; he was no Rudolf Nureyev or Viktor Korchnoi. But it was still a decision involving considerable sacrifice; the Sparwassers' daughter, then pregnant, was unable to accompany them to the West, but they obtained her blessing before taking the fateful step. They were not to know that within less than two years the Wall would be down, and the Sparwassers could be reunited after all.

Today, Jürgen and Christa Sparwasser live only a few miles away from both their daughter Silke and their grandson Philipp. After a dispiriting spell in management, the 1974 East German hero was able to pursue his interest in youth development, working in various academies and writing his own football primer for young players (which can be seen on his website). "When I'm on the pitch with children, I'm in my element," he remarked in an interview a few years ago.

He used to play in charity games with fellow luminaries of the past, but physically it's getting a bit difficult now. In his last match, he relates, he scored a very nice goal but almost injured himself in the course of the goal celebration (!). "That was a sign, that it was enough." 

At least he finished with a goal. Perhaps not as famous as the one in 1974, but, as he put it, the technique was still there.

# posted by Mike Salter @ 9:01 AM 0 comments

With the 1974 World Cup over, the players got back to the grind of club competition. For many of the winning West German side, that also meant a defence of the European Cup with Bayern Munich.

The Bavarians had, in most critics' estimation, been very lucky to win the competition in 1974. They had needed penalties to get past modest Atvidaberg of Sweden in the first round, before being given a rough ride by their East German neighbours Dynamo Dresden in the second. To top it off, they needed a last-minute equaliser to take the final to a replay, which they duly won.

Their first opponents in the 1974/75 competition would be the East German champions Magdeburg, featuring many of the players who had inflicted West Germany's only defeat on the road to World Cup triumph - including the goalscorer in that game, Jürgen Sparwasser.

The first leg, in Munich, began with a shock. In the very first minute, the lively Martin Hoffmann advanced down the left and fired in a cross which deflected off the Bayern fullback Johnny Hansen into his own net. A stunned Bayern failed to make headway against a determined Magdeburg for the rest of the half, and just before the interval Magdeburg scored a second, in fine style. When Klaus Wunder got himself tackled trying to dribble out of defence, the ball ultimately broke to Sparwasser on the left. One-on-one with the famous Beckenbauer, he utterly embarrassed Der Kaiser with a deft turn which left him sprawling, before firing the ball home with his right foot.

The defending champions looked down and out. But, as countless teams have had cause to reflect over the years, the Germans are never so dangerous as when they are two goals down. In this case, however, their recovery was aided by two highly dubious goals in reply.

Beckenbauer came forward with more regularity and purpose after the break, and Bayern started to look more dangerous. Six minutes after the restart, Uli Hoeness collided with the Magdeburg captain Manfred Zapf in the box. It looked a 50-50 challenge, with Hoeness in the wrong if anyone was. But the Bayern player writhed theatrically, and a penalty was given, Gerd Muller dispatching it neatly.

Then Beckenbauer, coming forward again - as the East German commentator remarked, it was remiss of Magdeburg not to have detailed a man to mark him on his forays upfield - played in Muller, who pivoted to beat his man and score. "Typical Muller-goal," remarked the commentator. It was indeed, but for one important detail: Der Bomber quite clearly controlled the ball with his arm when turning his man.

The momentum was now with the home side, and they scored a third six minutes later, a fine run and cross from Hoeness being turned into his own net by the unfortunate Detlef Enge. Sparwasser headed against the post near the close, while Beckenbauer, still being given the run of the country, forced a fine save out of the Magdeburg keeper Ulrich Schulze with a long-range shot.

A painful defeat for Magdeburg, and their heads still appeared to be down for the home leg. This time, alert to the danger posed by Sparwasser, Bayern left nothing to chance, giving the job of tight-marking him to their dependable hatchet man, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck. Bayern went 2-0 up with a pair of superb goals, Muller as always providing the finishing touch to the lead-up work, in this case mostly from Hoeness. Again it was the Hoffmann-Sparwasser pairing that provided Magdeburg with their consolation, Hoffmann's fine shot rebounding off the bar for Sparwasser to head in. 

A tie that had begun so brightly for Magdeburg had ended with a whimper. Yet Magdeburg had proven that they could fight their corner at this level. And with plenty of young players in their ranks, the future looked bright for East Germany's first European trophy winners.

Magdeburg's golden days didn't last, however. Crucial to their success had been their much-loved coach, Heinz Krügel. Gradually, Krügel began to fall foul of the officials of the East German Communist Party, who considered him a political liability. Eventually, in 1976, he was removed by party fiat from his position as Magdeburg head coach. It was a lesson in GDR sporting politics which Sparwasser would not forget.

As his club and international career drew to a close, Sparwasser qualified as a sporting trainer and was engaged as an assistant coach at Magdeburg. He had no love for the communist authorities, and had decided to fly under the political radar as much as possible, particularly with the example of Krügel in mind. He became more and more interested in youth development, and planned to undertake a doctoral thesis in sports science, with an interest in reforming the GDR's school sports system. 

But the authorities had other ideas: they wanted him to take charge of Magdeburg. He refused several times, and each time his political situation became more difficult. In his 2010 autobiography, he wrote bitterly of the district commissioner who had also been his old coach Krügel's nemesis. "[He] unscrupulously destroyed the professional career of my coach, and now my own, and this ultimately meant an uncertain future for me and my family."

Family, indeed, was central to Sparwasser's life. He was devoted to his wife Christa, a childhood sweetheart, and their daughter had already run into trouble with the authorities as well. 

The Sparwassers began to talk about escaping to the West. And the chance presented itself in unexpected fashion. To be concluded in Part 4.

# posted by Mike Salter @ 9:59 AM 1 comments

The early 1970s were heady days for East German football. World Cup qualification, a fine performance by the national team at the Munich Olympics, and increasing club success in Europe. Dynamo Dresden had caught the eye by knocking 1973 finalists Juventus out of the 1973/74 European Cup, before going out narrowly to eventual champions Bayern Munich in a wonderfully exciting tie which yielded 13 goals. At the end of the same season, it was the turn of Jürgen Sparwasser's Magdeburg, who became the first club from East Germany to gain a European title with victory in the Cup-Winners' Cup final.

Their opponents, AC Milan, were the defending champions and firm favourites. Still directed from midfield by the elegant Gianni Rivera, they were thought to have too much experience and quality for their opponents, who had enjoyed a relatively easy passage to the final.

But the match, held in Rotterdam's De Kuip stadium, in some ways presaged Italy's - and Rivera's - unimpressive performance at the upcoming World Cup. The Italians found themselves unable to find their rhythm against the hard running and tackling of the fast Magdeburg side, and they conceded an unfortunate own goal late in the first half when Enrico Lanzi deflected young Detlef Raugust's cutback past his own goalkeeper. Milan's attempts to get back into the game thereafter were smothered by the rugged Magdeburg defending, and sixteen minutes from the end, Wolfgang Seguin snuck in cleverly at the back post to score a second.

Sparwasser had an excellent game, combining his typical pace and enthusiasm with intelligence and unselfish teamwork. Near the end, he almost scored a superb goal on the turn, only a fine save from his angled shot preventing the score from becoming embarrassing for the rossoneri. 

Sparwasser and his youthful colleague in the Magdeburg forward line, the quick winger Martin Hoffmann, were to have an excellent World Cup too. Starting with a 2-0 win over Australia, with Sparwasser to the fore and Hoffmann making a vital contribution from the bench, they were held 1-1 by Chile in a very lively game in which the European side kept the upper hand for most of the 90 minutes. "How this man [Sparwasser] has grown in his recent appearances for the national team," was the remark of an East German commentator prior to the crunch match against the West Germans. "Enormously!"

Oddly enough, the game which was to make Jürgen Sparwasser famous was, on the whole, not one of his best. Although the East Germans had set out to attack their other group opponents, the manager Georg Buschner wisely pursued a policy of tight man-marking and counter-attack against the feared hosts. As a result, the West Germans dominated the game territorially, and Sparwasser in attack was a peripheral figure. The true heroes of the game for Buschner's side were the tireless fullbacks, Siegmar Wätzlich and Lothar Kurbjuweit, who completely stifled the effectiveness of Jürgen Grabowski and Uli Hoeness respectively.

The West German defence, as the late Rale Rasic observed after their game against Australia, was vulnerable. With Franz Beckenbauer a little too cavalier in his "attacking sweeper" role, Helmut Schoen's team gifted the East Germans a number of chances on the break in the first half. The best of them fell to the midfielder Hans-Jürgen Kreische, who contrived to miss an open goal when Reinhard Lauck hit the byline and pulled the ball back. 

The hosts continued to press after the break, but their shots from distance (often the only option against the packed East German defence) were poor, and their key attacking men were being snuffed out by the terrier-like marking of the Easterners. The West German cause was not helped by two bizarre substitutions, Wolfgang Overath making way for a plainly out-of-form Günter Netzer, and Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck being inexplicably replaced by the veteran defender Horst-Dieter Höttges, a veteran of the 1966 World Cup final. With the East Germans dangerously quick on the breakaway, Höttges was the very last player the West Germans needed on the pitch.

And sure enough, when Sparwasser received the ball in an advanced position some thirteen minutes from the close, he treated Höttges like the proverbial witches' hat before finishing smartly past Sepp Maier. The East Germans had pulled off a famous upset.

There were rumours after the tournament that Sparwasser had been showered with unheard-of rewards by the GDR government following his deciding goal - a house, a car, etc. - but in an interview in the West many years later, he dismissed these claims as nonsense. 

The rest of the tournament was to be anti-climactic for the East Germans. Defeat in a tight match against Brazil was followed by a 2-0 loss to the rampant Dutch, and although Buschner's men changed back to an attacking posture for their final, meaningless match against Argentina, they could only manage a 1-1 draw.

In Part 3: Sparwasser's club fortunes following the memorable World Cup appearance - including a return meeting with Beckenbauer, in which Sparwasser did not come off worse.

# posted by Mike Salter @ 2:30 PM 0 comments

It was football's ultimate Cold War encounter. West Germany versus East Germany, at the 1974 World Cup. Some 150 miles northwest of the Berlin Wall, the communist and capitalist Germanies spent 90 minutes slugging it out in the quintessential match-as-metaphor. And despite home advantage and the presence of such luminaries as Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller and Sepp Maier in the West German side, it was the Easterners who triumphed, thanks to a well-taken goal by the Magdeburg star Jürgen Sparwasser.

The rest of the tournament saw Beckenbauer and co. pulling themselves up by their bootstraps to return to form and ultimately claim the title, while East Germany went out with a whimper in the second stage. But no matter: the point had been made, the bragging rights were gained. And Sparwasser quickly became an idol in the communist "half" of the divided country.

But thirteen years later, there was a wry twist to the tale, one which attracted little notice outside of the two Germanies. Jürgen Sparwasser, the hero of Hamburg, defected to the West.

The reasons why he did so were complex, and indicative of the manifold ways in which sport became tangled up with politics behind the Iron Curtain.

Born in 1948 in the small industrial town of Halberstadt, Sparwasser began his career at the local club under the watchful eye of the coach, who also happened to be his father. His talent was quickly recognised, and he was recruited to the region's most prestigious club, Magdeburg, where he would stay for the next sixteen years.

At international level, his career began with a bang: scoring in his first youth international, against Bulgaria, he also played a key role in the East German youth team's surprise victory in the 1965 UEFA youth championship in West Germany, scoring two goals in the final against England. Along the way, the Easterners also thrashed a Netherlands side which included a teenage Johan Cruyff. (In a curious foretaste of the future, West Germany beat the Dutch 2-1 at the event, with a young Berti Vogts marking Cruyff...)

Eventually Sparwasser became a part of the senior national team as well, and won a bronze medal with the East Germans at the 1972 Olympics - again, an event held in West Germany - scoring five goals along the way. This success was followed by a first-ever World Cup qualification in 1974, with a prolific new striker, Hansa Rostock's Joachim Streich, forming a dangerous partnership with Sparwasser.

At club level, he remained with Magdeburg despite relegation in the late sixties, helped to bring them back up to the Oberliga, and became part of the core group of players who were to make the club a force not only at home but in Europe in the seventies.

Magdeburg, and Sparwasser, came to wider notice when they pulled off a considerable shock by beating AC Milan in the final of the 1974 Cup-Winners Cup. That match, and more, in Part 2.

# posted by Mike Salter @ 9:17 AM 0 comments