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Magdeburg's happy anniversary

Thirty years ago, 1.FC Magdeburg pulled off one of the greatest shocks in footballing history.

By Thomas Zeh

On 8 May 1974, little-fancied 1.FC Magdeburg provided one of the biggest surprises in the history of the UEFA European Cup Winners' Cup, beating AC Milan 2-0 in Rotterdam to become the first and last East German club to lift a major European trophy.

Diverging fortunes
Some 30 years on, Milan have just claimed their 17th scudetto while Magdeburg are languishing in the German fourth division, the Oberliga. "My heart bleeds when I see what has happened to my club since German reunification," says Martin Hoffmann, who has dedicated much of his life to the club.

Crowning achievement
Having spent his entire playing career with the team, Hoffmann has also been a scout, head coach and assistant coach at the club. However, his greatest achievement came when he was just 19, when his side took to the pitch against Milan at the De Kuip stadium. "We had started our campaign with a first-round game against NAC Breda in Rotterdam and we ended up returning to the stadium where it had all begun for us," Hoffmann told uefa.com.

No way back
Heinz Krügel's young team had nothing to lose against the Serie A giants, but despite being hot favourites, Giovanni Trapattoni's side never recovered from Lanzi's own goal shortly before half-time and when Wolfgang Seguin doubled Magdeburg's lead on 73 minutes, Milan had no reply. "I think they expected us to defend with the entire team, but we surprised them with our style and the longer the game lasted, the more chances we had," Hoffmann recollects.

Eastern promise
While Helmut Schön's West Germany were perhaps the dominant force in world football in the 1970s, Hoffmann - who played 66 games for East Germany - insists that there was a great side on the other side of the Berlin wall too. "The 1970s were also a golden era for East German football, and our success in the Cup Winners' Cup was followed by the GDR's first-ever appearance at the FIFA World Cup finals in 1974 [where they won 1-0 against eventual champions West Germany], while two years later we won gold at the Olympics in Montreal," said Hoffmann.
 
Reunification changes
Magdeburg continued to be a football powerhouse beyond the 1970s, winning three domestic titles and seven cups until German reunification in 1990 put an abrupt end to the independent East German league system. Almost overnight the best players headed west, and Magdeburg struggled in the new environment. "Our failure to qualify even for the 2.Bundesliga was the beginning of the end for the club's golden age," Hoffmann explained.

Lean times
Unlike GDR giants BFC Dynamo Berlin and 1.FC Lokomotive Leipzig, Magdeburg did manage to survive after the reunification, but they are hardly thriving. Hoffmann said: "We still attract a couple of thousand fans even playing in a rotten ground in the fourth division, but I fear that even they will lose their interest if we can't get back to professional football soon."

High hopes
The club still has an excellent record for nurturing young players, and things would certainly look brighter if Magdeburg can realise their ambition to build a 25,000-capacity stadium in time for the 2006 FIFA World Cup where it would be used as a training ground.

Gala game
In the meantime, the Ernst-Grube stadium will host a match between the Magdeburg class of 1974 and the East German team of 1974 on 8 May to celebrate 30 years since their respective glory days. Hoffmann hopes it will send a powerful signal that football in Magdeburg is on the up.