Klaus Günther (soccer player)
Klaus Günther (born January 12, 1941 ) was a soccer goalkeeper in the GDR and in the Federal Republic . For Lok Stendal and Chemie Leipzig he played in the GDR league. With chemistry, Günther became GDR champion in 1964 and won the GDR soccer cup in 1966 . After a European Cup game in 1966 against Standard Liège , he stayed in the West and played for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund .
Athletic career
The 1.80 m tall Günther began his football career in 1960 and 1961 with the third-rate BSG activist Böhlen . In the 1961/62 season he played two games for Lok Stendal in the GDR Oberliga , but returned after a year to BSG activist Böhlen.
Senior league guardian at the BSG Chemie Leipzig
When Böhlen was downgraded to the Leipzig District League after the II. GDR League was abolished, Günther moved to the upper division BSG Chemie Leipzig in the summer of 1963. In the course of the reorganization of Leipzig football, BSG Chemie had become a reservoir for the players from the dissolved clubs SC Lokomotive and SC Rotation who were not eligible for funding, while SC Leipzig was assigned the supposedly best Leipzig football players. Günther was the goalkeeper at Chemie Leipzig right from the start, and in the first season he completed 19 of 26 Bundesliga point games. At the end of the season, the “rest of Leipzig” surprisingly became GDR champions. In third place after the 1964/65 season, Günther was also involved with 16 league appearances. He was also used in the two European Cup games against Vasas Győr (0: 2, 2: 4). In the 1965/66 season, Chemie Leipzig won its second title within three years. On April 30, 1966, the chemists and Günther won the final of the GDR soccer cup with a 1-0 victory over Lok Stendal. Günther had previously guarded the gate 20 times in the league season.
Deposition in the west
By winning the cup, BSG Chemie Leipzig qualified for the competition for the 1966/67 European Cup Winners' Cup. Günther was considered by the Stasi to be a suspect because of an uncle in the Federal Republic. However, since his trainer Alfred Kunze vouched for him, the responsible authorities granted him the status of a travel cadre and he received a GDR passport. Chemie survived the first round against Legia Warsaw and lost the duel and his goalkeeper in the second round (0: 1) against Standard Liège : Günther was in goal in all four European Cup games, but sat down after the second leg against Liège on December 14th 1966 left his team in the transit room of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol . He traveled to the Federal Republic of Germany, where he settled with his uncle in Gaggenau . The Stasi tried to lure him back to the GDR with the assurance of safe conduct, which, of course, he refused. The last attempt by the GDR regime was also unsuccessful: Günther's father was sent to Gaggenau to persuade his son to return to the East. After his one-year ban due to the change of football association , Günther played for the Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund until 1971 . Then he returned to Gaggenau.
Goalkeeper at Borussia Dortmund
At Borussia he was the 1968/69 season in 22 of the 34 point games on the field. After the first match day of the 1969/70 season, Günther had to take a three-month break and then played seven Bundesliga games. The now 30-year-old played his last season at Borussia Dortmund in 1970/71. In the meantime, Jürgen Rynio, who was seven years younger than him, had overtaken him and he was only used in eight Bundesliga games this season. After 66 first division appearances in the GDR and 39 Bundesliga games, Günther said goodbye to competitive sports and played as a recreational athlete at VfB Gaggenau until 1972 .
literature
- Hanns Leske : Encyclopedia of GDR football . Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-89533-556-3 , p. 178.
- Andreas Baingo, Michael Horn: The History of the GDR Oberliga. Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2003, ISBN 3-89533-428-6 , pp. 326, 342.
- Uwe Nuttelmann (Ed.): GDR Oberliga. 1962-1991. Self-published, Jade 2007, ISBN 978-3-930814-33-6 , pp. 25, 37, 49.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hanns Leske: Erich Mielke, the Stasi and the round leather: the influence of the SED and the Ministry for State Security on football in the GDR. The workshop 2014. p. 268f.
- ^ Jürgen Schwarz, Frank Mueller: Unlocked: GDR footballers on the run. Saxo-Phon 2015. pp. 36-45.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Günther, Klaus |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German soccer goalkeeper |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 12, 1941 |