Klaus Härtel

Klaus Härtel (born March 6, 1952 ) is a former Riesa football player. For the company sports community (BSG) Stahl Riesa and briefly for 1. FC Union Berlin , he played in the highest East German soccer class, the GDR league .

Athletic career

When, after the fifth match day of the 1971/72 league season at Stahl Riesa, Wolfgang Bengs and Christian Berger, two regular players could not be used, the 19-year-old Härtel was given the chance to prove himself in the league on October 30, 1971. He was used in the game Sachsenring Zwickau - Stahl Riesa (2-0) for Bengs on the left side of defense. Despite the defeat, coach Karl Schäffner held on to Härtel, who had already played in the junior division for Stahl Riesa, even when Bengs later returned to the team. The 1.70 m tall Härtel also benefited from the fact that Wolfgang Schremmer, who was drafted into the army, was another defender who was out in the long term. By the end of the season, Härtel was only missing in four point games, so he came to 17 missions in the league season, always as a left defender. However, the season ended for Stahl Riesa with relegation from the league.

Härtel, trained as an electrician, played for half a year in the second-rate GDR league for Riesa and then moved to the first division club 1. FC Union Berlin at the beginning of 1973. There he was immediately used in the first second round match Union Berlin - 1. FC Magdeburg (0: 2) on March 24, 1973 in his regular position. Here, too, he benefited from the fact that the team had to be reorganized due to the departure of Hans-Joachim Samm . In the next match days, trainer Ulrich Prüfke tried other players on the left side of defense, and before Härtel could get another chance, he was drafted into a three-year military service in May.

After his release in April 1976, Härtel returned to Stahl Riesa, whose footballers were now back in the major league. Riesa's new coach, Günter Guttmann , immediately put Härtel back in his usual position. There he also played in the following four seasons, due to relegation 1977/78 again in the GDR league. Between May 1976 and March 1980, Härtel played 91 of the 102 point games played, which results in a rate of 89 percent. His last point games with the first team of Stahl Riesa he completed in 1980, when he was used three times in the league between the 11th and 13th matchday in November. In the summer of 1981, Härtel ended his career as a competitive athlete at the age of 29.

literature

• Andreas Baingo, Michael Horn: The History of the GDR Oberliga. Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2003, ISBN 3-89533-428-6 , p. 296.
• Uwe Nuttelmann (Ed.): GDR Oberliga. 1962-1991. Self-published, Jade 2007, ISBN 978-3-930814-33-6 .

Web links

• Klaus Härtel in the database of the German Football Association
• Klaus Härtel on immerunioner.de