Roland Merkel

Roland Merkel (born May 21, 1952 ) is a former soccer player. For BSG Chemie Leipzig he played in the GDR Oberliga , the top division of the GDR football association .

In 1963, Merkel was accepted into the children's team of the soccer section of the company sports community (BSG) Lokomotive in the Leipzig district of Wahren . In 1966 he moved to BSG Chemie Leipzig, whose soccer section at that time was the focus of soccer in Leipzig alongside 1. FC Lok. At BSG Chemie, Merkel went through the other junior teams and was initially transferred to the 2nd team of the BSG in 1970, with which he played one season in the second-rate GDR league . In 1971 the second team had to relegate to the district league because of the relegation of the first division . During this time Merkel completed his apprenticeship as a mechanical engineer. In the 1974/75 season Merkel was used for four games in the 1st team, which also played in the GDR league this season. After Chemie Leipzig returned to the top league in 1975, Merkel, who was already 23 years old, also played in the GDR elite league. He made his debut in the league on the first day of play, August 23, 1975. In the city derby chemistry - 1. FC Lok (2: 3), he was used for 90 minutes as a central midfielder. Later, however, he was only used sporadically in eight other league games, in four 90-minute missions as a right defender. Chemie Leipzig could not secure relegation as a climber and played in the second division again in the following four years. During the 1976/77 season Merkel played only with the 2nd team in the district league.

In the summer of 1977 Merkel, who had meanwhile qualified as a mechanical engineer, left Chemie Leipzig and joined the third-rate district division Stahl Nordwest Leipzig . With his new team, Merkel achieved promotion to the GDR league after just one year. Coach Ralf Heine , who previously played with Merkel at Chemie Leipzig, had developed Merkel into a successful right winger due to the lack of attacking players. Until 1984 Merkel played in three seasons in the GDR league, interrupted for one year in the district league. Until 1982 he was always nominated as a striker, in his last GDR league season 1983/84 the now 31-year-old played in the defense. In 1985 he celebrated one last success by winning the Leipzig District Cup, before ending his career as a soccer player in 1989.

literature

• Hanns Leske : Encyclopedia of GDR football . Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-89533-556-3 .
• Andreas Baingo, Michael Horn: The History of the GDR Oberliga. Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2003, ISBN 3-89533-428-6 .
• Uwe Nuttelmann (Ed.): GDR Oberliga. 1962-1991. Self-published, Jade 2007, ISBN 978-3-930814-33-6 .