With the whole league in place, what about the champions. They were brand new – always exciting moment of football history. Apparently, the steady rising Dynamo (Berlin) finally matured.
Dynamo (Berlin) never won a title before. Since 1970 they were going up, establishing themselves as the 5th big East German club, but so far were similar to Lokomotive (Leipzig): constantly strong, but not really a title contender. Yet, their squad was getting stronger and stronger and the emerging new stars tended to play for Dynamo. They were expected to win a title or two, just it was difficult to figure out when. And also it looked like they were going to clinch occasional title in a tightly contested championship. Instead, they came with a real bang – 21 wins, 4 ties, and a single loss. 75-18 goal-difference, clearly the best team, not a single weak line, overwhelming. Dynamo (Dresden) was left in the dust, 7 points behind. Explosive first title and for the moment, greeted at least from abroad as a fresh change of the familiar and becoming slightly boring parade of East German champions: Dynamo, Magdeburg, and Carl Zeiss, again, again, and again. How the new champions were seen in East Germany is another matter, but it was not all that clear that they will monopolize the championship. Not yet.
First time champions, joy for their supporters and even bigger joy for their sponsors, the Stassi. Lauck, Terletzki, and Trieloff were stars for years, but now a whole bunch of new national team players formed the team – Rudwaleit, Noack, Troppa, Ullrich, Riediger, Starsser, Netz. The future of the East German football, replacing the heroes of 1974. So, the future belonged to this team. Another very promising player was also in the squad – Lutz Eigendorf. Soon he was to defect, ending in West Germany and playing successfully in the Bundesliga. Not the first East German to run to the other side, but Eigendorf was particularly irritating case: first, because he came from the club belonging to the Stassi, the most ideologically 'correct' club... what a blow to have a player defecting. Second, Eigendorf not only run away, but was very vocal, constantly criticizing the Communist East German regime. This immediately prevented his former masters to use the traditional condemnation that an young greedy idiot was lured by money and betrayed his country purely for selfish – and foreign to Communist society – reasons. Eigendorf was ideologically motivated and therefore dangerous. He died in suspicious car accident... the case was not never solved, but ever since Stassi is considered the guilty party, staging a murder.
Anyhow, Dynamo were triumphant and more – they had a chance for a double. At the Cup final they faced 1.FC Magdeburg. The regular time ended scoreless and the overtime Seguin scored the single goal of the final. Unfortunately, Seguin played for Magdeburg... and Dynamo lost. Not yet ready for complete domination... for the moment, it looked like that the team was going to be a winner, but not the only one... the lost final was prophetic – Dynamo (Berlin) was unable to win the Cup until 1988.
Magdeburg won their 6th Cup. It was also second consecutive cup victory, won by exactly the same result as in 1978.
The only East German so far winning European cup, still had teeth. Sparwasser, Zapf, Tyll, Pommerenke, Hoffmann, Seguin, Raugust – all Cup Winners Cup holders from the memorial triumph in 1974. Add the best-ever East German goal-scorer Joachim Streich, who was once again the league top scorer with 23 goals. New talent was also at hand. Magdeburg was still a force and looked like younger Dynamo (Berlin) was not going to dominate East Germany – at least Magdeburg, with their very experienced squad, was equally strong. So it appeared in the spring of 1979.
Dynamo (Berlin) never won a title before. Since 1970 they were going up, establishing themselves as the 5th big East German club, but so far were similar to Lokomotive (Leipzig): constantly strong, but not really a title contender. Yet, their squad was getting stronger and stronger and the emerging new stars tended to play for Dynamo. They were expected to win a title or two, just it was difficult to figure out when. And also it looked like they were going to clinch occasional title in a tightly contested championship. Instead, they came with a real bang – 21 wins, 4 ties, and a single loss. 75-18 goal-difference, clearly the best team, not a single weak line, overwhelming. Dynamo (Dresden) was left in the dust, 7 points behind. Explosive first title and for the moment, greeted at least from abroad as a fresh change of the familiar and becoming slightly boring parade of East German champions: Dynamo, Magdeburg, and Carl Zeiss, again, again, and again. How the new champions were seen in East Germany is another matter, but it was not all that clear that they will monopolize the championship. Not yet.
