When West and East Germany
reunified in October 1990, it also affected the National Team. The now
re-unified National Team was now essentially the West German side (recent World
Cup Champions) and the best East German players who could further strengthen
the team.
In the decade of 1990s, many
former East German Internationals and later players born in East Germany would
line up for the German National Team.
To mark this reunification at
the National Team Football level a match was arranged vs. Switzerland on
December 19, 1990, at Stuttgart.
The first East German to
start and be part of this Team was perhaps the greatest of this group. Former
Dynamo Dresden midfielder Matthias Sammer, who had now joined VfB Stuttgart,
would be replaced by former East German teammate and former Dynamo Berlin striker
Andreas Thom (now at Bayer Leverkusen) in the 73rd minute. Thom
would score just a minute later.
.jpg) |
Photo From: World Soccer, February
1991
|
(Matthias Sammer, December
19, Germany 4-Switzerland 0) |
_1013x737.jpg) |
Photo From: Onze-Mondial,
Issue 25, February 1991
|
(Andreas Thom, December 19,
Germany 4-Switzerland 0) |
By Springtime 1991 (March 27th),
a third former East German International Thomas Doll would also make his debut
for the reunified Team in a friendly (2-1) win over the Soviet Union at Frankfurt
am Main.
This trio would be part of
the National Team set-up until the 1992 Euros. Sammer and Doll would even earn
transfers to Italy to Internazionale Milano and Lazio respectively (though
Sammer would quickly return to the Bundesliga and Borussia Dortmund).
Sammer would flourish in the
following years and eventually change positions and become one of the best
sweepers in Europe. He would win the 1996 Euros with Germany and even become
the Ballon d’or of ‘France Football’ in 1996.
Doll and Thom would soon be
out of contention and out of the picture by 1994.
Doll fell out of favor with
Germany manager Berti Vogts in 1993, while Andreas Thom was nothing more than
an extra attacking option to the likes of Voeller, Klinsmann and Riedle.
Following the 1992 Euros, Vogts
selected another former East German International defender Heiko Scholz (now
Bayer Leverkusen) in a friendly vs. Mexico on October 14, 1992, (1-1 tie) at
Dresden. It would be his only appearance with the reunified Team.
In the same match, former Dynamo Dresden striker Ulf Kirsten (now Bayer Leverkusen) also made his debut, replacing Rudi Völler (in what was billed as his farewell match).
A month later at Nürnberg, on
November 18th, 1992, Vogts selected Ulf Kirsten again in a scoreless friendly vs. Austria. He
replaced Karlheinz Riedle in the 69th minute (only to be sent-off
minutes later).
It was surprising that Vogts
had waited so long to call him up as he was one of the best strikers of the
latter East Germany era. Kirsten would be part of the set-up until 2000.
In a friendly vs. Tunisia on
September 22nd, 1993 (1-1 tie) at Tunis, Vogts selected Werder
Bremen striker Bernd Hobsch. He played in the last ten minutes after replacing
Guido Buchwald. Hobsch had played for the East German U-21 Team. This would be
his only cap.
Less than a month later, East
German-born defender Thomas Ritter (Kasierslautern) played only three minutes
in a friendly vs. Uruguay on October 13th, 1993 (5-0 win) at
Karlsruhe. He replaced Stefan Effenberg in the 87th minute. This
would remain his only appearance for the National Team.
In the post-World Cup 1994 cycle, Vogts selected
former East German International defender Dirk Schuster (Karlsruhe) and striker
Olaf Marschall (Kasierslautern) in a scoreless friendly at Budapest vs. Hungary
on October 12th, 1994. Schuster started the match while Marschall
replaced Fredi Bobic in the last five minutes. Schuster would only play three
matches in the 1994/95 years, while Marschall was part of the set-up until
1999.
Matthias Sammer would remain
the best of this initial crop of the early decade. In fact, he would be
regarded as one of the greatest German players of his generation. Thomas Doll
did well in the 1991/92 cycle but disappeared afterwards. Ulf Kirsten was one
of the best German strikers of his era, while the rest made fleeting
appearances.
Matthias Sammer
Matthias Sammer was born in
Dresden and made his name at Dynamo Dresden in the 80s. He earned 23 caps for
East Germany (1986-1990).
He won two Oberliga titles
(1989, 1990).
After the break-up of the wall,
he joined VfB Stuttgart in 1990. He won the Bundesliga title with the club in
1992 and then joined Internazionale Milano in Italy.
After less than half a year,
he joined Borussia Dortmund in 1993.
He would change position for
club and country and become an effective sweeper.
He won Bundesliga titles in
1995, 1996 and the Champions League in 1997.
He was victorious in the 1996
Euros with Germany and elected as the Ballon d’Or of ‘France Football’ in 1996.
He prematurely retired in
1998 due to injury. He later managed Borussia Dortmund to the Bundesliga title
in 2002.
In addition to his
appearances for East Germany, he earned 51 caps for the German National Team
(1990-1997).
_323x372.JPG) |
Photo From: Fußball
Bundesliga 1994-95 Junior Stickers
|
(Matthias Sammer) |
Andreas Thom
Andreas Thom broke through as
a striker at Dynamo Berlin from 1983 onwards. He won many Oberliga titles and
earned 51 caps for East Germany (1984-1990).
He was the East German
Footballer of the year in 1988.
In spring 1990, after
break-up of the Berlin Wall, he joined Bayer Leverkusen and remained until
1995. He won the German Cup in 1993 with the club.
In 1995, he joined Scottish
side Celtic Glasgow and won the League title in 1998.
For the last phase of his
career, he played for Hertha Berlin (1998-2001).
He was a member of Germany’s
1992 Euros Finals squad.
In addition to his
appearances for East Germany, he earned 10 caps for the German National Team
(1990-1994).
_323x376.JPG) |
Photo From: Fußball
Bundesliga 1994-95 Junior Stickers
|
(Andreas Thom) |
Thomas Doll
Thomas Doll started out as a
midfielder with Hansa Rostock in 1983 before joining Dynamo Berlin in 1986.
He won two Oberliga titles
(1987, 1988) and earned 29 caps for East Germany (1986-1990).
Following the break-up of the
wall, he joined SV Hamburg (1990/91). He was capped by the reunified German
Team at the latter part of that season. He earned a move to the Serie A to
Lazio in 1991. He had an excellent first season and for a while appeared the
best former East German player.
He was a member of Germany’s
1992 Euros squad.
He would fall out of favor at
club and country during the 1992/93 season. He left Lazio in 1994 and lined up
for the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt (1994-1996), Bari back in Italy
(1996-1998) and SV Hamburg (1998-2001).
He never regained his form
and struggled with injuries.
In addition to his
appearances for East Germany, he earned 18 caps for the German National Team
(1991-1993).
_303x386.JPG) |
Photo From: Fußball
Bundesliga 1994-95 Junior Stickers
|
(Thomas Doll) |
Heiko Scholz
Former East German defender
Heiko Scholz started at Chemie Leipzig in 1984 before joining Lokomotive
Leipzig in 1986.
He earned 7 caps for East
Germany (1987-1990).
He joined Dynamo Dresden in
1990, before moving west to Bayer Leverkusen in 1992. It was there that he
earned his one and only cap for Germany in 1992 vs. Mexico.
He remained in Leverkusen
until 1995, before joining Werder Bremen (1995-1998), Fortuna Koln (1998),
Wattenscheid (1998-1999) and Dresdner SC (1999-2000).
.JPG) |
Photo From: Fußball
Bundesliga 1995-96 Junior Stickers
|
(Heiko Scholz) |
Ulf Kirsten
Prolific striker Ulf Kirsten
had a similar trajectory to Andreas Thom.
He broke through as a striker
at Dynamo Dresden in 1983. He won two Oberliga titles (1989, 1990) and earned
49 caps for East Germany (1985-1990).
He was the East German
Footballer of the year in 1990.
In spring 1990, after
break-up of the Berlin Wall, along with Thom, he joined Bayer Leverkusen and
remained for the rest of his career until 2003. He won the German Cup in 1993
with the club.
He was Bundesliga’s top
goslscorer in 1993, 1997 and 1998.
He was part of Germany’s
squads in the 1994, 1998 World Cups and the 2000 Euros.
In addition to his
appearances for East Germany, he earned 51 caps for the German National Team
(1990-2000).
_320x372.JPG) |
Photo From: Fußball
Bundesliga 1994-95 Junior Stickers
|
(Ulf Kirsten) |
Bernd Hobsch
Former East German striker
Bernd Hobsch started at Chemie Bohlen in 1986 before joining Lokomotive Leipzig
in 1987.
He made appearances for the
East German U-21 Team in this period.
He remained at Leipzig until
1992 before joining Werder Bremen in 1992.
He would be noticed in Otto
Rehhagel’s successful Bremen side and win the Bundesliga title in 1992/93.
He would gain his lone cap in
a friendly vs. Tunisia in 1993.
After Werder Bremen, he
joined French side Stade Rennais (1997/98) and then TSV Munich 1860 (1998/99),
Nuremberg (1999-2002) and finally Carl Zeiss Jena (2002).
.JPG) |
Photo From: Fußball
Bundesliga 1994-95 Junior Stickers
|
(Bernd Hobsch) |
Thomas Ritter
Former East German defender
Thomas Ritter started at Dynamo Dresden in 1987. After short spells at
Fortschritt Bischofswerda and TSG Meissen, he joined Stuttgarter Kickers in
1990.
He joined Kaiserslautern in
1992 and remained there until 1995. He came to notice in Kaiserslautern’s
successful season (1993/94) and earned his one and only cap for Germany in a
friendly vs. Uruguay in October 1993.
After Kaiserslautern, he
joined a number of clubs (including Karlsruhe and clubs in Austria and China)
until 2005.
.jpg) |
Photo From: Fußball
Bundesliga 1995-96 Junior Stickers
|
(Thomas Ritter) |
Dirk Schuster
Former East German defender
Dirk Schuster started at Sachsenring Zwickau in 1986, before joining Magdeburg
in 1988.
He earned 4 caps for East
Germany in 1990 on the last days of the National team.
After the break-up of the
wall, he joined Eintracht Braunschweig in 1990. He would join Karlsruhe in 1991
and remain until 1997.
It was there that he earned
his caps for Germany in 1994-95 years and made appearances in the UEFA Cup.
After Kaiserslautern, he
joined a number of clubs (including Koln and Waldhof Mannheim) until 2007.
In addition to his
appearances for East Germany, he earned 3 caps for the German National Team
(1994-1995).
_306x390.JPG) |
Photo From: Fußball
Bundesliga 1994-95 Junior Stickers
|
(Dirk Schuster) |
Olaf Marschall
Former East German striker
Olaf Marschall started out at Lokomotive Leipzig in 1983. He earned 4 caps for
East Germany (1984-1989).
He remained at Leipzig until
1990 and then joined Admira wacker in Austria.
He returned to Germany in
1993 and joined Dynamo Dresden and then joined Kaiserslautern in 1994.
He would have a successful
time at the club and remain there until the end of his career in 2002.
He would suffer relegation in
1996, but with Otto Rehhagel at the helm the team would be promoted in 1997 and
win the Bundesliga title in 1998.
He had been capped by Germany
in 1994, but it was around the 1998 season that he was at his best. He was a
member of Germany’s 1998 World Cup squad.
In addition to his appearances
for East Germany, he earned 13 caps for the German National Team (1994-1999).
_316x379.JPG) |
Photo From: Fußball
Bundesliga 1994-95 Junior Stickers
|
(Olaf Marschall) |
