The Bundesliga was established in 1963 and has grown to become one of the greatest and most recognizable leagues in the world. This is the current tale of it.
The German football pyramid was divided into regional categories before the Bundesliga was established, representing Berlin as well as the north, south, southwest, and west of West Germany. The national champion for that year would be determined by moving the top two finishers from each area to the next round.
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Germany was divided into two halves before it was reunited in 1990. From 1948 to 1991, the eastern part of the nation had its own league system, with the DS-Oberliga (which was subsequently renamed the Fußball Oberliga DFV in 1958) at the top of the three divisions.
Back then, everything was semi-professional or amateur, and the union of West Germany’s Oberligen heralded a new phase of professionalism in the nation’s football history.
In addition to the goal of professionalizing the sport in Germany, the Bundesliga was established in 1962 to prevent the best players from leaving the country and to turn around the national team’s performance after it was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup by host Chile.
At a now-historic conference in Dortmund, eighteen days after that setback, on July 28, 1962, 103 of the 129 delegates of the Deutscher Fußball-Bund (German Football Association) voted in favor of a centralised league. Hermann Gösmann, an Osnabrück attorney who had long advocated for more professionalism in the sport, was appointed the new DFB president and given charge of managing the new league’s operations.
Along with Walter Baresel, a native of Hamburg, Essen solicitor Dr. Willi Hübner, Cologne president Franz Kremer, Ludwig Franz of Nuremberg, and writer Hermann Neuberger, Gösmann assembled a six-person group.
With only a year to go before the Bundesliga made its debut, they had to oversee a number of important choices. Upon the approval of a 16-team division to commence operations in 1963–64 by the larger DFB delegation, their first significant task was selecting the 16 teams from 46 applications.
Five clubs from the Oberliga West, five more from the South, three from the North, two from the Southwest, and one from Berlin would eventually join, it was agreed by unanimous decision. The following teams were among the first members: MSV Duisburg, Nuremberg, Saarbrücken, Schalke, VfB Stuttgart, 1860 Munich, Cologne, Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Braunschweig, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hertha Berlin, Kaiserslautern, Karlsruhe, Preußen Munster, and Werder Bremen.
Regardless of where they were in the intricate rankings that displayed the results of the preceding ten years, a seat was assured to the corresponding winners of each league from the previous season. In addition, a regulation stated that each city could only have one team in the Bundesliga. Bayern Munich thereby lost out on a spot by default since 1860, although leading the 10-year rankings, won the 1962–1963 championship.
Despite feeling belittled for being passed over for the highest division, and with some threatening legal action, teams were granted the opportunity to advance from the many Regionalliga divisions that were still in existence, thereby contributing to the newly formed championship.
The opening goal of the 1963–64 Bundesliga season was scored less than a minute after play began on August 24. Timo Konietzka of Dortmund was the player to write his name into history, scoring against Werder after just 58 seconds of play.
Konietzka subsequently noted that the momentous event was not recorded in a photograph since many people were taken aback by his attempt. He continued: “The photographers were all behind our goal, because they were all expecting Bremen to score.”
The native of Lünen went on to score 20 goals in the division, ranking second in the Torjägerkanone race only behind Uwe Seeler of Hamburg; nevertheless, none of their clubs would win the Meisterschale.
When it was two points for a win, that honor would belong to Cologne, who ended six points ahead of Duisburg, which was then known as Meidericher SV. With 16 goals from striker Karl-Heinz Thielen providing the offensive punch on the field, Billy Goats coach Georg Knöpfle led his team to their first-ever Bundesliga championship. Hannover and Borussia Neunkirchen were promoted from the regional divisions below, while Münster and Saarbrücken were the first teams relegated.
From the 1965–1966 season, 16 clubs would increase to 18 teams; in addition, Bundesliga 2 was established in 1974, and promotion/relegation play-offs were first implemented in the 1981–1982 season. From 1991 to 2008, they disappeared for a little while, but they have since become a constant in the top three categories.
When clubs from the former east of Germany joined the top flight following its reunification, the 1991–1992 season included 20 teams. The first Eastern teams to compete in the Bundesliga were Hansa Rostock and Dynamo Dresden, although an Eastern-based team has yet to win the Bundesliga championship.
German teams have always been managed by members’ groups as non-profit organizations. Private ownership of any type was outlawed in 1998 with the implementation of the 50+1 regulation. Because of the regulation, clubs have the majority of the voting rights, which also applies to supporters. German football clubs are prohibited from participating in the Bundesliga by German Football League [DFL] regulations if commercial investors own more than a 49 percent stake in the team. This explains why German football debts and wages are controlled, and why ticket prices are so low when compared to other major leagues in Europe.
Since the league’s inception, 12 different German teams have won the championship, with Bayern Munich (30) having won the most. The other teams with several Bundesliga trophies in their trophy cases are Werder (four), Hamburg, Stuttgart (three), Cologne, and Kaiserslautern (two). Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach (five) are next on the list.
Nuremberg has seen more Bundesliga relegations than any other team, with nine, whereas Bayern has had the greatest winning streak in team history—nine years. Tasmania Berlin’s eight points in 1965/66 is the lowest return for a team, while Bayern’s 91 points in 2012/13 is the highest in a single season. Back then, a victory was worth two points; however, this was altered for the 1995–96 season. There have been 56 teams that have participated in the Bundesliga overall, with Union Berlin making their debut in 2019–20.
The most successful coach in history is Udo Lattek, with eight titles; Charly Körbel has made the most appearances, with 602; Gerd Müller has the most goals, with 365; and Manuel Neuer leads the pack in victories (311) and clean sheets (212). The youngest player to ever appear in a Bundesliga game is Youssoufa Moukoko (16 years, one day), while the oldest player is Klaus Fischel (43 years, six months, two days).
Currently regarded as one of the top leagues in the world, the Bundesliga is a pioneer in sustainability and fan ownership. Football is the way it’s supposed to be.