1968–69 DDR-Oberliga

The 1968/69 season was the 20th edition of the East German Oberliga. Champion for the sixth time the FC Vorwärts Berlin. The season began on August 17, 1968 and ended on 17 May 1969.

Course of the season

The championship was decided on the last game between forward (first with 32 points and 18 gates ), Magdeburg (second, 31, 3 ) and the defending champion Jena (third, 30, 18). By a 2-1 win at city rivals Dynamo to forward secured the sixth (and last ) Title of the club's history. Jena was still second and Magdeburg as the year of third parties. But a long time, the most promising in the title race was the FC Hansa Rostock, who led on most match days and at the end of the table because of its poor second half ( second worst team) only fourth.

The decision to descend also fell on the final day between three teams. The league debutant Stahl Riesa had the advantage to be one or two points clear of the chasing Union Berlin and Leipzig locomotive, also had to compete against each other yet both. With a win in bismuth Aue secured surprisingly Riesa class while dismounted with Union Cup Winners' Cup the previous year and with Leipzig one of the top teams in the last five years.

Cross Table

The cross table presents the results of all games this season represents the home team is listed in the left column and the visiting team in the top row.

Statistics

The champion team

Erich Hamann (26/ 5), Manfred Müller (26 / - ), Wolfgang Strübing ( 24/3 ), Frank -Rainer Withulz (23 / -) Gerhard grains ( 24/3 ), Jürgen Nöldner (22/ 4) Horst Wruck ( 23/2 ), Rainer Nightingale (23/ 5), Horst Begerad ( 25/9 ), Jürgen Piepenburg (26 /12)

Goals

In the 182 point games were 456 goals, an average of 2.51 per game. The highest-scoring matches, each with seven hits were Union Berlin - Hansa Rostock ( 3:4, 1 Sp ), Rot-Weiß Erfurt - HFC Chemistry ( 5:2, 2 Sp ), Magdeburg - Vorwärts Berlin (4:3, 8 Sp ), Karl- Marx-Stadt - Hansa Rostock ( 3:4, 8 Sp ), Rot-Weiß Erfurt - Magdeburg ( 6:1, 13 Sp ) and Vorwärts Berlin - Stahl Riesa (6: 1, 17, Sp ). The biggest win was the 6-0 of Carl Zeiss Jena against Union Berlin on the tenth match day.

Gerd food man from FC Hansa Rostock successfully defended his title as top scorer in the league from last year. In total, 126 players were characterized as scorers, added five own goals. 49 Penalties were imposed, of which 32 were transformed. Manfred Becker of the BFC and Werner Krauss from Jena met three times from the penalty spot, while the goalkeeper Horst Weigang from Erfurt parried three penalty kicks.

Hans -Jürgen Albrecht ( Erfurt) managed the only player to score a hat -trick ( against Vorwärts Berlin on matchday 18 ), four other players also get three goals in one game: saving water ( Magdeburg ) against Aue ( 4 Sp ), Walter ( Magdeburg ) against Lok Leipzig ( Sp 9 ), food man (Rostock) against Jena ( Sp 13 ) and against Lok Leipzig ( 16 Sp ) and zinc ( Aue ) against Jena ( Sp 20 ) and against Rostock ( 24, Sp ).

Audience

A total of 2,111,000 spectators watched the 182 league games, which gives an average of 11,599 spectators per game. The highest average attendance recorded Chemie Leipzig and the HFC chemistry with 17,000. At the end of the audience table were all three Berlin clubs with cuts of 5,154 (BFC ), 7269 (forward ) or 9231 ( Union). The largest number of spectators witnessed the two games between chemistry and locomotive Leipzig on the eighth and 21st matchday per 40,000; at least audience ( 1,500 ) were Leipzig (14th Round ) and Vorwärts Berlin and Stahl Riesa (17th Round ) at the games between the BFC Dynamo and chemistry.

Miscellaneous

• 284 players were used, which were 42 in all league matches this.
• There were 101 home wins, 48 draws and 33 Away Games.
• 10 expulsions and 198 warnings imposed the match officials.

Player of the year

After the season was awarded for the first time as a footballer of the year Eberhard Vogel of FC Karl- Marx-Stadt.

Fdgb Cup

The fdgb Cup was won this season by the league - third 1.FC Magdeburg. For Magdeburg, who defeated FC Karl- Marx-Stadt in the final, it was the third Cup triumph. The defending champion Union Berlin defeated in the second round in a rematch of last year's finale Carl Zeiss Jena.

International Competitions

The European Cup competition was overshadowed this season by political events around the Prague Spring. Because of the invasion of the armed forces of the Warsaw Pact in Czechoslovakia to suppress the local reform efforts, the UEFA led in both of her competitions organized ( the European Champions Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup ) a Neuauslosung the Erstrundenbegegnungen. Previously, the Western European organizations had protested against the invasion and refused to play against the Eastern European competitors. The Neuauslosungen envisaged a division into East and West, but this approach was rejected by the associations of the Warsaw Pact and then five organizations ( among them the DFV) withdrew their teams completely. Victims on the East German side were Carl Zeiss Jena and Union Berlin. The first FC Union had to wait (except for the Intertoto Cup) until 2001 to finally bring his European Cup debut.

In the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the political impact was not felt, so here could Hansa Rostock ( against OGC Nice) and locomotive Leipzig compete ( against the Kjøbenhavns Boldklub ) problems against teams of non-socialist abroad. Both reached the second round and were subject there Fiorentina (Rostock ) and Hibernian (Leipzig). In the preseason also the Intertoto Cup was discharged. Here part of the name Karl- Marx-Stadt, Hansa Rostock, Carl Zeiss Jena and Magdeburg, with Karl- Marx-Stadt and Rostock won their respective group.