The History Behind Germany’s Bundesliga

The Bundesliga is among the top-ranked leagues in European football. The league has witnessed a rise in its popularity in the last 15 years or so.

The league was first introduced in 1963. But before its introduction, German football was divided on the basis of its regions like North Germany, South Germany, Southwest Germany, West Germany, etc. The Top two teams from each region would qualify for the second round.

In 1990, Germany was divided into two regions, as East Germany had its own league named DS Oberliga from 1948 to 1991. Later on, it was renamed as Fußball Oberliga DFV in 1958.

The league was in the top three in the Eastern league system. After West Germany was merged, Oberligen provided a fresh boost, infusing more professionalism as a whole.

Members and Committees of Bundesliga

The Bundesliga was formed to add professionalism as well as to stop German players from joining other European leagues. Bundesliga was also introduced, keeping in mind the revival of the national team that lost to Chile in the quarter-finals of the 1962 World Cup.

After this loss, 103 of the 129 members of the Deutscher Fußball-Bund’s (German Football Association) voted for an independent league in a meeting at Dortmund. Osnabruck lawyer Hermann Gosmann was announced as the new DFB president and was handed responsibilities of administering the league as well as the game with more professionalism.

He appointed a committee consisting of 6 members alongside Walter Baresel, solicitor Dr Willi Hubner from Essen, Cologne president Franz Kremer, Ludwig Franz, and journalist Hermann Neuberger.

The members had to make some quick decisions just before one year when the Bundesliga was to be started. The members had to decide who could play in the league from the list of 46 teams, as DFB had decided on a 16-team league in 1963/64.

It was then decided that five teams from the Oberliga West would join, five from the south, three from the north, two from the southwest, and one from Berlin. These teams were: Cologne, Borussia Dortmund, 1860 Munich, Eintracht Braunschweig, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hertha Berlin, Hamburg, Kaiserslautern, Karlsruhe, PreuBen Munster, MSV Duisburg, Shalke, VFB Stuttgart, Werder Bremen, Nuremberg, and Saarbrucken.

Champions of each league would be at the top irrespective of their performances in the last 10 seasons. Earlier there was a rule where only one club per city would be allowed to play in the Bundesliga, which meant that Bayern Munich wouldn’t find a place as 1860 Munich won the title in 1962/63 although they topped the league in the 10 years.

Some teams also posed legal challenges as they were overlooked, due to which they were allowed to earn a spot in Regionalliga Divisions. The first season began on the 24th of August 1963.

Initial Records of Bundesliga

Dortmund’s Timo Konietzka scored the first goal and scored 20 goals in the division, while Uwe Seeler of Hamburg was the highest scorer. Georg Knöpfle led Cologne to its first-ever Bundesliga trophy as Karl Heinz Thielen scored 16 goals for Cologne.

Saarbrucken and Munster were the two sides who got relegated in the first season, while Hannover and Borussia Neunkirchen were the first teams to be promoted.

Alterations and New Teams in Bundesliga

During the 1965-66 season, 18 teams participated, while during the 1981-82 Bundesliga season, relegation and playoff games were introduced.

The 1991-92 season witnessed 20 teams and Hansa Rostock and Dynamo Dresden were the first two teams to qualify from East Germany.

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Commercial Aspects

German teams were run by member associations as private ownership was not permitted from 1998, which means the clubs and fans held voting rights.

If commercial investors have more than 49 percent ownership, then clubs won’t be allowed to play in the league due to which debts and wages are good in German football and so the ticket costs are less as compared to other European leagues.

Team Performances in Bundesliga

So far, 12 teams have won the Bundesliga. Bayern Munich has won 30 trophies, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Dortmund five trophies each, Weder four times, Hamburg and Stuttgart three each, and Cologne and Kaiserslautern two each. Other clubs have won the league more than once.

Nuremberg has been relegated 9 times, while Bayern’s run as Champions for 9 years is the longest in history.

Bayern collected 91 points during the 2012-13 season, which is the highest for any team, while Tasmania Berlin collected 8 points in 1965-66, which is the lowest for any team as there were 2 points for a win during that time.

Bundesliga Records

So far, 56 teams have competed in the league.
Udo Lattek has won the most trophies as coach (eight).
Gerd Muller is the highest scorer with 365 goals.
Charly Korbel has made the most appearances (602).
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has the most clean sheets (212).
Klaus Fischel is the oldest (43 years, six months) to play in the Bundesliga, while Youssoufa Moukoko is the youngest (16 years, one day) to play in the league.

Bundesliga has attracted a lot of fan base, and it’s definitely got bigger and more competitive.

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