DDR 1970's Retro Football Jacket

The best decade in East Germany's modern football history is remembered for that famous World Cup group stage win over West Germany in 1974, but probably more should have been achieved. With many of the state's greatest players like Jürgen Sparwasser, Joachim Streich, Hans-Jürgen Dörner, Jürgen Croy, Eberhard Vogel, Bernd Bransch, Martin Hoffmann, and Peter Ducke active and at the peak of their careers during the 1970s, East Germany should have been regular participants at World Cup and European Nations Cup finals tournaments.

While always difficult opponents at home in qualifiers, the East German team never quite managed the results away from home needed to top qualifying groups. The net consequence was that the 1974 World Cup proved to be their only major non-Olympic tournament appearance.