Soccer: GDR selection captain Bernd Bransch is dead

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Bernd Bransch exchanging pennants with Franz Beckenbauer at the 1974 World Cup

Photo: imago images/ Horstmüller

The former captain of the GDR national soccer team Bernd Bransch is dead. As his long-standing club Hallescher FC learned from the family, the 77-year-old died on Saturday after a long illness.

»On behalf of all members, active players, fans, sponsors, employees and committee representatives, I would like to express our heartfelt condolences to the family of Bernd Bransch.

It is up to all of us to cherish the memory of our honorary member, one of the most important personalities of the club and the most important ambassador of the city of Halle, and to continue his legacy," said HFC President Jens Rauschenbach.

Olympic champions, World Cup participants - but only a title at club level

Bransch wore the jersey of the national team 72 times and was Olympic champion with the team in 1976 and third in the 1972 Olympics. In the only World Cup participation by a GDR selection, Bransch captained the team in 1974 in the Federal Republic.

After Hans-Jürgen Dörner and Joachim Streich, Bransch is the third prominent East German footballer to die this year.

Bransch was a real Halle resident to the end.

With one exception: Before the 1973/74 World Cup season, his HFC was relegated.

In order to remain interesting for the national team, »Branscher« switched to FC Carl Zeiss Jena for a season and won the FDGB Cup with the Thuringians – his only title at club level.

Otherwise he played almost 300 times for SC Chemie Halle and the resulting HFC Chemie in the Oberliga.

Bransch experienced his darkest hour in football in 1971 in the Eindhoven tragedy, when HFC lost teammate Wolfgang Hoffmann in a devastating hotel fire.

Bransch, who started as a striker and later moved into defence, embodied a confident defender with an eye for gaps.

With his strong left foot, he marked many an important goal, such as Jena's 3-1 cup win against Dynamo Dresden in 1974 or the two goals against Romania, each after indirect free kicks on cunning preparatory work by Peter Ducke.

Overall, he scored 43 times in the league and three times for the national team.

With the he experienced his career highlights.

Not only the World Cup participation in 1974 is in his vita.

In 1972 he finished third at the Olympics before winning the Olympics in Montreal in 1976 crowned his career.

However, he was no longer a regular player, Dörner had replaced him as libero and captain.

In 1977, the two-time GDR Football of the Year ended his career.

The only participation in the World Cup by a GDR football team is still inextricably linked with the name of Bernd Bransch.

First, the libero and captain shot the team coached by Georg Buschner almost single-handedly with his two goals in the 2-0 win against Romania in the decisive qualifier, then he led the GDR team into the Federal Republic as captain.

The pictures of the pennant exchange with FRG captain Franz Beckenbauer before the only domestic German international match in Hamburg went around the world.

After his career, Bransch began studying economics engineering, was city councilor for youth and sports in Halle and later vice president of the city sports association Halle.

He remained loyal to his HFC: From 1983 to 1992 he was chairman or president of Halleschen FC, and at times also manager.

From 2007 he was an advisor to the club and was still on the board of directors at the age of 70.

ara/dpa