Special Moments — Union Berlin
On 9 June 1968, one of the greatest sensations in East German football took place at Halle’s Kurt-Wabbel-Stadion.
Unforgettable Moments
On 9 June 1968, one of the greatest
On 9 June 1968, one of the greatest sensations in East German football took place at Halle’s Kurt-Wabbel-Stadion.
On 9 June 1968, one of the greatest sensations in East German football took place at Halle’s Kurt-Wabbel-Stadion. Thirteen thousand spectators watched freshly crowned champions FC Carl Zeiss Jena, one week after the end of the league season, take on underdogs 1. FC Union Berlin in the seventeenth FDGB-Pokal final. Union had finished eighth, fourteen points behind Jena.
During the league season, Jena had beaten them 3–0 at home and drawn 0–0 in Berlin. Almost everything spoke for the favourites, who hoped to become the first team in the GDR to win the double of league and cup. “The ambition of our opponents to become the first side to complete the double certainly does not make our task easier,” Union coach Werner Schwenzfeier said before the final.
Yet perhaps Jena did not take the match
Yet perhaps Jena did not take the match quite seriously enough.
Yet perhaps Jena did not take the match quite seriously enough. Their families were already waiting at the Baltic Sea, and the team planned to travel directly there after the final whistle. Extra time or even defeat had clearly not been part of the plan.
But when referee Rudi Glöckner blew for full time, it was Union’s players who had their arms in the air. Köpenick’s underdogs had thoroughly deserved their 2–1 win. “The cup final was sadly our worst match of the season,” admitted Zeiss coach Georg Buschner.
“We could not cope with the burden of being favourites. And however strange it sounds, scoring after thirty seconds was poison for us.”
Dramatic Turning Points
That early goal by Werner Krauß was almost
That early goal by Werner Krauß was almost the only thing that went according to plan for Jena.
That early goal by Werner Krauß was almost the only thing that went according to plan for Jena. Union shocked everyone even with the team selection. The 21-year-old Reinhard Lauck, actually signed for the following season, was thrown in immediately.
In the quarter-final replay against Energie Cottbus he had still been on the other side. In the final, however, the quickly converted handball penalty by Meinhard Uentz after 29 minutes gave Union courage. Captain Ulrich Prüfke later said that Jena were visibly surprised by Union’s footballing quality.
Schwenzfeier went even further, claiming Union had controlled the champions before the break and remained dangerous after it with their trademark counterattacks. Ralf Quest made it 2–1 in the 63rd minute. Behind him, goalkeeper Rainer Ignaczak refused to concede another goal.
More than a thousand Union supporters had travelled
More than a thousand Union supporters had travelled by train and by car and now waved their flags in delight.
More than a thousand Union supporters had travelled by train and by car and now waved their flags in delight. The papers honoured the sensation. “Crowning end to a successful season,” wrote Berliner Zeitung.
“No dream: Union are cup winners,” announced the front page of the football supplement to Neue Fußballwoche. The players were received at the Red Town Hall, signed the city’s golden book and were shown a new team bus emblazoned in huge letters with the words 1. FC Union Berlin.
And yet Union still never played in Europe.
And yet Union still never played in Europe.
And yet Union still never played in Europe. They had been drawn against Yugoslav side FK Bor for the first round of the Cup Winners’ Cup on 10 July 1968. Then came the night of 21 August 1968 and the Warsaw Pact’s crushing of the Prague Spring. The political crisis soon reached UEFA.
Several western clubs refused to face teams from socialist countries, a new draw was improvised and Union were now paired with Dynamo Moscow. Then the eastern associations protested as well, and when UEFA stuck to the changes, the GDR threatened withdrawal. The boycott became reality.
East German, Soviet, Hungarian, Polish and Bulgarian clubs all pulled out. Union’s dream of a European debut evaporated.
That is why the cup win against Jena
That is why the cup win against Jena has remained so special.
That is why the cup win against Jena has remained so special. Until 2019 it was still the only national title Union had won after the Second World War. Even younger supporters who know the sensation only from stories appreciate what those 1968 winners achieved.
On the fortieth anniversary, posters with all the cup heroes appeared in Köpenick under the line: “And never forget: the heroes of ’68.” In 2016 the team were made honorary members. In 2018, for the fiftieth anniversary, they were celebrated for weeks. Before a match against Bochum there was a giant choreography across the whole stadium.
On the anniversary itself, surviving cup heroes and other Union legends took a boat trip on the Spree. A monument for the cup winners was unveiled at the Alte Försterei later that year, showing captain Ulrich Prüfke and match-winner Ralph Quest with the trophy. The idea came from the fans of Szene Köpenick.
Beating mighty Jena remains one of the club’s defining moments: underdog beats favourite, take your chance even when you are not supposed to have one.