The East Germany national football team was the national football team of the
German Democratic Republic
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
. Following the realignment of
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
's youth competitions in 1976, East Germany's Under-21 team was formed. The team played until 1990, until East Germany ceased to be a separate country after the reunification of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
The team competed in the
UEFA U-21 Championship
The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the compe ...
. Since the under-21 competition rules state that players must be 21 or under at the start of a two-year competition, technically it is an U-23 competition. East Germany's record for the preceding U-23 competitions is also shown.
Before the 1990 merge, the East-German U-21 team was a little more successful than its Western counterpart, finishing second on three occasions. The
West German under-21s were runners-up once and quarter-finalists twice. 'East' failed to qualify seven times, whilst 'West' failed four times and didn't enter on three occasions.
The trainer of the under team was
Walter Fritzsch
Walter Fritzsch (21 November 1920 – 15 October 1997) was a German football player and manager.
Beginning
He began his career as a player in 1927 with SC Planitz. In 1940, he transferred to VfL Leisnig and played there until 1943 after which he ...
, from 1978 until 1991.
UEFA U-23 Championship Record
* 1972: Did not qualify. Finished 3rd of 3 in qualification group.
* 1974: Runners-up.
* 1976: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 3 in qualification group.
UEFA U-21 Championship Record
* 1978: Runners-up.
* 1980: Runners-up.
* 1982: Did not qualify. Finished 3rd of 3 in qualification group.
* 1984: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 4 in qualification group.
* 1986: Did not qualify. Finished 3rd of 4 in qualification group.
* 1988: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 4 in qualification group.
* 1990: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 4 in qualification group.
See also
*
European Under-21 Football Championship
The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the compe ...
External links
UEFA Under-21 websiteContains full results archive
Contains full record of U-21/U-23 Championships.
{{Football in East Germany
European national under-21 association football teams
Under-21