Bernd Bransch (24 September 1944 – 11 June 2022) was a

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

from

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

who played as a sweeper.

Career

Bransch began his sporting career as a youngster at BSG Motor Halle-Süd. The son of a locksmith was then allowed to join

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

SC Chemie Halle in 1954. Bransch played throughout his career for SC Chemie Halle and its successor, Hallescher FC Chemie – except for the 1973/74 season, in which he played for

FC Carl Zeiss Jena FC Carl Zeiss Jena is a German football club based in Jena, Thuringia. Formed in 1903 and initially associated with the Carl Zeiss AG factory, they were one of the strongest clubs in East Germany from the 1960s to the 1980s, winning the DDR-Ober ...

. In 1968 and 1974 he was honoured as

East German Footballer of the Year The title Footballer of the Year (German: ''Fußballer des Jahres'') has been awarded in Germany since 1960. Eligible are German players as well as non-German players playing in Germany. In 1996, the title Women's Footballer of the Year (German ...

. Bransch participated in the Munich Olympics 1972, in which his

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

team secured a bronze medal, and in the gold-medal winning Montreal Olympics 1976 side. He also played in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. In total Bransch played 317 league games, scoring 43 goals.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bransch, Bernd 1944 births 2022 deaths Sportspeople from Halle (Saale) People from the Province of Saxony German footballers East German footballers Footballers from Saxony-Anhalt Association football sweepers East Germany international footballers Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of East Germany Olympic gold medalists for East Germany Olympic bronze medalists for East Germany 1974 FIFA World Cup players DDR-Oberliga players FC Carl Zeiss Jena players Hallescher FC players Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver People from Bezirk Halle