Bayern Munich 2 – Eintracht Frankfurt 0

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11/10/12
Bundesliga
Spieltag # 11

2 – BAYERN MUNICH ———————— Ribery 44′, Alaba pen 77′
0 – EINTRACHT FRANKFURT

A first goal just before the halftime whistle and a second from the penalty spot was, indeed, plenty good enough as record German champions BAYERN MUNICH dismissed newly-promoted EINTRACHT FRANKFURT 2-0 and remained all alone at the top of the Bundesliga mountain.

The opening forty-five minutes manifested itself to be a genuine ‘see-saw’ affair, with both sides generating its own share of the chances. On the one hand, Eintracht Frankfurt netminder KEVIN TRAPP acquitted himself well between the sticks. But, on the other, the visitors let themselves down badly with poor finishing and, for that, Bayern Munich would make them pay dearly just before the two teams adjourned for the break.

Austria international DAVID ALABA, now fully fit and rightfully restored to the left back position where he so excelled for the Bavarians last season, began a move which allowed promising Spain international midfielder JAVIER MARTINEZ, the 24-year-old who became the Bundesliga’s record signing when bought by Bayern Munich from Spanish La Liga side Athletic Bilbao for the staggering amount of 40.0 million Euros earlier this season, to get behind the Eintracht Frankfurt backline; an outstanding square ball from the expensive Spaniard enabled France World Cup winger FRANCK RIBERY to tap in from close range and register his third goal in the Bundesliga this term.

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Germany first choice MANUEL NEUER grabs a high ball here and posted his eighth clean sheet in Bayern Munich’s eleventh Bundesliga match of this 2012/13 campaign with the white-washing of visiting Eintracht Frankfurt in front of the 71,000 spectators at the fabulously modern Allianz Arena.
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One area of concern for trainer JUPP HEYNCKES’ in the first half was the hamstring injury to Germany international JEROME BOATENG, who would not be able to continue and was replaced by veteran Belgian international DANIEL VAN BUYTEN in the 32nd minute. The appearance by the 34-year-old centerback was van Buyten’s first in any competition this season in this, Bayern Munich’s eighteenth match of this current campaign. The experienced Belgian got the ball into the back of the net in the first half, too, but was correctly judged to have been offsides.

Eintracht Frankfurt, who finished runners-up in the 2.Bundesliga last season, made a serious attempt to level matters just after the restart when Brazilian defender ANDERSON BAMBA, the 24-year-old who has already turned out for German clubs Vfl Osnabrueck, Fortuna Duesseldorf and Borussia Moenchengladbach in his young career, hammered a header off the crossbar.

This development seemed to awaken Bayern Munich from any potential slumber and the record Bundesliga champions slowly tightened the screws until Germany international BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER was brought down in the area. The left back Alaba stepped up and, with great confidence, rocketed his left-footed penalty shot past the unfortunate Trapp, who certainly had guessed correctly. It was a deserved first goal of the season for the exciting, young Austria interantional, though.

The Bavarians, who have now won ten of eleven contests to begin this historic 50th Bundesliga season, might have tacked on one or two more, as well, but found Trapp, the former Germany U-21 international who was acquired from relegated 1.FC Kaiserslautern this past summer, to be in sharp form for visiting Eintract Frankfurt.

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Bayern Munich’s veteran Peru international CLAUDIO PIZARRO, the valuable 34-year-old, off-season signing from Werder Bremen who scored three goals against visiting French side OSC Lille in a critical UEFA Champions League match on his last appearance for the mighty Bavarian side, is confronted by the Eintracht Frankfurt defensive pair of Brazilian centerback ANDERSON BAMBA (left) and Norway international defender VADIM DEMIDOV, the 26-year-old native of Riga recruited just this summer from Spanish La Liga side Real Sociedad, during the Bundesliga match at the always sold-out Allianz Arena in southern Germany.
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BAYERN MUNICH : Neuer – Lahm, Boateng (van Buyten 32), Dante, Alaba – Martinez, Schweinsteiger – Robben, Kroos (Tymoshchuk 71′), Ribery – Pizarro (Mueller 58′)

EINTRACHT FRANKFURT : Trapp – Jung, Anderson, Demidov, Oczipka – Schwegler (Lanig 84′), Rode – Aigner (Occean 58′), Meier, Inui – Matmour

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First Frankfurter Derby In 49 Years

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Although both clubs were originally founded well over a century ago during the time of the Kaiser in 1899, the first Frankfurter Derby between EINTRACHT FRANKFURT and ‘host’ FSV FRANKFURT in nearly 50 years was actually only the fifth-ever competitive meeting between the two teams from the fifth-largest city in all of Germany.

The last football match between the two, intra-city Hessian ‘rivals’ occured back on January 27, 1962 — seven months before the notorious and now-demolished Berlin Wall had even been built.

It should also be remembered that the last time Eintracht Frankfurt and FSV Frankfurt faced one another on the field in meaningful compeition, the Bundesliga, let alone a national second division, had still not yet been created, either, in what was then West Germany.

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COMMERZBANK ARENA on the outskirts of Frankfurt am Main, which will always be known to some as the WALDSTADION (Forrest Stadium), was originally opened in 1925. The facility has undergone four major renovations since that time, twice ahead of an approaching FIFA World Cup final tournament. The current official capacity for football matches at the venerable ground is 51,500 spectators including 9,300 standing-room-only places.
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The former WALDSTADION (above) is the long-time home of EINTRACHT FRANKFURT, who were actually the visiting club for the first Frankfurter Derby in nearly 50 years. For financial reasons, FSV Frankfurt, who normally play their home matches at the tiny Frankfurter Volksbank Stadion — the old Stadion am Bornheimer Hang with a capacity of just 10,470 — were more than happy to move the game to the larger Commerzbank Arena. An official crowd of 50,250 turned out on Sunday for the Hessian Derbyspiel and it is reported that FSV Frankfurt took in gate receipts of 1.2 million Euros, which easily establishes a new club record.
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“ZWEI HERZEN IN EINER BRUST” — “Two Hearts In One Chest”
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“In Frankfurt entwickelte sich ein Derby der etwas anderen Art. Im Gegensatz zu den Duellen in Hamburg (St. Pauli gegen HSV) und Muenchen (Bayern gegen TSV 1860) stehen sich die Fans die beiden Clubs eher freundschaftlich gegenueber.” — http://www.spiegel.de

‘In Frankfurt developed somthing of a different kind of Derby. In contrast to the duels in Hamburg or Munich, the fans of both clubs face each other in a rather friendly manner.’

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EINTRACHT FRANKFURT, demoted from the top flight of German football for this season, have never won the Bundesliga title but did claim the national championship once in 1959. The club have also captured the Deutscher Fussball Bund Pokal (German Cup) on four occasions with the last coming in 1988, as well. Eintracht Frankfurt, who reached the Final of the old, prestigous European Cup of Champions opposite Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid in 1960, also have lifted the old UEFA Intertoto Cup, in 1967, and the former UEFA Cup, in 1980.
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FSV FRANKFURT, who once finished second in the national championship the very same year the refurbished Commerzbank Arena was first opened as the Waldstadion almost ninety years ago, only returned to the 2.Bundesliga to start the 2008-09 campaign after having spent most of this last decade competing in the Oberliga Hessen (then operating with fourth division status). The club finished 13th in the German second divison last season after posting a pair of 15th-place finishes following promotion from the Regionalliga (then third division). Since the formation of the nation-wide Bundesliga to start the 1963-64 season, FSV Frankfurt have never reached the top flight of German football.
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Former Germany U-21 international midfielder SVEN MUELLER of ‘home’ side FSV Frankfurt, the 31-year-old who once contested an even 100 career Bundesliga matches for Vfl Wolfsburg as well as 1.FC Nuremburg, and Ivory Coast international defender CONSTANT DJAKP of Eintracht Frankfurt, the summer signing from Bayer Leverkusen who had been out on loan to Hannover 96 the past two seasons, in an aerial duel during the first Frankfurter Derby in nearly 50 years at the old Waldstadion in Frankfurt am Main on Sunday.
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Greece World Cup striker THEOFANIS GEKAS (left), who scored 16 goals for Eintracht Frankfurt in the German top flight last season and has registered 55 goals in 133 career Bundesliga games, receives congratulations from one-time Germany U-21 international midfielder MATTHIAS LEHMANN (8) after netting from the penalty spot to score his first-ever goal in the 2.Bundesliga just after the half hour in a rare Frankfurter Derby at the Commerzbank Arena.
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FSV Frankfurt’s sliding Brazilian defender GLEDSON (28) could do nothing to prevent the ‘visiting’ 31-year-old veteran midfielder BENJAMIN KOEHLER (7), who made three appearances for Germany’s U-21 national side once upon time and has been with Eintracht Frankfurt since the summer of 2004, from putting the issue of the Frankfurter Derby at the old Waldstadion beyond doubt with a pair of strikes in the 40th and 89th minutes.
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Bundesliga-Absteiger Eintracht Frankfurt, still unbeaten after five matches to start this 2011-12 season, celebrate a 4-0 victory over cross-town rival FSV Frankfurt — the very same result the last time the two teams met in January of 1962 — in the 2.Bundesliga contest and latest edition of the rarely-seen Frankfurter Derby from the old Waldstadion in the Hessian city of Frankfurt am Main on Sunday.

Late Gekas Goal Dooms Borussia Dortmund

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(Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)
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A late strike from the Bundesliga’s leading scorer sent the side at the top of the table down to defeat on the last weekend of play in the German top flight before the annual Winterpause.

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(Thomas Bohlen/Reuters)
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An 87th minute goal by Greece international striker THEOFANIS GEKAS carried Eintracht Frankfurt to a dramatic 1-0 victory over Herbstmeister Borussia Dortmund at the Commerzbank Arena in the German state of Hesse.

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(Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)
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Counting the game-winner against die Schwarzgelben, the 30-year-old Gekas maintained his position at the top of the Bundesliga Torjaeger chart with 14 goals in 17 games this season for Eintracht Frankfurt.

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(Michael Probst/AP)
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Gekas, who was bought by Eintracht Frankfurt from Bayer Leverkusen this summer for a mere 1.0 million Euros, scored six goals in 17 games for Hertha Berlin to finish last season after being sent out on loan in January; the Greece international striker scored 13 goals in 50 Bundesliga games over the course of three seasons while on the books with the Werkself.

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(Michael Probst/AP)

DDR Reuninon At ’81 DFB Pokal

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Eintracht Frankfurt goal-scorer RONALD BORCHERS (left), who was capped six times in his career by West Germany, looks to cross the ball in as 1.FC Kaiserslautern captain HANS-GUENTER NEUES observes midfielder FRIEDHELM FUNKEL arriving to defend during the 1981 West German Cup Final in front of 71,000 spectators at the Neckarstadion in Stuttgart. (Jorg Schmitt/DPA)
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In what had to be a propaganda disaster for the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, a former East German player was always guaranteed to be on the winning side going into the Final of the 1981 DFB Pokal at the Neckarstadion in the Bundesrepublik city of Stuttgart.

After all, each contestant boasted at least one defector from the communist DDR on its books for the decisive match of the annual knockout competition in West Germany and, thus, history would be made regardless of the result.

Eintracht Frankfurt, the defending UEFA Cup champions, fielded the former Chemie Halle pair of versatile midfielder NORBERT NACHTWEIH as well as goalkeeper JUERGEN PAHL — both had bolted the Iron Curtain roughly four and a half years earlier while in Turkey with the East Germany U-21 international team.

Nachtweih, equally adept at attacking or defending, was well on his way to a second consecutive season of seven goals and 30-plus appearances for die Adler in the Bundesliga; the 23-year-old all-arounder scored 10 goals from 42 games in all competitions for Eintracht Frankfurt that year.

After a long wait since first joining the club, Pahl finally established himself as the Eagles first choice by playing 32 of Eintracht Frankfurt’s 47 fixtures for the 1980-81 campaign.

Interestingly enough, neither Nachtweih nor Pahl featured for visiting West German side Eintracht Frankfurt for the UEFA Cup first round, first leg match opposite Ukranian side SHAKHTAR DONETSK in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on September 17, 1980.

Meanwhile, in the squad for 1.FC Kaiserslautern was for East Germany international midfielder LUTZ EIGENDORF, who was in his first full Bundesliga season after sitting out the FIFA-mandated year-long suspension following his defection in March of 1979.

Eigendorf, who had been dubbed the Beckenbauer of the East before his defection from Stasi-sponsored Dynamo Berlin, struggled with both fitness and form during the 1980-81 schedule and only appeared in 19 of 34 Bundesliga games for 1.FC Kaiserslautern while scoring three goals.

The 24-year-old, who had played all four of Kaiserslautern’s games in the UEFA Cup that fall, made only four appearances, all in the Bundesliga, after the Winterpause; entering the 1981 DFB Pokal Finale against Eintracht Frankfurt at the beginning of May, Eigendorf had not been in the first team since the end of March.

Fully informed of Eigendorf’s progress in West Germany, Stasi chief ERICH MIELKE must have been pleased.

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1981 DFB POKAL FINALE
Neckarstadion — Stuttgart
Zuschauer — 71,000

3 – Eintracht Frankfurt ——— Neuberger 38′, Borchers 40′, Cha 64′
1 – 1.FC Kaiserslautern ———– Geye 90′

EINTRACHT FRANKFURT : Pahl ; Pezzey, Sziedat, Koerbel, Neuberger, Lorant, Borchers, Nachtweih, Nickel, Hoelzenbein, Cha

1.FC KAISERSLAUTERN : Hellstrom ; Wolf, Dusek, Melzer, Briegel, Neues, Geye, Funkel, Wendt, Bongartz, Hofeditz

Juergen Pahl Lifted UEFA Pokal

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(fc-schwalbach.de photo) — Less than two weeks after winning one of Europe’s three major competitions, the UEFA Cup, and just one day after their final game for the 79/80 Bundesliga season, Eintracht Frankfurt line-up just prior to kick-off of the exhibition match with amateur outfit FC Schwalbach in the Frankfurt suburb of Schwalbach am Taunus in the West German state of Hesse on June 1, 1980.

Eintracht Frankfurt (left to right) : Willi NEUBERGER, Horst EHRMANTRAUT, Bum Kun CHA, Norbert NACHTWEIH, Bernd NICKEL, Michael KUENAST, Wolfgang TRAPP, Stefan LOTTERMANN, Karl-Heinz KOERBEL, Juergen PAHL and captain Bernd HOELZENBEIN.

With the 1974 World Cup winner Hoelzenbein scoring five goals and Nickel adding a hat trick, Eintracht easily handled their gracious as well as grateful hosts 12-0.
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Goalkeeper JUERGEN PAHL gained instant notoriety in the fall of 1976 by defecting from the U-21 international squad of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik with teammate NORBERT NACHTWEIH while traveling for a match in Turkey.

However, the ex-Chemie Halle shot-stopper did not necessarily enjoy instant success for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Federal Republic of Germany after sitting out the one-year suspension as mandated by FIFA. In fact, whereas Nachtweih made several apperances for die Adler in the Bundesliga his first season eligible, Pahl did not play a single game during the 1977-78 campaign.

The former East Germany U-21 international could not displace the HEINZ-JOSEF KOITKA to start the next season, either, although Pahl was promoted to first choice after the Winterpause. Finally, more than two years after his escape from Erich Hoenecker’s Worker’s Paradise, the still only 22-year-old goalkeeper made his Bundesliga debut against Schalke 04 Gelsenkirchen on January 13, 1979. A run of ten games followed in which Pahl went unbeaten through the first seven with four victories and just four goals conceded.

But a back of back-to-back 4-1 losses, however, saw the young shot-stopper return to the bench — another ten months would pass before Pahl would make another appearance for Eintracht Frankfurt in any compeitition.

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ON THE COVER — The legendary West Germany international KARL-HEINZ RUMMENIGGE of Bayern Munich watches the ball elude Eintract Frankfurt goalkeeper KLAUS FUNK in the first leg of the 1980 UEFA Cup semi-finals at the Olympiastadion in Bavaria.
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Koitka transferred to 2.Bundesliga club Rot-Weiss Luedensheid but KLAUS FUNK, a 25-year-old who had yet to play a single Bundesliga match in his career, arrived at Eintracht Frankfurt from Vfb Stuttgart and earned the number one jersey to start the 1979-80 campaign.

Pahl finally was given another start against Eintract Braunschweig in early February of 1980 but would be benched again after a heavy 5-0 defeat to SV Hamburg in early March.

Funk, however, was not necessarily setting the Bundesliga on fire for Eintracht Frankfurt, either. A fortnight following the 4-0 pasting away at the hands of Hertha Berlin on the western side of the Anti-Fascist Protection Wall, Funk conceded another five goals to 1.FC Kaiserslautern in a match that saw only the third footballer to ever defect from the DDR, 23-year-old international midfielder LUTZ EIGENDORF, play his second-ever Bundesliga game. Eintracht Frankfurt trainer FRIEDEL RAUSCH had seen enough.

Pahl would be ever-present between the sticks for die Adler the rest of the way. Eintract Frankfurt rebounded from the 5-3 loss at home to Kaiserslautern with a resounding 5-1 win over Bayern Munich at the Waldstadion in Frankfurt-am-Main in the second leg of the UEFA Cup semi-finals. The spectacular result overturned the 0-2 defecit from the first encounter and sent the Eagles on to finals to face a second straight West German Bundesliga club and defending 1979 UEFA Cup champions, Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Pahl conceded three goals in the first leg but, in front of 59,000 Zuschauer at the Waldstadion, posted a shutout in the return match as Eintracht Frankfurt prevailed 1-0 to level the tie on aggregate and triumph on the away goals rule.

The one-time East Germany U-21 international goalkeeper’s clean sheet had proved to be pivotal and earned Pahl a prestigous 1980 UEFA Cup winner’s medal in the process.

Bayern Munich 4 – Eintracht Frankfurt 1

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Germany World Cup defender and Bayern Munich captain PHILIPP LAHM (left) is challenged by Eintracht Frankfurt’s 17-year-old midfielder SONNY KITTEL, the Germany youth international on his first-ever starting assignment in the Bundesliga, at the Allianz Arena in Sued Deutschland. (Matthias Schrader/AP)
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BUNDESLIGA
Spieltag # 14
11/27/2010

4 – Bayern Munich ————— Tymoshchuk 29′, 88′, Mueller 59′, Gomez 61′
1 – Eintracht Frankfurt ——— Gekas 33′

Blitztore a quarter hour into the second half effectively settled the issue as BAYERN MUNICH bagged a decisive 4-1 victory over EINTRACHT FRANKFURT and, in the process, jumped up to fifth place in the Bundesliga standings.

Nearing the half hour mark, Ukraine international midfielder ANATOLI TYMOSHCHUK blasted the Bayern Munich in front from the top of the box but the Bundesliga’s leading goal-scorer equalized for Eintracht Frankfurt shortly thereafter.

Greece international striker THEOFANIS GEKAS benefited when Bayern Munich’s Belgium international defender DANIEL VAN BUYTEN misjudged the cross of Eintracht Frankfurt’s former Germany U-21 international winger MARCEL HELLER in the area. At the first attempt, Gekas hit the post with his free header but the 30-year-old with 52 caps and 20 goals for his country quickly pounced on the rebound to pull die Adler level.

Argentina World Cup defender MARTIN DEMICHELIS was sent out by Bayern Munich coach LOUIS VAN GAAL on to start the second half in place of van Buyten.

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Macedonia international goalkeeper OLA NIKOLOV of Eintracht Frankfurt skillfully makes a point-blank save from Bayern Munich’s in-form Germany World Cup reserve striker MARIO GOMEZ at the Allianz Arena. (Michaela Rehle/Reuters)
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Bayern Munich’s consistent pressure paid off as the match approached the hour mark. Macedonia international goalkeeper OLA NIKOLOV, who has been enjoying a fine season in between the sticks for Eintracht Frankfurt, fumbled a long range, routine shot from Bayern Munich’s 20-year-old Germany World Cup reserve midfielder TONI KROOS. A goal-scoring hero for Germany in South Africa this summer, winger THOMAS MUELLER, tracked down the rebound and finished for the first time in the Bundesliga since late September.

With two minutes, the Bavarians doubled their lead.

Germany World Cup reserve MARIO GOMEZ had put the ball in the net early in the match only to see the linesman wave his flag. Shortly into the second half, the 25-year-old striker had seen a shot graze the outside of the post. Finally, after Nikolov could only parry the effort of France World Cup midfielder FRANCK RIBERY, Gomez earned a just reward for his persistance and scored for a fifth consecutive Bundesliga game.

Gomez lifted his 2010-11 numbers to nine goals in the Bundesliga and 16 in all competitions for Bayern Munich.

Tymoshchuk, who got his chance earlier in the year as a stand-in centerback and is now playing like a man who does not want to stop his run of games in defensive midfield for Bayern Munich, capped a big win for the Bavarians using the outside of his right foot for a deft finish and a brace in the 88th minute.

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Germany World Cup winger THOMAS MUELLER of Bayern Munich is sent flying from a collision with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Switzerland World Cup midfielder PIRMIN SCHWEGLER, an ever-present this season for die Adler who was acquired from Bayer Leverkusen at a cost of 500,000 Euros in the summer of 2009, at the Allianz Arena. (Christof Stache/AFP)
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BAYERN MUNICH : Butt – Lahm, van Buyten (Demichelis 46′), Breno, Pranjic – Tymoshchuk, Kroos – Mueller, Schweinsteiger (van Bommel 66′), Ribery – Gomez

EINTRACHT FRANKFURT : Nikolov – Ochs, Vasoski, Russ, Jung – Schwegler – Heller, Meier (Caio 82′), Halil Altintop (Amantidis 87′), Kittel (Fenin 60′) – Gekas

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Greece international striker THEOFANIS GEKAS, a bargain buy this summer at 1.0 million Euros from Bayer Leverkusen, signals his Bundesliga-leading 12th goal of this 2010-11 campaign for Eintracht Frankfurt to level the match as Bayern Munich’s France World Cup midfielder FRANCK RIBERY reflects upon recent events at the Allianz Arena. (Michaela Rehle/Reuters)
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Germany World Cup winger THOMAS MUELLER (25), who now claims five goals in all competitions for the Bavarians this term, capitalizes on the fundamental error of Macedonia international goalkeeper OLA NIKOLOV to record his first goal in the Bundesliga since September 21 for Bayern Munich against Eintracht Frankfurt at the Allianz Arena. (Michaela Rehle/Reuters)
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Germany World Cup winger THOMAS MUELLER (25) gets a hug from two-goal Ukraine international midfielder ANATOLI TYMOSHCHUK and a handshake from France World Cup midfielder FRANCK RIBERY as Bayern Munich celebrate scoring more than three goals for only the second time this season in the Bundesliga against Eintracht Frankfurt at the Alliance Arena in Bavaria. (Matthias Schrader/AP)
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MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Norbert Nachtweih : The Uncapped Koenig

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The versatile NORBERT NACHTWEIH, who first gained notoriety after defecting from the East Germany U-21 national team while traveling in Turkey a dozen years earlier, on the ball for Bayern Munich at the pre-season 1988 Wembley Invitational Tournament in London, England. (Bob Thomas/Getty Images)
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The blog continues its celebration of German Reunification and look at football in East Germany as Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayern Munich prepare to battle in the Bundesliga this weekend.

Difficult then, to not discuss, if only briefly, the decorated old Bundesliga profi, NORBERT NACHTWEIH, with all this in mind.

Readers who took in the highlights of the match featured in “Turn Back The Clock 25 Years : Borussia Moenchengladbach v Bayern Munich” will remember Nachtweih for his spectacular, long-range blast from a free kick.

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Bayern Munich sweeper/libero NORBERT NACHTWEIH attempts to halt the forward progress of skillful Portugal international winger PAULO FUTRE of FC Porto during the 1987 European Cup Final at the Praterstadion in Vienna, Austria. (Bob Thomas/Getty Images)
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If there was a better player in the Bundesliga during the 1980s who never earned even a single senior international cap for his country, the blog would very much like to be made aware.

Nachtweih, of course, was a defector from East Germany and, naturally, a criminal in the eyes of his native state. Although it was the policy of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland (West Germany) to grant instant citizenship to any East German who fled the Deutsche Demokratische Republik and applied for such, it was also the standard operating procedure of FIFA at that time which prohibited Nachtweih from playing for West Germany. Because the former Chemie Halle player had represented the German Democratic Republic during an official international match, even only at the youth level, the defector was ineligible to play for another country – ever.

West Germany, as is well known, reached the Final of FIFA’s World Cup for three consecutive tournaments (’82, ’86, ’90) over the course of Nachtweih’s playing career.

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Bayern Munich defender NORBERT NACHTWEIH engages in an aerial duel with West Germany’s future World Cup-winning striker KARL-HEINZ RIEDLE of Blau Weiss 90 Berlin during a 1986-87 Bundesliga season match at the Olympiastadion in Bavaria. (bundesliga.de photo)
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There is no question that Nachtweih would have unquestionably been capped by West Germany if it had been permissible and almost certainly a member of one, if not more, of the World Cup squads that were sent on to FIFA final tournaments in that era by the Deutsche Fussball Bund.

Nachtweih did earn numerous titles at the professional level while playing in the West German Bundesliga. The first arrived in the spring of 1980 with a winner’s medal from the surprising UEFA Cup triumph in 1980. Still a month shy of his 23rd birthday, the winger Nachtweih appeared in both legs of the final as Eintracht Frankfurt upended favored Borussia Moenchengladbach on away goals in the all-West German encounter.

Nachtweih and Eintracht Frankfurt followed up that success the next season with the DFB Pokal title.

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The pair who departed the East Germany U-21 national team while traveling in Turkey in the fall of 1976, midfielder NORBERT NACHTWEIH (second from left, back row) and goalkeeper JUERGEN PAHL (fourth from right, front row), are both shown here in this 1979-80 season team photo for West German Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt. (eintracht-archiv.de photo)
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Following a career-high 11 goals from 31 Bundesliga matches for Eintracht Frankfurt during the 1981-82 campaign, Nachtweih earned a prestigous transfer to Bayern Munich. The former East Germany U-21 international became a regular in the Bavarians line-up for the next seven seasons playing 202 Bundesliga games with 20 goals scored. The defector was utilized in both midfield and, ever more increasingly, in defense at left back by Bayern Munich.

Nachtweih would also make many starts at sweeper, or libero, in place of the injured West Germany’s World Cup-winning KLAUS AUGENTHALER towards the end of his time with Bayern Munich. All West German clubs played with the libero in this era and, in the country that produced the great FRANZ BECKENBAUER, the position was a prestigous and glamorous one. Significantly, Nachtweih started at sweeper for Bayern Munich in the 1987 European Cup final.

Nachtweih won four Bundesliga titles and another two West German Cups with Bayern Munich before a lucrative move to French Ligue 1 outfit AS Cannes in the summer of 1989.

Thus, it was on the world-famous French Riviera where Nachtweih was playing his football when the Berlin Wall symbolically fell later that November.

Theofanis Gekas – New Bundesliga Goal Koenig

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Greece World Cup striker THEOFANIS GEKAS of Eintracht Frankfurt celebrates his second goal of the DFB Pokal match with SV Hamburg on October 27 at the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt am Main. (Martin Meissner/AP)
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Two goals against FC St.Pauli during a 3-1 victory for the visiting side on Saturday afternoon in Hamburg took Greece World Cup striker THEOFANIS GEKAS of Eintracht Frankfurt past Senegal’s Papiss Demba Cisse of SC Freiburg, who failed to score in his away league match on Friday night against Bayern Munich, to the top of the goal-scoring chart in the German Bundesliga after ten rounds of the 2010-11 football season :

9 goals — Theofanis GEKAS — Eintracht Frankfurt – (Greece)
8 goals — Papiss Demba CISSE — SC Freiburg – (Senegal)
6 goals — Demba BA — TSG Hoffenheim – (Senegal)
6 goals — Hugo ALMEIDA — Werder Bremen – (Portugal)
6 goals — Srdjan LAKIC — 1.FC Kaiserslautern – (Croatia)
6 goals — GRAFITE — Vfl Wolfsburg – (Brazil)
6 goals — Eden DZEKO — Vfl Wolfsburg – (Bosnia/Herzegovina)
5 goals — Lucas BARRIOS — Borussia Dortmund – (Paraguay)
5 goals — Didier YA KONAN — Hannover 96 – (Ivory Coast)
5 goals — Klaus-Jan HUNTELAAR — Schalke 04 Gelsenkirchen – (Holland)
5 goals — Pavel POGREBNYAK — Vfb Stuttgart – (Russia)

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Greece World Cup striker THEOFANIS GEKAS of Eintracht Frankfurt unsuccessfully attempts to shoot past Schalke 04 Gelsenkirchen’s sprawled Germany World Cup goalkeeper MANUEL NEUER during the 0-0 draw in the Bundesliga on October 23 at the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt am Main. (Michael Probst/AP)
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THEOFANIS GEKAS intially arrived in Germany during the summer of 2006 to play for Vfl Bochum on loan from Greek club Panathinaikos Athens for a fee of 300,000 Euros with an option to purchase for a further 700,000 Euros if the Bundesliga side were not relegated at the end of the season.

Greatly aided by Greece international striker, who scored twenty goals to lead the top flight, Vfl Bochum were able to stay in the Bundesliga.

Bayer Leverkusen were sufficently impressed and came for Gekas at the end of the striker’s first season in the German first division; a deal was reportedly concluded in which Bayer Leverkusen paid off Panathinaikos Athens in full and forked over a further 4.0 million Euros to Eintract Frankfurt.

Gekas actually led Bayer Leverkusen in Bundesliga goal-scoring his first year at the club but his stock hit rock bottom in his second season and the Greece international striker was sent out on loan to FC Portsmouth in the English Premier League, where things did not work out, either.

The now 30-year-striker was given one last chance with Bayer Leverkusen to start last season, but after six goalless appearances Gekas was again sent out on loan, this time to SC Hertha Berlin.

Gekas registered a respectable six goals in seventeen games in the unififed German capital city and, at the end of the season, was selected for the final roster of Greece’s entry at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Late in May, Bayer Leverkusen decided to officially cut their losses and sold the veteran striker, who has earned 52 caps and scored 20 goals for Greece, to Eintracht Frankfurt for the cut rate of one million Euros.

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THEOFANIS GEKAS record
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06-07 — 20 goals – 32 games — Vfl Bochum – GER
07-08 — 11 goals – 29 games — Bayer Leverkusen – GER
08-09 —– 2 goals – 15 games — Bayer Leverkusen – GER
08-09 —– 0 goals —- 1 games — FC Portsmouth – ENG
09-10 —– 0 goals —- 6 games — Bayer Leverkusen – GER
09-10 —– 6 goals – 17 games — SC Hertha Berlin – GER
10-11 —— 9 goals – 10 games — Eintracht Frankfurt – GER

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Striker THEOFANIS GEKAS of Greece gestures during the Group B match with South Korea at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, during the 2010 World Cup final tournament held this past summer. (Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images Europe)