Bundesliga celebrates milestone

By Manfred Christoph

In the presence of German chancellor Gerhard Schröder, the Bundesliga celebrated its 40th birthday this weekend.

Forty years on
At 5pm on 24 August 1963, the new competition began and exactly four decades on Hamburger SV - the only side to have taken part in every top-flight campaign - took on FC Bayern München 40 years after an opening 1-1 draw against SC Preussen Münster. This time, though, Hamburg were defeated 2-0.

Special banquet
The night before the German Football Association (DFB) and the Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH (DFL) held a banquet at Cologne's 'Coloneum' with 1,200 guests from the world of sport, politics, economics and the media to celebrate the league's history.

Treasurer attends match
UEFA Treasurer Dr Mathieu Sprengers, who deputised for UEFA President Lennart Johansson who was unable to attend the celebrations, was present at the dinner which followed 1. FC Köln's 1-0 victory over BV Borussia Dortmund in the new RheinEnergie-Stadion.

Sprengers speech
A close friend of DFB honorary president Egidius Braun, Dr Sprengers said: "The German football league is a role model in organisation, discipline, refereeing and their licensing system. And the DFB and DFL show a solidarity which credits them."

'Great sport'
Dortmund supporter Schröder also spoke, declaring: "Football is far more than a business. The priority is great sport. We all can do nothing but hope that it continues as it has up to now." Alongside the chancellor were Franz Beckenbauer and DFB chief Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelde, who looked back at the highlights of Bundesliga history along with Werner Hackmann, the DFL managing director. (DFL).

Völler praise

What the league has given to the people is sensational

National coaches
The league's history has seen 12,182 matches involving 48 clubs and 4,1237 players - and all those with more than 250 appearances were invited on Saturday. Otto Rehhagel, national coach of Greece, and Siggi Held, his counterpart in Malta, had the longest journeys to Cologne.

Müller honour
Former FC Bayern München striker Gerd Müller was voted the league's most outstanding player by a special jury. An emotional Müller, who scored 365 goals in 427 matches and 40 in the 1971/72 season, said as he received his award: "I could cry. This is the finest honour I have received."

'The right choice'

Fair play award
Karl-Heinz Körbel, the former Eintracht Frankfurt defender, won a fair play award for never being sent off in 602 appearances.