Compared to the development of football since the late 1870s, 60 years is not a long time, let alone would it be seen as old age. However, considering the twists and turns of history, 60 years can be a long time. Taking into account that within the first decade of its existence, Magdeburg had won the European Cup and were one of the most promising teams in Europe, the following 50 years were quite a difficult time to go through. From its inception on December 22, 1965 to its biggest triumph on May 8, 1974, not even 10 years had passed; and the following years had been a slow but steady decline. This was only accelerated by end of the Cold War in 1989. Within a year, the GDR ceased to exist and with it an entire political system. The vacuum was not filled with promises but with hard lessons and many disappointments. For Magdeburg it came at the worst possible moment as the club ended the 1980s rather well. The demise of communism plunged East German football into the abyss. For Magdeburg, the deepest point came in the mid-1990s when the drop into the 5th division loomed and a merger with a local rival was on the table. Neither came to happen – thankfully. Slowly the club rebuilt, suffering setbacks such as insolvency in 2001, missing out on promotion like in 2007 by mere minutes as well as missing several chances to qualify for newly established leagues like in 1994. And most famously in 2012 when they finished bottom of the table and escaped the drop only because the leagues were merged.
Just as missing out and escaping so close, we should not forget, that in the final match of the 1996-1997 season the referee blew his whistle a few minutes earlier to grant promotion. He did so with about 10000 fans standing pitch side waiting for the final whistle. What would have happened had the opposition of the day, Hoyerswerda, equalised or even taken the lead – only speculation knows.
Magdeburg would not be Magdeburg if things were not twisted and not always easy. Yet, only a few things in life are easy and surviving in an increasingly professionalised football environment requires not only legs but also brains. These were not there in the early 1990s – how could they? Those in charge of the club had not experienced capitalism and were duly overwhelmed and outsmarted by their western counterparts and cheated by some charlatans.
Magdeburg have done well since 2015: going up to the third division, and even further in 2018 and again in 2022. Second division football seems likely to be happening in Magdeburg in the next year. Alas, there will be no European football soon. Let that be the only negative point in this eulogy!
The upward trajectory of the Club runs in parallel with the positive development of the city: since the late 2000s, early 2010s, the city has become more positive looking and sounding. The scars of the past have begun to heal. No longer are big numbers of people fleeing the city to find work in nearby West Germany or Berlin. With political turmoil on the horizon, though, it remains to be seen, if the following 60 years will be just as spectacular as those 6 decades just gone.
Here’s to you, 1. FC Magdeburg!
