Extreme Football Tourism: EAST GERMANY: VfB Leipzig (1922-1945, 1991-1992, 1995-2004) / SG Probstheida (1946-1949) / BSG Erich Zeigner Leipzig (1949-1950) / BSG Einheit Ost Leipzig (1950-1954) / SC Rotation Leipzig (1954-1963) / SC Leipzig (1963-1966) / 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig (1966-1991, 2004-) / VfB Leipzig (B) (1992-1995)

Bruno-Plache-Stadion, Leipzig (1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig, formerly VfB Leipzig / SG Probstheida / BSG Erich Zeigner Leipzig / BSG Einheit Ost Leipzig / SC Rotation Leipzig / SC Leipzig / B ground of VfB Leipzig)

East Germany (former GDR / DDR), state: Saxony = Saksen

9 VIII 2024 / 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig - FC Eilenburg 2-0 / Regionalliga Nordost (= BRD level 4)

Timeline

1893 / Foundation of a sports club in Leipzig, Sportbrüder Leipzig, by Johannes Kirmse and Albert Rößler. Sportbrüder Leipzig primarily focuses on cycling and athletics.
1896 / Theodor Schöffler, a 19-year-old student, who had started a football branch at athletics club ATV Leipzig, decides to withdraw from the club due to a perceived lack of sympathy for football by other members. After breaking away, he forms a football club, VfB (Verein für Bewegungsspiele) Leipzig, with none of the other founding members exceeding the age of 21. Theodor Schöffler takes on the role of chairman as well as head coach; as a result of his omnipresence in the club’s activities, VfB Leipzig is referred to by many locally as the ‘Schöffler-Club’. In the first decades of its existence, the club played most of its home matches at the so-called Verein-Sportplatz (alternatively referred to as Sportplatz Leipzig) in the Lindenau area on the western outskirts of Leipzig, a multisport stadium which held about 20,000 spectators. It was a facility shared with many other local sports clubs.
1898 / A merger is concluded between Sportbrüder Leipzig and VfB Leipzig, resulting in the foundation of VfB Sportbrüder 1893 Leipzig.
1900 / VfB Sportbrüder 1893 Leipzig changes its name, reverting to the original name of the ‘Schöffler-Club’, i.e. VfB Leipzig.
1900 / Theodor Schöffler is one of the founding members of the German Football Association DFB (Deutscher Fussballbund), the opening meeting of which takes place in an inn in Leipzig, Zum Mariengarten.
1903 / Theodor Schöffler passes away in the early months of 1930 at the age of 26, mere weeks before VfB Leipzig wins the title in Leipzig’s regional league (Gauliga Leipzig), going on to clinch the Central German Championship title, beating Dresdner SC in the final (4-0). Hereby qualifying for the first-ever pan-German League Championship play-offs, VfB Leipzig goes on to defeat Britannia 92 Berlin (3-1) and Altonaer FC 93 (6-3) in the two first rounds. Thus reaching the final, played at the Exerzierweide in Altona, the club defeats DFC Prag (a Jewish club from Prague in the Austro-Hungarian Empire which took part in Germany’s league championships) emphatically, 7-2 (goals by Walter Friedrich, Adalbert Friedrich, Heinrich Riso 3, and Bruno Stanischewski 2). As such, VfB Leipzig crowns itself as Germany’s first-ever league champion.
1904 / Winning the Central German Championship title for the second time in a row, VfB Leipzig qualifies for the nationwide League Championship play-offs, defeating Magdeburger FC Viktoria 96 (1-0) and Duisburger SpV (3-2 A.E.T.) in the first two matches, both played at the Sportplatz Leipzig, thus qualifying for the final against Berliner TuFC Britannia 92, due to be played in Cassel. However, this match was cancelled due to one of the clubs eliminated in R1, Karlsruher FV, filing a complaint that the preliminary matches had not been played at neutral grounds, as stipulated in DFB rules. The 1904 final was never played – and, as such, there is no 1904 German champion.
1905 / Although not winning the Central German title this year, which went to Dresdner SC, VfB Leipzig qualifies for the nationwide title play-offs as defending champion. However, on financial grounds, the club withdraws from the play-off quarter final against FuCC Eintracht Braunschweig.
1906 / Winning the Central German Championship title for the third time, VfB Leipzig qualifies for the nationwide League Championship play-offs, defeating Berliner FC Norden-Nordwest in the quarter final, played at Wackerstadion Debrahof in Leipzig (9-1) and eliminating BFC Hertha 92 in the semis (2-3). In the final, played at Platz an der Ziegelgasse in Nuremberg, VfB Leipzig has the better of 1. FC Pforzheim (2-1, goals by Edgar Blüher and Heinrich Riso), thus bagging its second German league title.
1907 / Winning the Central German Championship title for the fourth time, VfB Leipzig qualifies for the nationwide League Championship play-offs, in which it is eliminated in the quarter final by Freiburger SC (3-2).
1910 / Having missed out on the Central German Championship titles in the previous two seasons, in which SC Wacker Leipzig and SC Erfurt 95 proved too strong, VfB Leipzig now clinches that title for the fifth time. Thus qualifying for the nationwide League Championship play-offs, the club is eliminated in the quarter final, played at Wackerstadion Debrahof in Leipzig, by FC Phönix Karlsruhe (1-2).
1911 / Winning the Central German Championship title for the sixth time, VfB Leipzig qualifies for the nationwide League Championship play-offs. Having the better of FC Askania Forst (2-3) and Karlsruher FV (0-2) in the first two rounds, the club eventually succumbs to Berliner TuFC Viktoria 1889 in the final, played at Dresden’s Sportplatz an der Hygieneausstellung (3-1).
1913 / Having missed out on the Central German Championship title in the previous season, in which SpVgg 1899 Leipzig-Lindenau walked away with the honours, VfB Leipzig now clinches that title for the seventh time. Thus qualifying for the nationwide League Championship play-offs, the club defeats FC Askania Forst (0-5) and Berliner TuFC Viktoria 1889 (3-1, match played at Leipzig’s Olympia-Platz an der Marienbrücke). In the final, held at Munich’s MTV-Platz an der Marbachstrasse, VfB Leipzig wins its third nationwide title in ten years, defeating Duisburger SpVgg (3-1, goals by Eduard Pendorf, Paul Pömpner, as well as one Duisburg own goal).
1914 / Winning the Central German Championship title for the eighth time, VfB Leipzig qualifies for the nationwide League Championship play-offs, in which it defeats SV Prussia-Samland Königsberg (1-4) and Duisburger SV (1-0, match played at Sportpark Connewitz in Leipzig). In the final, played at Magdeburg’s Viktoria-Platz, VfB Leipzig has to leave the title to SpVgg Fürth, losing the match 3-2 A.E.T. Upon the outbreak of World War I in the summer of 1914, all regular league championships in the Reich are suspended. In the following years, four members of VfB Leipzig’s 1913 title winning squad fall in action.
1920 / An 80,000 square metres estate in Probstheida on the southern outskirts of Leipzig, in the vicinity of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations, is purchased for a projected stadium, to be built for VfB Leipzig. In the first decades of its existence, the club never disposed of a pitch of its own, playing its matches in facilities across the city.
1922 / After two years of works, the Probstheidaer Stadion is ready for use – with an official capacity of 40,000 the largest club-owned stadium in Germany at the time. The ground, disposing of a grandstand with 800 seats as well as grass dikes around the football pitch and athletics track, is inaugurated in August 2022 with several sports events, including a gala match between VfB Leipzig and SC Victoria Hamburg (2-3), attended by 50,000 (!) spectators, as well as the second leg of the final of the nationwide League Championship play-offs between Hamburger SV and 1. FC Nürnberg (1-1 A.E.T.).
1923 / In spite of its brand-new stadium and large fan following, VfB Leipzig is unable to replicate its pre-World War I successes. In spite of the lack of results, VfB Leipzig sees its membership grow to 3,300 in 1923 thanks to the merger concluded that year with water activities club Poseidon (1,200 members), making VfB the largest sports club in Central Germany at the time, with branches for football, athletics, cycling, boxing, hockey, cricket, etc.
1930 / VfB Leipzig reaches the final of the Central German Championship, in which the club is defeated by Dresdner SC (2-1). As Central German cup winners, VfB Leipzig qualifies for the nationwide League Championship play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by KSV Holstein (4-3).
1932 / A first renovation of the Probstheidaer Stadion – usually referred to locally simply as the VfB-Sportplatz – is undertaken with a new, wooden grandstand being constructed at the western side of the pitch (the stand still existing today), while the grass dikes are enlarged considerably, all this in view of the international football match between Germany and Switzerland (2-0) attended by a capacity crowd of 50,000 spectators.
1933 / In a reorganisation of the German football pyramid, instigated by the new Nazi authorities, VfB Leipzig qualifies for the newly formed Regional League Saxony (Gauliga Sachsen) on the back of its second place in the last edition of the Central German Championship (behind Dresdner SC).
1935 / Part of the grandstand as well as the southern gate of the Probstheidaer Stadion are struck in a thunderstorm, as a result of which renovation works have to be undertaken at the ground.
1936 / The club’s only success in the years of the Third Reich, VfB Leipzig, coached by Heinrich Pfaff, conquers the Tschammerpokal, the precursor of the DFB-Pokal, Germany’s national cup competition, defeating FC Schalke 04 in the final played at Berlin’s Olympiastadion with several months delay (due to the Olympic Games in Berlin) on January 3rd, 1937 (2-1, goals by Jakob May & Herbert Gabriel). 70,000 spectators were there to witness the event.
1943 / The Probstheidaer Stadion is renamed Hans-Hesse-Kampfstätte – Hans Hesse being the managing director of Leipzig-based insurance company Allianz.
1945 / In the last stages of the war, on April 6th, 1945, Leipzig is bombed by the RAF and the USAAF; due to the lack of space in the Southern Cemetery, thousands of bodies are stacked in the Hans-Hesse-Kampfstätte for weeks. After VE-Day, all sports clubs in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany are abolished and banned. This heralds the official end of VfB Leipzig. Meanwhile, the Hans-Hesse-Kampfstätte is renamed to the old Probstheidaer Stadion.
1946 / Several members of the former VfB Leipzig get together to form a successor club, Sportgemeinschaft (SG) Probstheida, which settles at the Probstheidaer Stadion.
1948 / The final of the first league championship in the Soviet-occupied part of Germany – due to be renamed Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR, or GDR in English) or East Germany one year later – is played at the Probstheidaer Stadion, with SG Planitz defeating SG Freiimfelde Halle (1-0) in front of a crowd of 40,000.
1949 / SG Probstheida’s footballing branch is absorbed into Betriebssportgemeinschaft (BSG) Erich Zeigner – Erich Zeigner being the socialist mayor of Leipzig who had passed away in April 1949. BSG Erich Zeigner becomes the new main user of the stadium in Probstheida. That same yaer, at the behest of communist authorities, the Probstheidaer Stadion is renamed the Bruno-Plache-Stadion in honour of a communist politician and sports promoter from Leipzig who had passed away earlier that year at the age of forty following a tubercular infection. The stadium, which had suffered heavily in the latter stages of the war, is rebuilt, with the grass banks being replaced by the (current) earth-filled concrete terracing – taking official capacity up to 55,000. The renovated stadium is inaugurated later that year at the third edition of the Gymnastics and Sports Festival of the GDR, organised by communist youth organisation FDJ (attendance: 70,000).
1950 / BSG Erich Zeigner’s footballing branch is renamed BSG Einheit Ost Leipzig.
1952 / The Bruno-Plache-Stadion is the finish place of one of the stages of the Peace Race, a cycling race crossing the GDR, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. 55,000 spectators show up for the event in Leipzig.
1953 / Winning the title in group 2 of the DDR-Liga, the second tier of the GDR football pyramid, 6 points ahead of runners-up BSG Motor Wismar, BSG Einheit Ost Leipzig accedes to the Oberliga, the top tier of East German football, for the first time.
1954 / BSG Einheit Ost Leipzig is absorbed into the newly founded SC Rotation Leipzig, a new club focusing on competitive sports; the club plays its first match with this new name on November 21st, 1954, in an away match at SC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt. Meanwhile, the 1953-54 GDR champions, city rivals BSG Chemie Leipzig, are wound up by GDR authorities, with a new club being formed under the name SC Lokomotive Leipzig. Contrary to Chemie, which played at the Georg-Schwarz-Sportpark, SC Lokomotive Leipzig plays most of its home matches at the Stadion des Friedens in Leipzig-Gohlis, with some matches being moved to the Bruno-Plache-Stadion and later also to the Zentralstadion (built in 1956, see below).
1956 / Inauguration of the Zentralstadion in Leipzig, a new, huge stadium with a capacity of 120,000. One of the first matches played at the new ground is an Oberliga match between SC Rotation Leipzig and SC Lokomotive Leipzig (1-2) witnessed by 100,000 spectators – still the biggest-ever crowd to show up for a regular league match between two German football teams. From now on, SC Rotation Leipzig – as well as its successors SC Leipzig and 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig – play their regular league matches at the Bruno-Plache-Stadion, which lacks floodlights, with derby matches and European Cup games usually being moved to the Zentralstadion, which also becomes a regular venue for East Germany’s national football team’s home matches.
1957 / Coached by Fritz Wittenbecher, SC Rotation Leipzig reaches the final of East Germany’s nationwide cup, the FDGB-Pokal, going on to win the cup outright for the first time following a 2-1 win (A.E.T.) over SC Empor Rostock at the Ernst-Thälmann-Stadion in Karl-Marx-Stadt. Rotation’s goals on the day are scored by Heinz Schoppe and Heinz Fröhlich.
1958 / SC Rotation Leipzig reaches the FDGB-Pokal final, in which it is defeated by SC Einheit Dresden (2-1 A.E.T.).
1963 / At the behest of communist authorities, a merger is brought about between SC Rotation Leipzig and SC Lokomotive Leipzig, leading to the foundation of SC Leipzig, in which the best players of both teams are gathered. SC Leipzig’s regular home ground is the Bruno-Plache-Stadion. Meanwhile, the remainder of both old squads is brought together at the newly founded BSG Chemie Leipzig, which moves into SC Lok’s Georg-Schwarz-Sportpark in Leipzig-Leutzsch. Also in 1963, SC Leipzig takes part in a European cup competition for the first time – although the success is very limited, as the club is eliminated in the qualifying round of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup by Újpesti Dózsa SC (3-2 aggr.).
1964 / SC Leipzig reaches the FDGB-Pokal final, in which it is defeated by SC Aufbau Magdeburg (3-2). Astonishingly, though, with SC Leipzig ‘just’ managing a third place, the East German Oberliga title goes to BSG Chemie Leipzig, dubbed ‘The Rest of Leipzig’ due to the method of forming the squad the previous season, and its coach Alfred Kunze. In the 1964-65 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, SC Leipzig is eliminated in the qualifying round yet again, this time having to leave the honours to Wiener SC (3-1 aggr.).
1965 / Drawing a bye in R1 of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, SC Leipzig is eliminated in R2 by Leeds United FC (2-1 aggr.).
1966 / SC Leipzig takes part in the so-called International Football Cups, a precursor of the Intertoto Cup. Placing second in the group stage, behind winner FK Željezničar (and ahead of WKS Gwardia Warszawa and FC Baník Ostrava), the club progresses to the knock-out stages only because the Yugoslav FA withdraws FK Željezničar from the competition. Thereupon, SC Leipzig goes on to defeat Örgryte IS in the QF (7-5 aggr.) and local rivals BSG Chemie Leipzig in the semis (2-1 aggr), thus qualifying for the final, a double encounter against IFK Norrköping – with the home tie being played at the Bruno-Plache-Stadion. After a 1-0 defeat in Sweden, SC Leipzig manages a 4-0 home win (goals by Henning Frenzel 3 & Volker Franke), thus winning the International Football Cups. Following the 1965-66 season, SC Leipzig is renamed 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig to stress its link with the East German railways, which was the mother company of the club in GDR times. For that reason, the founding meeting of 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig is held at Leipzig’s central train station.
1967 / In the 1966-67 edition of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig has a spectacular run, successively eliminating Djurgårdens IF (5-2 aggr.), RFC Liège (2-1 aggr.), and Portuguese powerhouse SL Benfica (with Eusebio, 4-3 aggr.), before being eliminated in the quarter-final by Kilmarnock FC (2-1 aggr.). Also in 1967, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig finishes as runners-up in the East German Oberliga, 7 points behind champions FC Karl-Marx-Stadt. Lok’s Henning Frenzel is the Oberliga’s top scorer with 22 goals. In the 1967-68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Lok is not able to replicate the success of the previous season, eliminating Linfield FC in R1 (5-2 aggr.), but being sent home by FK Vojvodina in R2 (2-0 aggr.).
1968 / In the 1968-69 edition of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig draws a bye in R1 (given that its opponents, Denmark’s KB, withdraw from the competition) before being eliminated in R2 by Hibernian FC (4-1 aggr.).
1969 / 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig finishes in last place in the Oberliga, thus dropping back into the second-tier DDR-Liga along with the club finishing second from bottom, 1. FC Union Berlin.
1970 / After one year at the second level, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig wins the title in the DDR-Liga South, 1 point ahead of BSG Wismut Gera, with the decisive 2 points being obtained in a direct confrontation against that club at the Bruno-Plache-Stadion in front of a staggering crowd of 30,000. That same season, Lok Leipzig reaches the FDGB-Pokal final, in which it is defeated by FC Vorwärts Berlin (4-2).
1973 / 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig reaches the FDGB-Pokal final, in which it is defeated by 1. FC Magdeburg (3-2). In the Oberliga, the club finishes in third place – a result the club would go on to repeat in 1976 and 1978.
1974 / In the 1973-74 UEFA Cup, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig has a fine campaign, successively defeating Torino FC (4-2 aggr.), Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (4-4 aggr., away goals), DTSV Fortuna Düsseldorf (4-2 aggr.), and Ipswich Town FC (1-1 aggr. & penalty shoot-out) before suffering elimination in the semis at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur FC (4-1 aggr.); the home tie against Fortuna Düsseldorf at the Zentralstadion (80,000 spectators) incidentally was the first-ever win of a GDR football team over FRG opposition. With East Germany qualifying for the World Cup for the first and only time in the country’s history, three Lok players are included in the squad of coach Georg Buschner: goalkeeper Werner Friese, defender Joachim Fritzsche, and attacker Wolfram Löwe.
1976 / Coached by Horst Scherbaum, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig wins the FDGB-Pokal for the second time, defeating FC Vorwärts Frankfurt in the final, played at the Stadion der Weltjugend in East Berlin, in front of a crowd of 50,000 (scoreline 3-0, goals by Henning Frenzel 2, Andreas Roth). In the 1976-77 Cup Winners Cup, Lok Leipzig is eliminated in R1 by Heart of Midlothian FC (5-2 aggr.).
1977 / 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig reaches the FDGB-Pokal final, in which it is defeated by league champions SG Dynamo Dresden (3-2). As such, Lok qualifies for the 1977-78 Cup Winners Cup, in which it defeats Coleraine FC in R1 (6-3 aggr.) before being eliminated by Real Betis Balompié in R2 (3-2 aggr.).
1978 / In the 1978-79 UEFA Cup, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig is eliminated in R1 by Arsenal FC (7-1 aggr.). Also in 1978, Lok’s youth academy player, defender Ronald Kreer, breaks into the club’s first team at the age of eighteen, going on to wear Lokomotive’s jersey for the following fourteen seasons, while also winning 65 caps for East Germany.
1981 / Coached by Haro Miller, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig wins the FDGB-Pokal for the third time, defeating FC Vorwärts Frankfurt in the final, played at the Stadion der Weltjugend in East Berlin, in front of a crowd of 40,000 (scoreline 4-1, Lok goals by Uwe Zötzsche, Matthias Liebers, Joachim Fritzsche, and Lutz Moldt).
1982 / In the 1981-82 Cup Winners Cup, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig has a strong campaign, successively eliminating FC Politehnica Timișoara (5-2 aggr.), Swansea City FC (3-1 aggr.), and FK Velež Mostar (2-2 aggr. & penalty shoot-out) before being eliminated in the quarter finals by FC Barcelona (4-2 aggr.) in spite of a 1-2 away win at Camp Nou. In the 1982-83 season, Lok qualifies for the UEFA Cup, suffering a rather humiliating elimination in R1 at the hands of the Norwegian part-timers of Viking FK (3-3 aggr. & away goals).
1983 / In the 1983-84 UEFA Cup, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig manages spectacular wins over FC Girondins de Bordeaux (7-2 aggr.) and SV Werder Bremen (2-1 aggr.) in the first two rounds before being eliminated by SK Sturm Graz (2-1 aggr.). Also in 1983, 17-year-old youth academy striker Olaf Marschall breaks into the club’s first team, going on to wear Lokomotive’s jersey for the following seven seasons, in the course of which he also wins four caps for East Germany. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Marschall continued his career at FC Admira/Wacker, SC Dynamo Dresden, and 1. FC Kaiserslautern until hanging up his boots in 2002. Moreover, he also won thirteen caps for the united Germany football team, being picked by coach Berti Vogts for the squad of the 1998 World Cup, in which he played one game.
1984 / In the 1984-85 UEFA Cup, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig defeats Lillestrøm SK in R1 (7-3 aggr.) before being eliminated by FK Spartak Moskva in R2 (3-1 aggr.).
1985 / In the 1985-86 UEFA Cup, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig defeats Coleraine FC in R1 (5-1 aggr.) before being eliminated by Milan AC (3-3 aggr. & away goals) in R2.
1986 / Coached by Hans-Ulrich Thomale, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig finishes as runners-up in the East German Oberliga, 2 points behind champions BFC Dynamo. The 1985-86 season will forever remain engraved in memory as the season of the so-called ‘Schand-Elfmeter von Leipzig’, a ridiculous penalty given by referee Bernd Stumpf to Stasi-supported BFC Dynamo in extra time away at Lok Leipzig. However, the club goes on to win the FDGB-Pokal for the fourth time, following an emphatic 5-1 win against 1. FC Union Berlin in the final at East Berlin’s Stadion der Weltjugend (50,000 spectators, Lok’s goals by Wolfgang Altmann, Uwe Zötzsche, and Hans Richter 3).
1987 / In the 1986-87 season, Lok Leipzig, coached by Hans-Ulrich Thomale, has its best-ever European campaign, reaching the final of the Cup Winners Cup via successive wins over Glentoran FC (3-1 aggr.), SK Rapid (3-2 aggr.), FC Sion (2-0 aggr.), and FC Girondins de Bordeaux (1-1 aggr. & penalty shoot-out). The home tie in the semis against Bordeaux at Zentralstadion is attended by some 120,000 spectators – with the decisive penalty being scored by Lok’s goalkeeper René Müller. In the final, played at Athens’ Olympic Stadium, Lok Leipzig is defeated by AFC Ajax (0-1, goal by Marco van Basten). That year, the club also wins the FDGB-Pokal for the fifth and last time, defeating FC Hansa Rostock at the Stadion der Weltjugend (47,000 spectators, Lok’s goals by Dieter Kühn 2, Olaf Marschall, and Hans-Jörg Leitzke). The 1987-88 Cup Winners Cup season is markedly less successful than the previous one, with elimination following instantly in R1 at the hands of Olympique Marseille (1-0 aggr.).
1988 / 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig finishes as runners-up in the East German Oberliga, with an equal number of points as champions BFC Dynamo, but with a slightly inferior goal difference (+21 vs. +29). In the 1988-89 UEFA Cup, Lok Leipzig defeats FC Aarau in R1 (7-0 aggr.) before being eliminated by SSC Napoli in R2 (3-1 aggr.).
1989 / 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig contacts city rivals BSG Chemie Leipzig for tentative merger talks, which are brusquely turned down by Chemie’s presidency.
1991 / In the last East German Oberliga season before the absorption of the GDR league pyramid into the ranks of the DFB, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig only manages a seventh place, as a result of which the club misses out on direct qualification for the 1. Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. With the newly appointed head coach Jürgen Sundermann, the club clinches the opportunity to qualify for the 2. Bundesliga through the backdoor, winning an end-of-season set of play-offs against Eisenhüttenstädter FC Stahl, FSV Zwickau, and FC Sachsen Leipzig. In May 1991, in an attempt to shed its GDR past, the club takes on the original, pre-World War II name VfB Leipzig. Strikingly, in over forty seasons, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig and its predecessors never managed to win a single GDR national title.
1992 / In the early months of 1992, German football association DFB declares the Bruno-Plache-Stadion unfit for the 2. Bundesliga due to a lack of maintenance, as a result of which VfB Leipzig has to play its home matches at the – almost equally dilapidate – Zentralstadion.
1993 / Coached by former GDR national trainer Bernd Stange, who had replaced Jürgen Sundermann in the course of the season, VfB Leipzig finishes in third place in the 2. Bundesliga, resulting in the club winning promotion to the 1. Bundesliga along with champions SC Freiburg and MSV Duisburg.
1994 / In spite of the club making investments to bring together a squad strong enough to hold its own in the top tier of German football – with even Macedonian striker Darko Pančev being purchased from FC Internazionale in the course of the season – VfB Leipzig finishes at the bottom of the 1. Bundesliga table, being retrograded to the 2. Bundesliga along with 1. FC Nürnberg and SG Wattenscheid 09.
1995 / After 2,5 years, following renovation works at the Bruno-Plache-Stadion, VfB Leipzig returns to its old ground, which now has a reduced capacity of 15,000.
1997 / Floodlights are added to the set-up at the Bruno-Plache-Stadion for the first time in the ground’s history. Around the same time, plans are made for renovations, involving a removal of the athletics track. These plans never come about due to the club’s problematic financial situation.
1998 / In the last match of the 2. Bundesliga season, VfB Leipzig requires a home win against SG Wattenscheid 09, but does not manage more than a goalless draw – resulting in Wattenscheid staying up and VfB Leipzig falling 1 point short of staying up and descending into the Regionalliga along with FC Carl Zeiss Jena, FSV Zwickau, and bottom club SV Meppen.
1999 / In an attempt to retrace its steps to the 2. Bundesliga, VfB Leipzig sacks head coach Dragoslav Stepanović in the course of the 1998-99 season, replacing him with the trainer who had guided Lokomotive to the Cup Winners Cup final in 1987, Hans-Ulrich Thomale. Nevertheless, the club misses out on the Regionalliga Nordost title, finishing in second place, 7 points behind champions Chemnitzer FC. Due to persistent financial problems, though, VfB Leipzig has to file a bankruptcy petition – with the end of the club being avoided after Leipzig’s city-council decides to purchase the stadium. Also in 1999, a Bruce Springsteen concert is held at the Bruno-Plache-Stadion.
2000 / With four groups of the Regionalliga being reduced to just two for the 2000-01 season, VfB Leipzig descends into the Oberliga in spite of finishing in ninth place in Regionalliga Nordost. By this time, the club’s debt has grown to 17 million Deutschmarks, resulting in its second insolvency petition, with the end of the club being avoided only after selling the entire first team squad.
2001 / VfB Leipzig does not manage a return to the Regionalliga, finishing runners-up in Oberliga Nordost Süd, 7 points behind champions 1. FC Magdeburg.
2003 / In December 2003, shortly after a third bankruptcy petition of VfB Leipzig has been filed due to the club finding itself 8 million euros in debt, thirteen supporters decide to found a new 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig, with Steffen Kubald becoming the phoenix club’s first chairman.
2004 / Pressed down by its enormous debts, VfB Leipzig has to cease all activities following the 2003-04 season. With the main part of VfB Leipzig’s youth academy being taken over by FC Sachsen Leipzig, which receives financial support from municipal authorities to be able to offer the required facilities to the new influx of players, the new 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig has to start its life in the 3. Kreisklasse Leipzig, the eleventh and lowest tier of the league pyramid. Also in 2004, the Zentralstadion is knocked down and completely rebuilt in view of the 2006 World Cup, due to be held in Germany.
2005 / In its first season, the renascent 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig wins the title in 3. Kreisklasse Leipzig with a telling goal difference of +303. While playing its home matches at the Bruno-Plache-Stadion (average crowd: 3,000!), the club was allowed one match, against Eintracht Großdeuben II, at the Zentralstadion, which saw 12,421 spectators flock to the ground (incidentally a world record for a match at the lowest league level). Merging with SSV 52 Torgau at the end of the season – but without changing its name – the club is placed in Bezirksklasse Leipzig, the seventh tier of the league pyramid, for the 2005-06 season. Also in 2005, Lok Leipzig plays a gala match at the Bruno-Plache-Stadion against Hertha BSC attended by a sell-out crowd of 13,098; not much later, due to safety reasons, the stadium’s capacity is reduced to 12,321 (1,150 covered seats, remainder uncovered terraces).
2006 / Winning the title in Bezirksklasse Leipzig, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig wins promotion to Bezirksliga Leipzig, the sixth level of the league pyramid.
2007 / Winning the title in Bezirksliga Leipzig, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig wins promotion to the Landesliga Saxony, the fifth level of the league pyramid at that time.
2008 / Runners-up in Landesliga Saxony behind champions Erzgebirge Aue II, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig goes on to narrowly win a promotion play-off against the runner-up in Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, FC Schönberg 95 (2-2 aggr., won on away goals), thus acceding to Oberliga Nordost – the fifth level of the league pyramid following the introduction of the 3. Bundesliga as the new third tier.
2009 / Austrian soft drinks company Red Bull takes over Oberliga club SSV Markranstädt, changing its name to Rasenballsport (RB!) Leipzig. While this new club plays its first season at the Stadion am Bad Markranstädt on the western outskirts of Leipzig, its moves into the renovated Zentralstadion – rebranded Red Bull Arena – which had lacked a regular club playing there, following the promotion to the Regionalliga level in 2010.
2012 / Finishing in sixth place in the southern group of Oberliga Nordost, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig wins promotion to the newly formed Regionalliga Nordost, the fourth tier of German football – in a reform of the German lower league pyramid which saw the creation of two new Regional Leagues, bringing the total up from three to five.
2014 / Marred by financial problems, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig finishes second-last in Regionalliga Nordost, dropping back into the Oberliga along with bottom club FSV Optik Rathenow.
2016 / Champions in the southern group of Oberliga Nordost, 9 points ahead of runners-up Inter Leipzig, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig manages a return to the Regionalliga level. Also in 2016, following three promotions in four seasons, RB Leipzig wins promotion to the 1. Bundesliga. The success of RB Leipzig, which rapidly established itself as one of the powerhouses of German football in the following years, is heavily resented across Germany, but especially among supporters of 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig and BSG Chemie Leipzig.
2020 / In the 2019-20 season, cut short due to the COVID lockdown in March 2020, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig finds itself in first place in Regionalliga Nordost after 22 of 34 matches played. In a promotion play-off against the leaders in Regionalliga West, SC Verl, Lok manages a 3-3 aggregate draw, losing the tie on away goals – and thus missing out on promotion to the 3. Bundesliga.
2021 / The debts of VfB Leipzig finally having been solved to the last penny following the 2003-04 insolvency, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig absorbs VfB Leipzig, thus becoming the official heir of all club silverware from 1903 onwards.