Nowadays, indoor tournaments are reserved for the little ones – but that wasn’t always the case. A journey back in time to 1988, when Bayer Uerdingen took the indoor crown:
Wintertime is indoor time – that hasn’t just been the case since yesterday. As early as the beginning of the 1970s, soccer clubs from the amateur to the professional level began to shine during the non-match season and on smaller pitches. One of the first tournaments even took place in Essen in 1972.
A decade later, the footballing magic experienced a boom. The tournaments were regularly broadcast on television and enjoyed great popularity. This did not go unnoticed by the DFB, which seized the opportunity in 1988 to merge the many different indoor tournaments into the DFB Indoor Masters. This project was supported by 32 of the 34 licensed teams, with the aim of bridging the long winter break.
The association hosted the premiere edition in Frankfurt. Eintracht was automatically seeded as the host, while five other teams had to collect points in a total of 18 different qualifying tournaments, which were awarded according to rankings and the “value” of the tournament. Bayer 05 Uerdingen won two of these tournaments in advance to secure qualification. In addition, three second division teams – Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin, Fortuna Düsseldorf and VfL Osnabrück – also took part.
Bayern, Hamburg and co. stayed away
However, the really big names – with the exception of the eventual champions Werder Bremen – stayed away despite their original agreement and preferred to travel to the training camp to concentrate on the second half of the season. In addition to the high ticket prices of up to 80 DM, this circumstance also ensured that only around 4500 of a possible 7850 spectators turned up on both days.
Nevertheless, there was plenty on offer in Frankfurt’s Festhalle. The tournament was fair, with no time penalties and no injuries, but even though the focus was on fun, it was still about the indoor crown.
On the first day of the tournament, the teams played in two groups of three, with two teams qualifying for the semi-finals in each group. While in Group A the hosts and Fortuna Düsseldorf progressed ahead of Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin, Bayer Uerdingen and Osnabrück beat Werder Bremen in Group B – and by a clear margin.
Uerdingen dominated the eventual Bundesliga champions
While Osnabrück won 6:3 in the unusually long 30-minute match, Uerdingen conjured up a 7:2 victory over Otto Rehhagel’s team. Dietmar Klinger shone in particular, scoring four goals in the match. Stefan Kuntz (2) and Robert Prytz did the rest.
However, the semi-final against Fortuna Düsseldorf was much closer. The Funkel brothers Friedhelm and Wilhelm initially turned the game around, but Sven Demandt tied the score at 2:2 with his second goal of the game. The match was only decided in an eight-metre shoot-out, where Uerdingen prevailed 5:4 thanks to two saves by Manfred Kubik and secured their place in the final.
Back and forth in the final against Frankfurt
DFB Indoor Masters 1988, Final
Eintracht Frankfurt – Bayer Uerdingen 3:5
Goals: 0:1 Klinger, 0:2 Prytz, 1:2 Detari, 2:2 Körbel, 3:2 Smolarek, 3:3 Prytz, 3:4 Fach, 3:5 Witeczek
In the final, Uerdingen faced the hosts Eintracht Frankfurt – and once again it was exciting. Uerdingen got off to the perfect start and were 2-0 up after just four minutes thanks to Klinger and Prytz, but Lajos Detari, Charly Körbel and Wlodzimierz Smolarek turned the game around. However, Uerdingen had the last word again, ultimately winning 5:3 thanks to Prytz’s next goal and goals from Holger Fach and Marcel Witeczek.
The success not only brought fame to Rolf Schafstall’s team, but also prize money of DM 40,000. “The team proved to me that they want to play and fight together. That’s a reassuring feeling for a coach. We have seen some good sport. In any case, this final tournament should continue,” said the victorious coach after the tournament (via dfb.de).
Last edition in 2001
It did, at least until 2001, when the Masters was held for the last time at record winners Borussia Dortmund, the only team to win multiple times (four titles). At the end of the 14th edition, SpVgg Unterhaching became the eleventh different team to win the indoor crown