The 2008–09 season was the 99th season of competitive

football in Germany Association football, Football is the most popular sport in Germany with 57% of the population declaring interest in watching it. The German Football Association ( or ) is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members (ro ...

. It lasted from 1 July 2008 until 30 June 2009.

Diary of the season

5 October 2008 –

Jos Luhukay Jos Luhukay (born 13 June 1963) is a Dutch football manager and former player, who was most recently head coach of VVV-Venlo. Playing career He began his career at the age of 15 at his hometown club FC VVV and he made his league debut in Janua ...

is released from his duties as head coach of

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

after 20 months over a series of bad results. Director of sporting affairs

Christian Ziege Christian Ziege (; born 1 February 1972) is a German football manager and former player. He most recently coached FC Pinzgau. A defender, he started his playing career at FC Bayern Munich, where he won two Bundesliga titles and a UEFA Cup be ...

acts as a caretaker until a new coach has been found. 19 October 2008 – Hans Meyer is introduced as the new head coach of

. It is his second spell with the club after a four-year stint between 1999 and 2003. 23 November 2008 –

Armin Veh Armin Veh (; born 1 February 1961) is a German football manager and former player who last managed Eintracht Frankfurt. He won the German championship with Bundesliga team VfB Stuttgart in 2007. Veh and his team also had the chance to win "the d ...

, head coach of defending champions

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

, is sacked after 33 months. Former player

Markus Babbel Markus Babbel (; born 8 September 1972) is a German professional football coach and former player who most recently managed Western Sydney Wanderers FC. He played as a defender for clubs in Germany and England. Babbel won the UEFA Cup twice: in ...

, who has retired after last season, takes over the coaching duties. Babbel is assigned the title of a "teamchef" since he does not own a professional coaching license. 26 March 2009 –

Fred Rutten Fredericus Jacobus Rutten (; born 5 December 1962) is a Dutch football coach and former player. As a player, he spent his entire career with Twente during the years 1979 to 1992. Following his playing career, Rutten also managed Twente, before m ...

is sacked as head coach of

FC Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, ...

after 9 months. A well-below-expectation season performance, including early exits in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

and

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

competitions and a dismal eighth place in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

, is cited as the reason. 1 April 2009 –

announces that assistant coaches

Mike Büskens Michael Büskens (; born 19 March 1968) is a German former football player who played as a midfielder and a football manager. He is currently the assistant head coach of Bundesliga club Schalke 04. During a 14-year professional career, he appear ...

Youri Mulder Youri Mulder (; born 23 March 1969) is a Dutch Association football, football manager and former player who played as a Forward (association football), striker. Club career Mulder was born in Brussels, Belgium. The son of former AFC Ajax, Ajax A ...

and

Oliver Reck Oliver Reck (born 27 February 1965) is a German football manager and former player. In a 20-year professional career, he played as a goalkeeper and was best known for his stints with Werder Bremen and Schalke 04, for whom he appeared in more th ...

will once again act as caretakers for the remainder of the season. 27 April 2009 –

Jürgen Klinsmann Jürgen Klinsmann (; born 30 July 1964) is a German professional Association football, football manager and former player. He played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, AS Monaco FC, Monaco, Tottenham Hot ...

is released from his duties as

FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional association foo ...

head coach. "Endangered minimum season goals" are cited as the cause of his dismissal after ten months.

Jupp Heynckes Josef "Jupp" Heynckes (; born 9 May 1945) is a German retired professional footballer and manager. For the majority of his playing career he was as a striker for Borussia Mönchengladbach in its golden era of the 1960s and '70s, when they won m ...

, who coincidentally visits the Bayern match before Klinsmann's exit, and reserves coach

Hermann Gerland Hermann "Tiger" Gerland (born 4 June 1954) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who has most recently worked as an assistant coach of Bundesliga club FC Bayern Munich, Bayern ...

are appointed as caretakers.

Mehmet Scholl Mehmet Tobias Scholl (born Mehmet Tobias Yüksel; 16 October 1970) is a German Association football, football manager and former player. He played most of his career as an attacking midfielder for FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich. During his care ...

is assigned as temporary coach for the

3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...

reserve team. 6 May 2009 –

Felix Magath Wolfgang Felix Magath (; born 26 July 1953) is a German football manager and former player. The most notable spell of his playing career was with Hamburger SV, with whom he won three Bundesliga titles, the 1977 European Cup Winners' Cup Final a ...

, manager of championship contenders

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

, is announced as new

manager for the 2009–10 season. Magath signs a four-year contract with the club. 14 May 2009 –

Louis van Gaal Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former association football, football player and former manager who currently serves as an advisor for AFC Ajax, Ajax. At club level, he served as manager of AFC Ajax, Aj ...

is confirmed as new head coach of

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

for the 2009–10 season. Van Gaal, who won the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

with

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known internationally as AZ Alkmaar, or simply and most commonly as AZ () in the Netherlands, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan#The Zaan district, Zaan district. ...

, signs a two-year contract. 17 May 2009 – Just prior to the last matchday,

Michael Frontzeck Michael Frontzeck (born 26 March 1964) is a German professional football coach and former player who was most recently assistant coach of VfL Wolfsburg. As a player he was a left back who notably played in the Bundesliga across three spells for ...

is ousted as

Arminia Bielefeld DSC Arminia Bielefeld (; full name: ; commonly known as Arminia Bielefeld (), also known as ''Die Arminen'' or ''Die Blauen'' ), or just Arminia (), is a German sports club from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Arminia is most well known as ...

head coach in a last attempt to save the club from relegation.

Jörg Berger Jörg Berger (13 October 1944 – 23 June 2010) was a German football manager and player, who last managed Arminia Bielefeld. Career As an active he played for 1.FC Lok Leipzig. Coaching career In 1970, Berger was forced to retire due to ...

is assigned as a caretaker two days later. 21 May 2009 –

Friedhelm Funkel Friedhelm Funkel (born 10 December 1953) is a German football manager and former player. He was most recently the head coach Bundesliga club of 1. FC Köln. Coaching career MSV Duisburg Funkel was manager of MSV Duisburg between 13 May 1996 and ...

announces he resignment after five seasons as

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

head coach at the end of the season. 26 May 2009 –

Martin Jol Maarten Cornelis "Martin" Jol (born 16 January 1956) is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder. He played over 400 games during his career which included spells in the Netherlands, Germany and England, as well as earning three caps wi ...

, head coach of

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

, leaves the club for

sides

Ajax Amsterdam Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

. 28 May 2009 – Hans Meyer announces he retirement as a coach after successfully avoiding relegation with

2 June 2009 – In a surprise move,

Christoph Daum Christoph Paul Daum (24 October 1953 – 24 August 2024) was a German professional Association football, football manager and player. As a manager, he won eight trophies with clubs from Germany, Turkey and Austria. In 1992, he won the Bundesliga ...

skips his last year with

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., better known as simply 1. FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English language, English, is a German professional association football, football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 ...

to become the new head coach of Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

sides Fenerbahçe. 3 June 2009 –

signs a two-year contract as head coach of

. 4 June 2009 –

Michael Skibbe Michael Heinz Skibbe (born 4 August 1965) is a German former football player and current manager of J1 League club Sanfrecce Hiroshima. He is currently the 2024 ' J.League Manager of the Year'. Club career In his youth, Skibbe played for SG Wa ...

is appointed as new head coach of

. Skibbe signs a two-year contract with the club. 5 June 2009 –

Bruno Labbadia Bruno Labbadia (; born 8 February 1966) is a German football manager and former professional player who played as a striker. During his playing career, he achieved notable success, winning the DFB-Pokal in the 1989–90 season with 1. FC Kaisersl ...

, head coach of

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

, leaves the club after just one year and takes over

. Labbadia signs a two-year contract with Hamburg.

is named as Labbadia's successor, also signing a two-year contract. 12 June 2009 – Former Bundesliga player

Zvonimir Soldo Zvonimir Soldo (born 2 November 1967) is a Croatian football manager and former player. During his playing career, he mostly played as defensive midfielder. Club career Early career After studying law for six semesters at the University of Zagr ...

signs a two-year contract as head coach of

. Soldo enters Cologne after a

Prva HNL The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establish ...

title with Croatian team

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

Men's national team

Friendly matches

---- ---- ---- ----

FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifiers

Germany was drawn into

Group 4 Group 4 may refer to: *Group 4 element Group 4 is the second group of transition metals in the periodic table. It contains only the four elements titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Hf), and rutherfordium (Rf). The group is also called the t ...

of UEFA qualification for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

. ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Women's national team

Friendly matches

---- ----

Olympic football tournament

Germany ended the Olympic football tournament with the bronze medal. Group stage ---- ---- Quarterfinal Semifinal Bronze medal match

UEFA Women's Euro 2009 qualifiers

Germany had already qualified for the

UEFA Women's Euro 2009 The 2009 UEFA Women's Championship, or just Women's Euro 2009, was played in Finland between 23 August and 10 September 2009. The host was appointed on 11 July 2006, in a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Berlin and the Finnish proposal won over ...

before the start of the season. After the last qualifying match, the team finished with eight wins from eight matches in

2009 Algarve Cup

Germany finished the

2009 Algarve Cup The 2009 Algarve Cup was the sixteenth edition of the Algarve Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Portugal. It took place between 4 and 11 March 2009. It was won by Sweden who defeated holders the United States in a pe ...

as fourth-placed team after losing against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in the match for third place. Group stage ---- ---- Match for third place

Honours

League tables

Men

Bundesliga

2. Bundesliga

3. Liga

1. FC Union Berlin were the dominating team in the first season of the newly created third tier of the German league pyramid, winning the championship and promotion to the 2. Bundesliga with four matches to play. The remaining one-and-a-half promotion spots were contested between Fortuna Düsseldorf, Paderborn, and Unterhaching until the last matchday. Since all three teams won their last matches, Düsseldorf gained direct promotion, while Paderborn were to face 2. Bundesliga sides Osnabrück in the 2. Bundesliga relegation playoffs. The third-placed team eventually completed the promotional trio by beating Osnabrück 2–0 on aggregate. Stuttgarter Kickers were struggling both on and off the pitch and consequently relegated to the fourth-level

Regionalliga A (, plural ) is a regional league in numerous Sports governing body, sports governing bodies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, usually located in the upper or middle tiers of the sports leagues. The term is often associated with the Germa ...

. After being on bottom of the table for most of the season, the choice not to return a loan from the German FA resulted in a three-point deduction, which effectively ended their season. The second relegated team, VfR Aalen, fell victim to its amount of drawn matches. Fifteen of them, paired with only eight wins, resulted in only 39 points, which proved to be too few to survive. Wacker Burghausen would originally have been the third team to be relegated. However, they were spared after Kickers Emden, who were a promotion contender for three-quarters of the season, had to return their license over financial problems. Since Emden did not obtain a license for the Regionalliga, they entered the fifth-tier

Oberliga Niedersachsen The Oberliga Niedersachsen (), sometimes referred to as ''Niedersachsenliga'' (Lower Saxony league), is the fifth tier of the German football league system and the highest league in the German state of Lower Saxony (). Since 1994, the league was s ...

for the 2009–10 season.

Women

Bundesliga

Turbine Potsdam emerged victorious in a very tight championship race, beating runners-up Bayern Munich by just a single goal. A 4–0 defeat against third-placed FCR Duisburg just days before the last matchday of the season proved to be costly for the team from Munich. Long-time successive champion 1. FFC Frankfurt had to battle through a couple of injuries to key players, including

Birgit Prinz Birgit Prinz (born 25 October 1977) is a German former footballer, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year. In addition to the German national team, Prinz played for 1. FFC Frankfurt in the Frauen ...

, and thus finished in fourth place. The first three teams qualified for the newly created

UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. ...

, although Duisburg did only so on virtue of their

UEFA Women's Cup The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. T ...

win. Both Potsdam and Duisburg directly entered the main round of the competition, while Bayern Munich competed in a qualification tournament. On the bottom side of the table, TSV Crailsheim never had a chance to be competitive, and successfully ended the season with a mere five points in last place. The second relegation place was contested between SC Bad Neuenahr and Borussia Friedenstal. The team from southwestern Germany eventually prevailed and sent Friedenstal back to the 2. Bundesliga after just one year in the top flight.

2. Bundesliga

The northern group was won by Tennis Borussia Berlin. SG Lütgendortmund had to leave the second tier again after just one season. They were accompanied by 1. FC Union Berlin. The southern group saw a close finish between 1. FC Saarbrücken and VfL Sindelfingen. Saarbrücken eventually prevailed and made their immediate return to the top flight. Wattenscheid 09, who were also relegated from the Bundesliga last season, finished fourth. On the bottom end of the table, SV Dirmingen were relegated with the worst record of all 24 2. Bundesliga teams. They were joined by Viktoria Jägersburg, who made their immediate return to the

. The relegation playoffs featured a match-up between Mellendorf and Löchgau. Both teams were promoted to the second level one year ago. Löchgau eventually retrieved their spot with a 2–1 aggregate victory, sending Mellendorf back to the Regionalliga.

=North

=South

Movements for the 2009–10 season

Transfer deals

Retirements

The following is a list of retired players who ended their career at the end of the 2008–09 season. All retirements are, unless noted otherwise, listed in the 2009 special edition of kicker magazine. The club given in parentheses is the last club of the retired player. * End of season – Alexander Bade (

) * End of season – Frank Baumann (

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

) * End of season –

Ralf Bucher Ralf Bucher (born 6 April 1972 in Munich) is a former German football player and current manager. Career He spent all of his professional career so far with SpVgg Unterhaching, including two seasons in the Bundesliga as team captain In te ...

(

SpVgg Unterhaching Spielvereinigung Unterhaching () is a German sports club in Unterhaching, a semi-rural municipality on the southern outskirts of the Bavarian capital Munich. The club is widely known for playing in the first-division association football league ...

) * End of season – Francisco Copado (

) * End of season –

Christian Fiedler Christian Fiedler (born 27 March 1975) is a German football coach and former player who is goalkeeper coach at Greuther Fürth. A goalkeeper, he spent his entire playing career with Hertha BSC. Career Fiedler was born in Berlin. He led Herth ...

(

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

) * End of season – Dennis Grassow ( Jahn Regensburg) * End of season –

Marijan Kovačević Marijan Kovačević (born 31 August 1973) is a German-Croatian former footballer. Club career He played for German clubs like Hamburger SV, VfL Wolfsburg, MSV Duisburg and SSV Jahn Regensburg, Austrian club Admira Wacker Mödling, Cypriot c ...

(

) * End of season –

Tobias Rau Tobias Rau (born 31 December 1981) is a German former professional footballer who played as a left back. In a career blighted by injuries, he retired from professional play at only 27. Club career Wolfsburg Rau was born in Braunschweig, Lower S ...

(

) * End of season – Bernd Schneider (

) * End of season –

Markus Schroth Markus Schroth (born 25 January 1975) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward. Club career Schroth started to play football at the TSV Reichenbach, nearby Waldbronn, whence moving to Karlsruher SC at the age of ...

(

1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; ''sechzig'' locally ; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's football team plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of the German football pyramid. Their current home gr ...

) * End of season –

Michael Tarnat Michael Tarnat (born 27 October 1969) is a German former professional footballer, currently employed by Bayern Munich as the leader of the U12–U16 youth teams. A left-footed full-back, he was also employed as a left wingback and occasionally ...

(

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

) * End of season – Marco Vorbeck (

FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. T ...

)

Deaths

* 12 July 2008 –

Reinhard Fabisch Reinhard Fabisch (19 August 1950 – 12 July 2008) was a German football manager and player. He coached teams in Qatar, Malta, Tunisia, Nepal, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Zimbabwe and the national teams of Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Benin. Playi ...

, 57, coach for the national teams of

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

. Fabisch died from cancer. * 13 July 2008 – Rudolf Nafziger, 62,

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

winner with

in 1967. He also played for Swiss club

FC St. Gallen Fussballclub St. Gallen 1879, commonly known as St. Gallen, is a Swiss professional football club based in the city of St. Gallen, Canton of St. Gallen. It is the oldest football club in continental Europe after Kjøbenhavns Boldklub. The tea ...

and Austrian sides

LASK Linz Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub, commonly known as LASK (), or Linzer ASK, is an Austrian professional football club based in Upper-Austrian state capital Linz. It is the oldest football club in that region, and plays in the Austrian Football Bundes ...

. Nafziger earned one cap for

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. * 24 August 2008 – Josef Marx, 73, defender for

SV Sodingen SV Sodingen is a German association football club based in Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia. The team currently plays in the Landesliga, the seventh tier of German football. Although a regional league side today, the club played in the first divi ...

and

Karlsruher SC Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V., better known as Karlsruher SC, is a Football in Germany, German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of Germa ...

. He earned one cap for

. * 29 August 2008 – Heinz Wewers, 81, midfielder for

Rot-Weiß Essen Rot-Weiss Essen is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club plays in the 3. Liga, at the Stadion an der Hafenstraße. The team won the DFB-Pokal in 1953, and the List of German foot ...

. Wewers earned twelve caps for

. * 31 August 2008 –

Albert Sing Albert Sing (7 April 1917 – 31 August 2008) was a German football player and manager. A midfielder, he played for 1. FC Eislingen, Stuttgarter Kickers, VfR Mannheim and TSG Ulm 1846 and capped twice for Germany Germany, officially th ...

, 91,

Stuttgarter Kickers Stuttgarter Kickers is a German association football club that plays in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, founded on 21 September 1899 as FC Stuttgarter Cickers. The club currently plays in the Regionalliga Südwest, the fourth tier of German footb ...

player and manager of various German and Swiss teams. He earned nine caps for

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. * 19 October 2008 – Willi Kraus, 65, striker for

Tennis Borussia Berlin Tennis Borussia Berlin is a German football club based in the locality of Westend in Berlin. History The team was founded in 1902 as ''Berliner Tennis- und Ping-Pong-Gesellschaft Borussia'' taking its name from its origins as a tennis and ...

, and Eintracht Gelsenkirchen. * 27 October 2008 – Heinz Krügel, 87, player for SG Planitz and coach of the East Germany national team and

1. FC Magdeburg 1. FC Magdeburg is a German Association football Football club (association football), club based in Magdeburg. The club was founded in 1965 from the football department of the Sports club (East Germany), sports club ''SC Magdeburg'' and has bee ...

. Krügel won the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

with Magdeburg in 1974. * 25 November 2008 – Günter Männig, 80, referee. Männig was on the

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

list between 1962 and 1978 and was assigned to 92 matches in that span. He also worked 264 matches in the

DDR-Oberliga The DDR-Oberliga (English: ''East German Premier League'' or ''GDR Premier League'') was the top-level association football league in East Germany. Overview Following World War II, separate sports competitions emerged in the Allied-occupied G ...

and the

FDGB-Pokal The FDGB-Pokal (Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund Pokal or Free German Trade Union Federation Cup) was an elimination football tournament held annually in East Germany. It was the second most important national title in East German football af ...

. * 27 December 2008 –

Alfred Pfaff Alfred Pfaff (16 July 1926 – 27 December 2008) was a German football player and World Cup winner with West Germany in 1954. Life Pfaff was capped seven times between 1953 and 1956 for the West Germany national team, scoring two goals as an ...

, 82, midfielder for

. Pfaff was part of the German 1954 World Cup team. He earned seven caps for

. * 12 January 2009 – Michael Polywka, 65, player for

FC Carl Zeiss Jena FC Carl Zeiss Jena () is a German football club based in Jena, Thuringia. Founded in 1903, it was initially associated with the optics manufacturer Carl Zeiss. From the 1960s to the 1980s it was one of the top-ranked clubs in East Germany, won ...

Eintracht Braunschweig Braunschweiger Turn- und Sportverein Eintracht von 1895 e.V., commonly known as Eintracht Braunschweig () or BTSV (), is a German football and sports club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. They compete in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier o ...

and

. * 29 January 2009 – Willi Köchling, 84, player for

. He earned one cap for

. * 28 April 2009 –

Fritz Gödicke Fritz Gödicke (21 October 1919 – 28 April 2009) was an East German Association football, footballer and manager. In 1951 Gödicke was the shared winner (together with fellow footballer Werner Oberländer) in a poll conducted by the East Germ ...

, 89, coach of the East Germany national team between May 1958 and August 1959.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 in German Football Seasons in German football