Chemie Leipzig mourns the loss of legend "Spießer" Bauchspieß

What Gerd Müller was for FC Bayern, Bernd Bauchspieß was for Chemie Leipzig. The striker, known by everyone as "Spießer", shaped an era for the Leutzschers. No other Chemiker ever achieved as much fame as the former GDR international, who scored 120 goals in 264 GDR Oberliga matches.

Now the long-time orthopaedic surgeon in Leipzig, who worked in his profession far beyond the actual retirement age, has passed away. Bauchspieß died last Tuesday at the age of 85, as the club informed the German Press Agency, citing long-time teammate and close friend Hans-Georg Sannert.

"The entire Chemie family - club, fans, sympathizers and his teammates from back then - is in deep mourning and our thoughts are with his family and loved ones," the regional soccer league club announced on Friday.

Three-time top scorer in the GDR Oberliga

The Zeitz-born Bauchspieß was an excellent technician on the ball and combined the Leutzsch virtues of fighting spirit and hard tackling with a large portion of wit like no other. The surprising GDR championship title with BSG Chemie in 1964 was the reward for the hard work of the self-proclaimed rejects, who also won the FDGB Cup in 1966. Bauchspieß, who had already scored in 1959 in the Oberliga debut of the promoted team Chemie in his hometown of Zeitz, was top scorer in the GDR Oberliga three times, played in a senior international match and won the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo in 1964.

The Chemie Leipzig team, which was actually classified as second choice or - even more disrespectfully - as the "rest of Leipzig", became GDR champions. The Green-Whites around captain Manfred Walter, Bauchspieß, Klaus Lisiewicz and Co. had been classified under the umbrella of BSG Chemie following a reorganization of Leipzig's first division players from SC Rotation and SC Lok in 1963. They started the season as a relegation candidate - and from then on, they mixed up the competition with fighting spirit, a no less large portion of defiance and ultimately euphoria.

The fans of the "underdogs" from Leipzig-Leutzsch grew in number with every surprise success. That season, an average of over 20,000 attended the home games of the team coached by Alfred Kunze. The man who gave his name to the current stadium died in 1996. Since the decisive 2:0 victory over Turbine Erfurt on 10 May 1964, which clinched the championship in front of 30,000 spectators - including 10,000 from Leipzig - the old warhorses have met every year on this day to remember their spectacular coup. At the next meeting, the beloved "Spießer" will be missing.