Chemie Leipzig mourns the loss of club legend Bernd Bauchspieß. The striker, who was known by everyone as "Spießer", passed away last Tuesday at the age of 85, the club confirmed to the German Press Agency, citing long-time teammate and close friend Hans-Georg Sannert. No other Chemiker ever achieved as much fame as the former GDR international, who scored 120 goals in 264 GDR Oberliga games.
"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.
Born in Zeitz, Bauchspieß was an excellent technician on the ball and combined the Leutzsch virtues of fighting spirit and hard tackling with a great deal of wit like no other. The GDR championship title with BSG Chemie in 1964 was the reward for the hard work of the self-proclaimed "leftovers of Leipzig", who also won the FDGB Cup in 1966.
Bauchspieß was not only an outstanding footballer. Parallel to his career, he studied medicine, graduated with a doctorate in 1969 and practised as an orthopaedic surgeon in Leipzig until well into retirement.
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