The heart of the soccer east has stopped beating!
Dynamo, Dresden and all of German sport mourn the loss of Hans-Jürgen “Dixie” Dörner. The former world-class libero and first east coach in the Bundesliga (Werder Bremen) died on Wednesday night six days before his 71st birthday after a long, serious illness in his apartment in Dresden.
Photo: Kruczynski, Frank
” data-zoom-src =”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/doerner-1981-im-ddr-trikot-sgesamt-machte-er-100-laenderspiele-da2548f39ab140c884d24c766abfa431-78880736/Bild/3.bild. jpeg”/> Dörner in 1981 in the GDR jersey – he made a total of 100 international matchesPhoto: Kruczynski, Frank
Dörner had cancer and had to be fed artificially in the end. He was given morphine to relieve his suffering.
Born in Görlitz, he was in the hospital for weeks in the summer of 2021 and underwent surgery.
Dieter Riedel (74), a former companion and teammate at Dynamo Dresden, remembers: “I texted him to encourage him to fight the disease. He replied that it will be a long way.”
But after 100 international matches and 558 games for Dynamo Dresden, the body of the 1976 Olympic champion, five-time East German champion and three-time football of the year no longer had the strength to go the way.
<img class="photo ondemand zoomable" src="https://bilder.bild.de/fotos-skaliert/doerner-1977mit-dem-fdgb-pokal-den-er-insgesamt-fuenfmal-holte-dazu-kommen-ebenfalls-fuenf-meistertitel-e97aadafe4a84deaae4ce77a2a7b1fa2-78880750/3,w=1280,c=0.bild.jpg" width="1280" alt="Dörner 1977mit dem FDGB-Pokal, den er insgesamt fünfmal holte.Dazu kommen ebenfalls fünf Meistertitel mit Dynamo" data-zoom-title="Dörner 1977 mit dem FDGB-Pokal, den er insgesamt fünfmal holte. Dazu kommen ebenfalls fünf Meistertitel mit Dynamo
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Dörner in 1977 with the FDGB Cup, which he won five times. There are also five championship titles with DynamoFoto: picture-alliance/ dpa
Dörner did not want to talk about his illness. After being discharged from the clinic in September, he only said to BILD: “There were problems with the blood vessels, but I’m not a doctor.”
He was considered the “Beckenbauer of the East”. Dynamo President Holger Scholze (50) says about the club’s record player and honorary captain: “With his outstanding skills, he completely reinterpreted the libero game with particular elegance.”
<img class="photo ondemand zoomable" src="https://bilder.bild.de/fotos-skaliert/doerner-im-europacup-duell-gegen-die-bayern-im-hintergrund-uli-hoeness-6900eae4b9e74661a35af955ddffa261-78880806/3,w=1280,c=0.bild.jpg" width="1280" alt="Dörner im Europacup-Duell gegen die Bayern. Im Hintergrund: Uli Hoeneß" data-zoom-title="Dörner im Europacup-Duell gegen die Bayern. Im Hintergrund: Uli Hoeneß
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Dörner in the European Cup duel against Bayern. In the background: Uli HoenessPhoto: imago images / Fred Joch
As a coach, however, the exceptional footballer was unable to build on his successes on the pitch. “Maybe it was because I didn’t have an advisor,” Dörner once said. Werder Bremen remained the only major team he coached from 1996 to August 1997.
Football was his life! Until 2017, the veteran was in charge of the SG unit center in the Stadtliga Dresden as a trainer.
Dörner has been on the Dynamo Supervisory Board since November 2013 and was inducted into the German Football Museum’s “Hall of Fame” on October 11, 2019. He made his last public appearance on April 24, 2021 at the inauguration of his “Dixie-Dörner-Tribüne” in the Dresden stadium.
<img class="photo ondemand zoomable" src="https://bilder.bild.de/fotos-skaliert/fans-legten-blumen-und-kerzen-vor-dem-stadion-ab-bccca06e354f414f9dbada9d9472779c-78880786/3,w=1280,c=0.bild.jpg" width="1280" alt="Fans legten Blumen und Kerzen vor dem Stadion ab" data-zoom-title="Fans legten Blumen und Kerzen vor dem Dresdener Stadion ab
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Fans laid flowers and candles in front of the Dresden stadiumPhoto: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild
Dörner lived with his partner Annett and leaves three children.
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