Gerd Struppert turns 75: A goalscorer and coach with history!

Gerd Struppert turns 75: A goalscorer and coach with history!

Today, October 21, 2025, former soccer player and coach Gerd Struppert celebrates his 75th birthday. Known from the world of football, especially in connection with BSG Chemie Leipzig, he has left his mark in his career both as a player and as a coach. Struppert was brought to Leutzsch from Gera in 1977 as a goalscorer, but quickly realized that he was more challenged in midfield. This led to a premature departure from the club without him being able to score the goals he had hoped for.

In his first league game in 1971, Struppert scored the decisive 1-0 win for Jena against Chemie Leipzig, which led to the club's first relegation season to the second division. After his active time as a player, Struppert took over as coach at Chemie in 1983, where he met Manfred Walter, another prominent character in football history. Together they managed to triumph in the decisive games against 1. FC Union in 1984.

Innovation and controversy

Struppert is known not only for his technical skills, but also for his innovative ideas and questionable methods. He invented the so-called “Leutzscher Catenaccio”, a tactical orientation that was both admired and criticized. He also held the shortest press conference in GDR history and maintained close contacts with the referee guild.

Under his leadership, BSG Chemie Leipzig experienced an eventful time. After a dramatic start to the season, which was marked, among other things, by the previous coach Wolfgang Müller's heart attack, Struppert took over the helm. In the season in which Chemie returned to the top league after three years, they competed against established teams and ultimately had to fight for relegation in playoffs. In these games, Chemie secured relegation with a 2-1 win against 1. FC Union in front of 22,000 spectators.

Statistics and achievements

The final table of the 1983/84 league season showed that BSG Chemie finished in 12th place with 4 wins, 6 draws and 16 defeats as well as a goal difference of 21:49 with a total of 14 points. In the FDGB Cup, the team was eliminated in the second main round against BSG Sachsenring Zwickau. In the indoor soccer tournament, Chemie achieved 5th place, with Hans-Jörg Leitzke being the top scorer with seven goals.

Memories of the time under Struppert are also associated with numerous friendly matches in which the team competed against teams such as Gornik Kunerow, Stal Bielsko Biala and Valerengen Oslo.

A detailed interview with Gerd Struppert offers a deeper insight into his career and philosophy, which is available on YouTube. If you would like to find out more about its history, please visit Chemistry Leipzig and Ronny's fan page further information about his career and his remarkable achievements. The football world congratulates Gerd Struppert on this special birthday!