Just over 50 years ago, 1. FC Magdeburg lifted the European Cup Winner's Cup – a feat no other East German side has replicated. Now, after a long journey in the lower leagues, the club sits in the second division.

"I think it was impossible to see back then what would happen to football in the east, especially right after reunification. There were just so many unknown factors. I think people may have been a bit naive," Carsten Müller, who played at Magdeburg prior to and following the fall of the Berlin Wall and now runs their academy, told DW.

Magdeburg's transformation from continental kings to a second-tier side reflects the fate of many of their east German counterparts. Of the 56 professional teams in Germany's top three leagues, only six hail from the former GDR. The seventh eastern club, RB Leipzig, were founded after reunification. Decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the geographical divisions of men's and women's football remain.

"When the industries surrounding a club break away and the economic situation in the city and region only get more difficult, you're suddenly hit with a wave of challenges. Players and clubs are constantly put to new tests," said Müller.

The all-encompaning privatizing shock that overtook East German industry after the Berlin Wall collapsed impacted football as well. Formerly state-ran clubs in the east suddenly had to compete with cash-flush western sides on the open market.

"Lots of players from the east were quickly........

© Deutsche Welle