Who are Dynamo Dresden? | OneFootball

Dynamo Dresden: Who are the former East German champions promoted back to Bundesliga 2?

Dynamo Dresden are back in Bundesliga 2 after three seasons in Germany’s 3. Liga. bundesliga.com takes a closer look at how they did it…

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The story of 2024/25

Relegated at the end of 2021/22 following a play-off defeat to Kaiserslautern, Dynamo finished sixth and fourth before making it a case of third time lucky under the tutelage of head coach Thomas Stamm. The club have spent only six rounds of fixtures outside the automatic promotion places, regaining and successfully defending top spot since Matchday 26. Unsurprisingly for the championship frontrunners, SGD are also among the division’s top two for most wins (19) and goals (68) and fewest defeats (eight) and goals conceded (40).

Dresden sealed their place back in Bundesliga 2 with a game to spare. (Imago)

Key player

There’s an argument to be made for wily old captain Stefan Kutschke, whose 14 goals trail only division top scorer Christoph Daferner (18) in the internal chart, but it’s the steely performances of 23-year-old goalkeeper Tim Schreiber that have underpinned Dynamo’s promotion push. The RB Leipzig youth product has been an ever-present between the sticks, conceding just 0.93 goals per game and reaching double figures for clean sheets.

Former Germany youth international goalkeeper Tim Schreiber didn't miss a minute of the action in 2024/25. (Imago)

Coach

A 3. Liga runner-up in charge of the Freiburg reserves back in 2022/23, Stamm’s debut season at the Dresden helm didn’t disappoint. The 42-year-old Swiss tactician was quick to integrate a host of summer signings whilst getting the best out of more experience heads such as Kutschke and midfielder Niklas Hauptmann. A progressive, reactive and attack-minded approach also paved the way for some big results against chief promotion rivals Arminia Bielefeld, Energie Cottbus and Saarbrücken.

Thomas Stamm's Dresden averaged 1.8 points per game during their promotion-winning campaign. (Imago)

History

With eight league titles and seven domestic cups, as well as 98 matches in UEFA competition, Dynamo were one of the most successful teams in the former East Germany. Dresden then spent four seasons in the Bundesliga following German reunification, but have yo-yoed between the lower leagues ever since, even dropping into the fourth tier in 2000. A fifth-placed Bundesliga 2 finish in 2016/17 was as close as they’ve come to a top-flight return.

Stadium

Dresden certainly have a home ground befitting the big time. Fans at the 32,066-capacity Rudolf Harbig Stadion are renowned for their often giant Tifos, including one in a 3. Liga match against Magdeburg in October 2015 that covered every seat in the stadium, bar the away block. Measuring around 13,000m2, it’s the largest recorded at a game in Europe and the second biggest in the world.

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