60 years ago: Borussia Neunkirchen shone in the kicker ranking!

60 years ago: Borussia Neunkirchen shone in the kicker ranking!

In football, the ranking is a very special matter - the editors of Kicker, who assess the best players, coaches and managers in Germany every six months, also know that. The current edition of the "Kicker Sportmagazine" addresses the ranking of German football and looks back at the beginning. The first such ranking list was published on January 2, 1956 and has developed over the years. The goal of the kicker ranking? An objective assessment - and that is easier said than done.

One wonders how these ranking lists are created! According to the informants of Borussia Neunkirchen, the kicker editors discuss and vote in order to classify the best talents in the categories "world class", "international class", "national class" and "new on the radar". The prerequisite for this is the minimum number of competitive players in the league, so that only the fitter and capable can be upgraded in their strongest categories.

The successful from Neunkirchen

A look at the Borussia Neunkirchen shows that the balance was also quite impressive in the ranking of the summer of 1965. After climbing to the Bundesliga, Borussia explained what it can: In the second half of the 1964/65 season, they made it to the 10th place. One reason for joy for all fans, because six players also acted as the team of figures and found their place in the "kicker ranking". Erich Leist, Hans Schreier, Achim Melcher, Paul Pidancet, Günter Schröder and Elmar May were represented.

A look at the history of the DFB

The ranking has its origins in a time that means much more than just the evaluation of players. The German Football Association (DFB) has changed a lot since its foundation in 1900. Interestingly, women in football were only officially included in the statutes of the DFB in 1970 after this sport had previously been completely banned. Since then there have been numerous successes, be it with the first women's football championship in 1974 or the impressive eight European championship and two world championship titles.

In 2025, strengthening women's football and adapting to modern developments are among the central goals in the DFB, which always tries to meet the wave of new football experiences. Although Germany was the host of a World Cup for the first time in 1974 and the men's national team was able to win on the first attempt, the changes in football from then are still enormous.

Overall, the kicker ranking not only reflects the individual successes of the players, but also the ongoing development of football itself. The 1965 look at the current formats and categorizations gives fans hope that the next few years will become as exciting as the past decades.

For more details and information about the current ranking lists of the players, visit the page on Kicker or take a look at the past Borussia Neunkirchen . If you would like to learn more about the history of the DFB, have a look at Deutschland.de