Forward Gert Heidler was on the East German (GDR) football team that beat Poland 3-1 at the Montréal Olympics to become the first German team to win an Olympic gold medal, although he did not play the final after picking up a second yellow card in the semi-final win over the Soviet Union. In his youth he played with SG Dynamo and later Motor Bautzen, but as an adult he only played with Dynamo Dresden in 267 Oberliga matches, scoring 49 goals from 1968-82. He helped them to win five national titles (1971, 1973, 1976-78) and also three national cups (1971, 1977, 1982).
From 1975-78 Heidler played 12 international matches with the East German national team. He later started a coaching career as a youth coach with Dynamo Dresden. After re-unification it was revealed that he refused several times to work with the GDR Stasi (Ministry of State Security) during his career.