Gerd Backhaus

As the East German national team won the inter-national qualification matches in 1963 against the West German amateur national team by a 3-0 win in Leipzig and a 2-1 loss in Hannover, the German Olympic team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics was an East German one. The team won the bronze medal, beating Egypt, 3-1. Gerd Backhaus was the only substitute who was not appointed in any match.

Forward-center Backhaus, playing with BSG Lokomotive Stendal for his whole career, earned three international caps and scored two goals beside his two Olympic team matches. In 1966, Stendal lost the cup final against Chemie Leipzig 1-0, which was the greatest moment in Backhaus’ career. He played 140 matches in East Germany’s Oberliga with Stendal and scored 63 goals. By profession, Backhaus was a railroad engineer.