On 15 June 1896 SV Victoria 96 Magdeburg was founded, a club that had its best days before World War II, when it participated in the German championship finals on several occasions.

In 1957 the football department of Motor Mitte was moved to SC Aufbau Magdeburg, a political decision with the goal of achieving higher standards of performance.

This was part of a general – again politically motivated – movement in East Germany towards football-only clubs with the goal of achieving higher standards.

Legend reports that the coin first stuck upright in the muddy ground, and only the second toss brought about a decision.

SC Aufbau Magdeburg finished mid-table again in the 1964–65 season and managed to defend their cup title as the first team in East German football ever, beating FC Carl Zeiss Jena 2–1 in the final in Berlin.

FC Magdeburg managed to reach the quarter final, eventually going out against defending champions West Ham United featuring stars such as Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst.

The golden age of Magdeburg football began in 1972, when the club won the East German championship with the youngest squad in history.

FC Magdeburg went out in the quarter-finals again, eventual winners PSV Eindhoven scoring the deciding goal with just 90 seconds left on the clock.

However, the club could not compensate for losing manager Joachim Streich (to Eintracht Braunschweig) and a number of players (Dirk Schuster, Wolfgang Steinbach among others) and only finished tenth.

In the qualification playoffs for the Second Bundesliga the club did not win a single game and found themselves in the tier III Oberliga Nordost/Staffel Mitte.

Magdeburg met then Second Bundesliga club Wuppertaler SV and beat them 8–7 after penalties in a dramatic game.

FC Magdeburg could reaffirm their position as the number one club in the city, finishing first in the league and winning promotion to the Regionalliga Nordost.

Not only did the club win their league in superior style, scoring more than 120 goals, but they also reached the quarter final of the DFB-Pokal.

In the promotion play-offs, Magdeburg beat their old rivals BFC Dynamo 5–2 on aggregate, but financially the club was in deep trouble.

A two-day donation drive initiated by the fans brought 1 million Marks, the remaining sum was loaned to the club by two banks.

Magdeburg managed to remain in the league, finishing twelfth, and averaging 4,500 spectators, but in June 2002 the club had to go into receivership.

With their fans as support, Magdeburg started a run of great results after the winter break that opened up the opportunity to win promotion to the Second Bundesliga immediately, a feat only two other teams (FC Gütersloh and Carl Zeiss Jena) had achieved before.

But despite having a five-point lead on the third-placed team three matchdays before the end of the season, Magdeburg eventually finished in a disappointing third place.

After a terrible first half of the campaign with as little as 24 points from 21 matches, the board sacked manager Dirk Heyne and replaced him with Paul Linz.

But a home defeat to Rot-Weiß Essen eventually destroyed all hopes of qualification and Magdeburg finished eleventh behind Eintracht Braunschweig on goal difference.

But in spite of the challenge of forming a team from scratch, the majority of managers in the league declared Magdeburg the top candidate for promotion.

[citation needed] Following a drop to fourth place in March, the club sacked manager Paul Linz and hired former player Steffen Baumgart as his successor.

For the following season, Magdeburg signed Ruud Kaiser as manager, tasked with building a team capable of winning the league within two years.

However, after a string of bad results brought the side dangerously close to relegation, Kaiser was let go and succeeded by Wolfgang Sandhowe.

[9] The continuing string of bad results that saw Magdeburg slip to last place led to Thielemann's dismissal from the manager role.

To that end, a number of experienced players were signed, such as Silvio Bankert, Marcel Schlosser and Jan Glinker, in order to increase quality in the squad.

As it is usual in Germany, there is standing room for 4,500 people that can be converted to seats to make the stadium a 25,000 capacity all-seater for international matches.

1 in Saxony-Anhalt, while the Dresden rivalry can be traced back to the 1970s, when both clubs formed the elite of East German football.

[21] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.