16 Facts About Rainer Ernst

Rainer Ernst was born on 31 December 1961 and is a German former professional footballer who amassed 56 caps for the East Germany national team.

Rainer Ernst was the last captain of East Germany before the political change.

Rainer Ernst began his football career when he was seven years old, at the youth side of BSG Empor Neustrelitz where his father Joachim "Jochen" Ernst became his first trainer.

BFC Dynamo received the gold medal of Oberliga in Jahn-Sportpark Berlin, which was the first of ten consecutive gold medals; Rainer Ernst won the remaining nine.

Rainer Ernst was promoted to the senior squad in the summer of 1979.

Captain Frank Terletzki took the corner kick, Falko Gotz did the flick-on then Rainer Ernst hit the ball over the line from two metres.

Rainer Ernst played 216 DDR-Oberliga matches for BFC Dynamo, scoring 91 goals, became DDR-Oberliga champion nine times, 1979 and eight in a row from 1981 to 1988, and won the FDGB-Pokal gold medal twice 1988 and 1989.

Rainer Ernst made 31 appearances for the European cup's scoring seven goals in total.

Rainer Ernst did not return with the club, as in the summer of 1992 he moved to AS Cannes in Ligue 2.

Rainer Ernst played just seven games in Cannes and scored no goals.

Rainer Ernst returned to Germany in 1994 to spend two years in the regional league with FSV Salmrohr.

Rainer Ernst participated in 1980 UEFA European Under-18 Championship which was held in East Germany as the captain of the East Germany Junior team.

Rainer Ernst played as number 10 for their sixth qualifying match of the 1986 FIFA World Cup against France in a fully-filled Zentralstadion on 11 September 1985.

Rainer Ernst was the team captain for his last appearances for East Germany.

Rainer Ernst was called up by the trainer Ede Geyer for the friendly match with Belgium on 12 September 1990, but he announced his withdrawal from the national team, saying he lost motivation.

Rainer Ernst scored 20 goals, making him the 4th top scorer.