Wacker 04 show the German flag in Tasmania in 1980

Photo:  Dale Blake starred for Rapid against Wacker 04.  Blake was one of the most promising young players in Tasmanian football at the time and was attracting huge interest from Mainland clubs. [PlessPix]

The only visit to Tasmania by a German team occurred in 1980.

Wacker 04, an amateur club from West Berlin, played two games in Tasmania in early January 1980.

Photo:  Dale Blake (right) in action for Rapid against Olympia at South Hobart in the 1980s [Photo by Ralph Dymond]

The Germans had played in the Philippines before arriving in Melbourne on 3 January 1980.

They were due to play a Geelong Combined XI on 4 January, followed by an All-Stars German-Austrian team, made up of players from Richmond and Keilor Austria, in Melbourne on Saturday, 5 January.

Wacker 04 then headed to the Apple Isle to play Devonport and Rapid.

Devonport, who had just appointed Englishman Steve Darby as their full-time coach, lost 4-1 to the German visitors.

The Devonport team was:  Udovicic  -  Rimmer, Buchanan, Best, Primrose (Polles 75)  -  Abley (Robinson 57), McDonald, Rigby  -  Pizzirani, Denton, McKenna (Meldrum 86).

Wacker 04:  Schulz  -  Gebel, Fetkenheuer, Zimmermann, Seehaver  -  Mielke, Ressel (Nauen 65), Goersdorf  -  Schwarze, Enderlein (Edeling 65), Niebel.

Alec McDonald scored for Devonport in the 84^th minute, while Wacker 04’s marksmen were Goersdorf (38^th), Niebel (46^th), Schwarz (47^th) and Mielke (57^th).

Goalkeeper Joe Udovicic and centre-back Peter Best were named as Devonport’s best players, while Wacker 04’s best were Niebel, Fetkenheuer, Ressel and Mielke.

On Monday, 7 January 1980, Wacker 04 met Rapid Wrest Point at South Hobart.  Rapid had, of course, been founded by Austrian and German migrants in Hobart in 1958.

Photo:  Rapid goalkeeper Phil Kannegiesser sends the ball upfield at KGV Park.  He scored a penalty against Wacker 04 at South Hobart. [Photo by Ralph Dymond]

Rapid won 2-1 with a penalty by Phil Kannegiesser in the 40^th minute and a goal by captain Tommy Wilson in the 89^th minute.

Wacker 04 replied through Schulz in the 82^nd minute.

Photo:  The squads listed on the official match programme {Programme courtesy of Dallas Joiner]

The teams were:

Rapid Wrest Point:  P Kannegiesser  -  John Dilba, R Mohring, T Wilson, L Nunn  -  O Moore, P Linnell, S Kannegiesser  -  K Morton, M Oakes, D Blake.

Wacker 04:  Schreodter  -  Gebel (Nauen 10), Fetkenheuer, Zimmermann, Seehaver  -  Ressel, Enderlein (Edeling 46), Mielke  -  Goersdorf (Schulz 70), Schwarz (Venus 70), Niebel.

Rapid’s best players were Tommy Wilson, Ken Morton, Peter Linnell and Steve Kannegiesser, while Wacker 04’s best were Fetkenheuer and Ressel.

Photo:  Steve Kannegiesser was named as one of Rapid's best players in the game against Wacker 04 at South Hobart [PlessPix]

Wacker 04, who were in first place and unbeaten at the time in the West Berlin league, played in Fiji on their way home to Germany.

As the name suggests, Wacker 04 were founded in 1904 and were sometimes professional and sometimes amateur in the following decades.  The club was disbanded in 1994 after going bankrupt.

Photo:  The autographed front cover of the official match programme [Programme courtesy of Dallas Joiner]

Photo:  Official welcome in the programme by Rapid Wrest Point president, Ron Hurley [Programme courtesy of Dallas Joiner]

Photo:  Rapid's results in the official match programme [Programme courtesy of Dallas Joiner]

Photo:  Sponsors' page in the official match programme [Programme courtesy of Dallas Joiner]