Rainer Ernst

Youth career

Ernst was born in Neustrelitz. He 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. His Father Jochen stayed by his side at SG Dynamo Neustrelitz and in the training centre from 1973 to 1975. He participated in the V.Kinder- und Jugendspartakiade 1975 Berlin, with the Neubrandenburg student district selection as the captain and his father as the trainer. On 27 July Neubrandenburg met Karl-Marx-Stadt at the final, lost 2–1 but it was a sensation, Ernst was selected as the centre midfield of Spartakiade-Eleven 1975. Then he joined the youth academy of BFC Dynamo in 1975. There he succeeded: the runner-up of East Germany Student championship 1975–76 (he was absent from the final in the Sportforum Gräfenhainichen between FC Karl-Marx-Stadt and BFC Dynamo), the winner of Junior championship 1977–78 and 1978–79 (decided on the penultimate match day), the winner of Youth championship 1980–81 (16 matches, four goals) with Frank Rohde, Christian Backs et al.

Clubs

BFC Dynamo

Ernst made his first appearance in the DDR-Oberliga on 6 June 1979, the 25th and penultimate match day of 1978–79 season, away game against BSG Chemie Böhlen which ended with a 10–3 victory. Though being unlisted for that match, he was brought from the junior squad and played for 90 minutes as one of the starting lineup. The next and last matchday, 9 June 1979,…

Ernst participated in 1980 UEFA European Under-18 Championship which was held in East Germany as the captain of the East Germany Junior team. 16 May Weissenfels East Germany 0-1 Bulgaria, 18 May Torgau East Germany 2–0 France, 20 May Magdeburg East Germany 0–0 Netherlands, East Germany resulted as the second of the group B, didn't proceed to the semifinals. The same year he scored his first Oberliga goal, he celebrated his debut for the East Germany A-national team, which was the last qualifying match of the 1982 FIFA World Cup. At the match against Malta, Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld in Jena 11 November 1981, he played from 79 minutes as the substitute for Wolfgang Steinbach and the match resulted 5–1 victory. But that 11 minutes robbed him of his all Olympic hopes because of FIFA's decision that prevented the players who had played a World Cup match from participating in the Olympics. His first goal for East Germany was at their fifth qualifying match of the UEFA Euro 1984, against Switzerland at the Berlin Jahn-Sportpark. In the 73rd minute Ersnt received a pass from Joachim Streich and elegantly lobbed Swiss Goalkeeper Roger Berbig from 22 meters. Joachim Streich added another goal at 94 minutes to make the game 3–0, their first win in five qualifying matches. 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. He converted Andreas Thom's cross with a header at 53 minutes into…