28 January 1900 - Clearly, It Was A Step In The Right Direction

On 28 January 1900, the German Football Association was founded in Leipzig. It went on the create one of the world's top national teams and one of the top leagues.

German football traces its origins to 1874 with the formation of the country's first club, the Dresden English Football Club. As more teams sprouted up, they coalesced into a variety of regional leagues and competitions. By 1900, many of the clubs sought to introduce a national organization, including the establishment of a national championship and a national team.

So in 1900, representatives of 86 different clubs met in Leipzig to vote on the creation of a new national association. Out of a total of 84 votes cast, the final tally was 62 in favor and 22 against and the Deutscher Fußball-Bund was born.

The DFB originally maintained the regional competitions, but consolidated them into a national title, first won by Leipzig in the 1902-03 season. Five years after that, the German national team played their first match, a 5-3 loss to Switzerland.

Since then, the national team has become one of the world's most successful, reaching the World Cup final seven times and winning it three. They have also won three European Championships. Along the way, the DFB reorganized the domestic leagues into the Bundesliga, which has become one of the world's most successful and prestigious leagues.

10 December 2003 - For Lokomotive, The Train Kept A-Rollin'

On 10 December 2003, former German champions Leipzig reformed following the dissolution of their previous incarnation.

Tracing their origins back to 1893, the original club, known as VfB Leipzig, helped form the German Football Association in 1900 and won the inaugural national championship in 1903. Two more titles followed in 1906 and 1913, along with the 1936 German Cup.

Dissolved by the Allies after World War II, Leipzig reformed behind the Iron Curtain in 1946 and went on to lift the East German Cup five times between 1957 and 1987. They played as Lokomotiv Leipzig from 1965 until the early 1990s, when they reclaimed the name VfB Leipzig as part of the new unified German league.

The transition into the new league proved difficult for the club, who went from the top flight in 1994 to fourth division in 2001. By the end of 2003, the club's poor performances and mounting debt led to bankruptcy and dissolution.

But a devoted group of followers worked to re-form the club in December 2003, reclaiming the name Lokomotive Leipzip. They rejoined the German pyramid at the eleventh tier and have since slowly climbed their way to fifth tier for the 2012-13 season.