Death in the 3rd league
Traditional club mourns ex-president
May 3, 2026 – 12:44 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
As president, Dieter Krein led Energie Cottbus from amateur sports to the Bundesliga. Now the club is mourning the loss of a personality who shaped its rise like no other.
Sad news for FC Energie Cottbus: Ex-president Dieter Krein died on May 2nd at the age of 84. He led the club from amateur sports to the Bundesliga in the 1990s and early 2000s.
In December 1993, Krein was elected president. Together with manager Klaus Stabach, he brought coach Eduard Geyer to the FCE in 1994 – the last GDR selection coach. The trio fundamentally reshaped the club: Krein acquired sponsors, invested in the stadium and enabled the construction of floodlights and later the east stand. In 1997, Energie was promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga and reached the DFB Cup final. Promotion to the Bundesliga followed in 2000 – the club stayed there for three seasons. In 2006, Energie returned to the upper house for three more years, but by then Krein was no longer in office.
His presidency ended in 2005 when he appointed Michael Stein as his successor. However, Krein never let go of the club. Most recently he could be seen in the stands together with Stabach at home games. On January 31, 2026, he celebrated the FCE’s 60th club birthday.
Krein was born in Leipzig in 1941 and lived in Trebendorf near Weißwasser until his death. He was married, had two children and two grandchildren. Even in retirement, he remained active in sports. From 2006 to 2018 he was on the ice as a goalkeeper for the Chiefs of Eissport Weißwasser. He also regularly laced up his shoes for FC Energie’s old league team.
