BFC Dynamo finished runners up in the 1971–72 DDR-Oberliga, and qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time. The club reached the third round of the 1972–73 UEFA Cup, where it faced Liverpool F.C. The team managed a 0–0 draw in front of 20,000 spectators at the Dynamo-Stadion im Sportforum, but suffered a 3–1 defeat at Anfield, with a single goal scored by Wolf-Rüdiger Netz. The club managed only a sixth place in the following two seasons, but captured a second place in the 1975–76 DDR-Oberliga season. The team of BFC Dynamo was the youngest in the league with an average age of only 22,8 years. The young team under head coach Harry Nippert managed a goal difference of 67-24 during the 1975-76 DDR-Oberliga season. Among the top performers were Reinhard Lauck, an attacking midfielder who had come from the then relegated 1. FC Union Berlin in 1973, and the highly talented Lutz Eigendorf who had moved up from the youth academy. BFC Dynamo qualified for the 1976–77 UEFA Cup but was eliminated by Shakhtar Donetsk in the first round.