by the 1970s, the club was consistently finishing in the lower half of the league table and was relegated to the second division ddr-liga for a single season on three different occasions late in the decade. they returned to form in the 1980s and as the football leagues of west germany and east germany were merged in 1990 after the re-unification of the country, rostock won its first national championship in the final season of east german football, played out in the transitional nofv-oberliga. this is their only top flight title to date in play in east germany or the unified germany.