from Essen to Bochum
After two years in the Regionalliga West, during which Bast became a regular starter, the club from Hafenstraße was promoted back to the Bundesliga in 1973. Over the following four seasons, he played as a striker for the Essen-based side, making a total of 213 Bundesliga and 64 Regionalliga West appearances for the club over seven years.
Following another relegation in 1977, Bast moved on to VfL Bochum for a then-record transfer fee of 800,000 Deutschmarks. Only one player was signed for a higher fee that year: Paul Breitner, who moved from Bayern Munich to Real Madrid.
At Bochum’s Ruhrstadion, Bast initially also played on the right flank, but he was already far more defensive than he had been during his time at Essen. When captain and libero Franz-Josef Tenhagen moved from Bochum to Dortmund, VfL coach Rolf Schafstall converted the attacking player Dieter Bast into the organiser of his defence. Over the next two years, he proved himself to be a skilful libero and also made 14 appearances for the Olympic team in that position.
captain of the Werkself and the olympic team
After playing 192 Bundesliga matches for Bochum, Bast joined Bayer in 1983 and, under manager Dettmar Cramer, was a key part of the Bayer 04 defence during his first two years there. In just his second season with the Werkself, the 33-year-old was elected captain by his teammates.
