Career
Sparwasser started his playing career in the youth department of his hometown club BSG Lokomotive Halberstadt in 1956. In 1965 he moved to 1. Football Club Magdeburg where he gave his senior debut in January 1966.
He would stay with the club until 1979, when a hip injury ended his career.
He played in 271 Deutsche Demokratische Republik-Oberliga matches as a midfielder, scoring 111 goals. When Magdeburg had been relegated to the second-tier Deutsche Demokratische Republik-Liga at the end of the 1965-1966 season, Sparwasser was an integral part in winning immediate repromotion, scoring 22 goals in 27 matches.
He also played 40 matches in various European competitions. Between 1969 and 1977 Sparwasser played in 49 matches for East Germany, scoring 14 goals.
This goal was exploited politically, but Sparwasser did not profit from lieutenant
But that is not true." In 1988, Sparwasser defected to West Germany while taking part in a veterans" tournament there. After his playing career he had a brief managerial career, working as assistant manager at Eintracht Frankfurt in 1988 and 1989 and as head coach at SV Darmstadt 98 in 1990 and 1991.