This proved to be a very exciting season, as several teams challenged for the title, and of course the relegation struggle was as fierce as ever. In the end, VfL Wolfsburg sensationally stood at the pinnacle, their first championship ever!
The early season was all about the sensational play of promoted Hoffenheim, who took the Bundesliga by storm. Physical, attack-oriented play led Hoffenheim to fly to the top of the table. This created a lot of jealousy among loser fans of other clubs, enviously whining about "moneybags" Hoffenheim sugar-daddy Dietmar Hopp. However, the club's success was largely due to their enthusiasm, young talent (evidenced by striker Vedad Ibisevic's 18 goals in the first 17 games) - and catching their opponents off guard. After the winterbreak, teams had figured out the upstarts, and wins no longer came easy. They limped home to a successful 7th place, probably disappointed they didn't do better.
Other teams that created furore were Hertha BSC and Hamburg, who despite less-than-stellar resources and play, managed to grind out wins and challenge at the top. And of course, the big-bad-wolf, Bayern München stumbled and bumbled, but was always lurking to defend their title. Rookie coach Jürgen Klinsmann suffered with every Bayern brain-fart, until he was finally canned with a few games left. Bayern's main problem was hardly Klinsi, but rather that with the exception of superstar Franck Ribery, the players hardly seemed bothered to go out and win games, but expected everybody to bow down and kiss their feet. Klinsi was unable to kick their asses, and Bayern looked very beatable at times. VfB Stuttgart came roaring back with a brilliant stretch run, enough to make the Champions League. But the story ended up to be VfL Wolfsburg, with their deadly attack duo of Grafite and Dzeko, and the brilliant leadship of head coach Felix Magath. The VWs came out firing after winterbreak, and proved to be unstoppable. They entered the year as perhaps the least popular Bundesliga team ever, but they certainly gained tons of fans with their attacking play.
Borussia Dortmund put in a decent performance under new coach Jürgen Klopp, and seem to have recovered from the financial and sporting malaise. Schalke continued to disappoint, and Werder Bremen was the most schizoprenic team, up and down. They did end up winning the DFB-Cup and losing UEFA Cup finalist, some solace after their crap season.
In relegation, the biggest surprise was that promoted 1. FC Köln was never really in much danger of sinking, managing to grind out points when needed. Bielefeld, you got to love em. They keep on adding to their record as the most relegated Bundesliga team ever (or maybe it's Nürnberg, can't remember)...and we all know they'll be back for more soon enough.
1 VfL Wolfsburg 34 21 6 7 80:41 +39 69 CHAMPION, Champions League 2 Bayern München (M, P) 34 20 7 7 71:42 +29 67 Champions League 3 VfB Stuttgart 34 19 7 8 63:43 +20 64 Champions League ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 Hertha BSC Berlin 34 19 6 9 48:41 +7 63 Europaliga 5 Hamburger SV 34 19 4 11 49:47 +2 61 Europaliga ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6 Borussia Dortmund 34 15 14 5 60:37 +23 59 7 1899 Hoffenheim (N) 34 15 10 9 63:49 +14 55 8 FC Schalke 04 34 14 8 12 47:35 +12 50 9 Bayer Leverkusen 34 14 7 13 59:46 +13 49 10 Werder Bremen 34 12 9 13 64:50 +14 45 DFB-Pokal winner 11 Hannover 96 34 10 10 14 49:69 -20 40 12 1. FC Köln (N) 34 11 6 17 35:50 -15 39 13 Eintracht Frankfurt 34 8 9 17 39:60 -21 33 14 VfL Bochum 34 7 11 16 39:55 -16 32 15 Borussia M'gladbach (N) 34 8 7 19 39:62 -23 31 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 16 Energie Cottbus 34 8 6 20 30:57 -27 30 playoff (lost, relegated) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 17 Karlsruher SC 34 8 5 21 30:54 -24 29 relegated 18 Arminia Bielefeld 34 4 16 14 29:56 -27 28 relegated (M) Meister (Champion) (P) Pokal (Cupwinner) (N) Neuling (promoted from 2.Liga) Cottbus loses to Nürnberg (0-3, 0-2) and is relegated to 2.Liga Top scorers: 1 Grafite VfL Wolfsburg 28 2 Dzeko VfL Wolfsburg 26 3 Gomez VfB Stuttgart 24 4 Helmes Bayer Leverkusen 21 5 Ibisevic 1899 Hoffenheim 18 6 Pizarro Werder Bremen 17 7 Novakovic 1. FC Köln 16 8 Ba 1899 Hoffenheim 14 9 Toni Bayern München 14 10 Wichniarek Arminia Bielefeld 13 11 Kuranyi FC Schalke 04 13
As usual, the promotion spots were hard fought in the very balanced 2.Liga. In the end, there were no real surprises, as the pre-season favorites largely ended up on top. Freiburg looked indifferent, but then noticed that everybody else was dicking around, so they started grinding out wins, and before they knew it, were crowned champs. Mainz was always hovering, and in the end held on to 2nd. Nürnberg was rebuilding amidst relegation-shock, and started poorly, but they started winning down the stretch, without overly impressing.
There were a few disappointments. 1860 certainly hoped to be a contender, but they pretty much sucked all year. Relegated Hansa Rostock probably hoped to at least be in striking distance of the playoffs, but instead they stunk. It took a strong end run by Hansa to save their ass and avoid relegation. The relegated squads in Wehen and Ingolstadt were basically lame all year, with a couple of bright moments. FSV Frankfurt was a bit of a surprise, as they were dead last at winterbreak, but an energetic 2nd half proved to be just enough to save themselves. Koblenz managed to survive a difficult relegation battle despite a points deduction.
The end year playoffs proved to be a mixed bag. Nürnberg crushed Cottbus, and returned to the Bundesliga. Osnabrück however lost to Paderborn, and were relegated.
1 SC Freiburg 34 21 5 8 60:36 +24 68 Champion, promoted 2 1. FSV Mainz 05 34 18 9 7 62:37 +25 63 promoted ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 1. FC Nürnberg (A) 34 16 12 6 51:29 +22 60 playoff (won, promoted) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 Alemannia Aachen 34 16 8 10 58:38 +20 56 5 SpVgg Greuther Fürth 34 16 8 10 60:46 +14 56 6 MSV Duisburg (A) 34 14 13 7 56:36 +20 55 7 1. FC Kaiserslautern 34 15 7 12 53:48 +5 52 8 FC St. Pauli 34 14 6 14 52:59 -7 48 9 Rot-Weiß Oberhausen (N) 34 11 9 14 35:54 -19 42 10 Rot-Weiss Ahlen (N) 34 11 8 15 38:57 -19 41 11 FC Augsburg 34 10 10 14 43:46 -3 40 12 TSV 1860 München 34 9 12 13 44:46 -2 39 13 Hansa Rostock (A) 34 8 14 12 52:53 -1 38 14 TuS Koblenz 34 11 8 15 47:57 -10 38 15 FSV Frankfurt (N) 34 9 11 14 34:47 -13 38 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 16 VfL Osnabrück 34 8 12 14 41:60 -19 36 playoff (lost, relegated) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 17 FC Ingolstadt 04 (N) 34 7 10 17 38:54 -16 31 relegated 18 SV Wehen Wiesbaden 34 5 12 17 28:49 -21 27 relegated (A) Absteiger (relegated from last year) (N) Neuling (promoted from last year) Koblenz docked 3 points for financial shenanigans Nürnberg defeats Cottbus (3-0, 2-0) and is promoted to Bundesliga Osnabrück loses to Paderborn (0-1, 0-1) and is relegated to 3.Liga Top scorers: 1 Auer Alemannia Aachen 16 2 Makiadi MSV Duisburg 16 3 Mintal 1. FC Nürnberg 16 4 Allagui SpVgg Greuther Fürth 15 5 Lauth 1860 München 15 6 Thurk FC Augsburg 14 7 Kouemaha MSV Duisburg 14 8 Jendrisek 1. FC Kaiserslautern 14 9 Bancé 1. FSV Mainz 05 14 10 Toborg Rot-Weiss Ahlen 13 11 Idrissou SC Freiburg 13
The inaugural 3.Liga season was hardly the commercial success that the DFB was looking for, although from a competition standpoint, the quality of play and balance was encouraging.
The outstanding club was Union Berlin, who quickly established that they were a contender, and then put together a long unbeaten streak mid-season to basically run away with the title. A fierce battle developed between Düsseldorf, Paderborn and Unterhaching for promotion, and in the end, Unterhaching was left out - and objectively, they were the weakest of the three. Paderborn did the 3.Liga proud, as they then proceeded to upend 2.Liga VfL Osnabrück in the playoffs and gain promotion as well.
Kickers Emden was an early pacesetter, but they fell off drastically down the home stretch. This was clearly not a success story on the financial side, and Kickers management was debating whether to accept a voluntary relegation, as they pondered not to apply for another 3.Liga license.
The relegation battle was very tight, although Stuttgarter Kickers got off to a very poor start, which proved to be insurmountable. In the end, Burghausen and Aalen go down, deservedly so, and surely not to be lamented.
The main unfortunate season outcome was that none of the Bundesliga "II" teams got relegated, which means more death at the box-office.
1 1. FC Union Berlin 38 22 12 4 59:23 +36 78 Champion, promoted 2 Fortuna Düsseldorf 38 20 9 9 54:33 +21 69 promoted ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 SC Paderborn 07 (A) 38 20 8 10 68:38 +30 68 playoff (won, promoted) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 SpVgg Unterhaching 38 20 7 11 57:46 +11 67 5 Bayern München II 38 14 17 7 54:38 +16 59 6 Kickers Emden 38 16 11 11 45:44 +1 59 voluntary withdrawal (?) 7 Kickers Offenbach (A) 38 12 16 10 40:35 +5 52 8 SV Sandhausen 38 12 14 12 58:52 +6 50 9 Dynamo Dresden 38 13 11 14 46:46 0 50 10 Rot-Weiß Erfurt 38 13 11 14 46:48 -2 50 11 VfB Stuttgart II 38 13 10 15 61:50 +11 49 12 Erzgebirge Aue (A) 38 12 12 14 43:43 0 48 13 Eintracht Braunschweig 38 12 9 17 46:51 -5 45 14 Wuppertaler SV Bor. 38 11 12 15 36:45 -9 45 15 Jahn Regensburg 38 11 12 15 37:51 -14 45 16 Carl Zeiss Jena (A) 38 10 11 17 41:59 -18 41 17 Werder Bremen II 38 10 10 18 49:58 -9 40 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 18 Wacker Burghausen 38 10 10 18 40:65 -25 40 relegated 19 VfR Aalen 38 8 15 15 38:60 -22 39 relegated 20 Stuttgarter Kickers 38 7 11 20 38:71 -33 29 relegated Kickers Stuttgart to be penalized -3 as of May 13 Paderborn defeats Osnabrück (1-0,1-0) to gain promotion Burghausen likely saved since Emden is withdrawing (A) Absteiger (relegated from 2.Liga last year) Top scorers: 1 A. Fink SpVgg Unterhaching 21 2 Oehrl Werder Bremen II 17 3 Güvenisik SC Paderborn 07 17 4 Benyamina 1. FC Union Berlin 16 5 T. Müller Bayern München II 15 6 Savran Dynamo Dresden 14 7 Löning SC Paderborn 07 14 8 Sailer VfR Aalen 12 9 Cannizzaro Rot-Weiß Erfurt 12
The new Regionalligen are cluttered with worthless "II" teams sucking down fan attendance. The most interesting was probably the north, where on the last day Kiel secured the title, as Halle were beaten at home in a regional derby by Plauen. None of the ex-Bundesliga clubs (Essen, Münster, Waldhof, Ulm, Mannheim) managed to move up. Of course, they are undoubtedly happier than Uerdingen, Wattenscheid, Saarbrücken, Homburg, Neunkirchen, Tasmania, Blau-Weiss etc, who are a division lower. Good news is that Tennis Borussia is moving up...
Regionalliga Nord 1 Holstein Kiel 34 21 10 3 54:22 +32 73 Champion, promoted ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 Hallescher FC 34 19 13 2 43:20 +23 70 3 SV Babelsberg 03 (A) 34 17 12 5 46:25 +21 63 4 1. FC Magdeburg (A) 34 17 8 9 50:36 +14 59 5 VfL Wolfsburg II (A) 34 15 8 11 53:35 +18 53 6 Hannover 96 II 34 14 7 13 48:42 +6 49 7 Chemnitzer FC 34 11 12 11 50:42 +8 45 8 VfB Lübeck (A) 34 10 15 9 38:34 +4 45 9 FC Oberneuland 34 12 8 14 40:41 -1 44 10 Hansa Rostock II 34 12 7 15 53:59 -6 43 11 SV Wilhelmshaven 34 12 7 15 45:52 -7 43 12 Hertha BSC II 34 11 10 13 40:55 -15 43 13 Hamburger SV II (A) 34 11 9 14 44:43 +1 42 14 VFC Plauen 34 10 12 12 52:54 -2 42 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 15 Türkiyemspor Berlin 34 12 6 16 36:43 -7 42 relegated (?) 16 Altona 93 34 8 7 19 40:66 -26 31 relegated 17 Sachsen Leipzig 34 5 9 20 21:54 -33 24 relegated 18 Energie Cottbus II (A) 34 5 8 21 23:53 -30 23 relegated Regionalliga West 1 Borussia Dortmund II (A) 34 21 5 8 86:49 +37 68 Champion, promoted ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 1. FC Kaiserslautern II 34 19 8 7 59:42 +17 65 3 1. FC Köln II 34 16 12 6 53:34 +19 60 4 Preußen Münster 34 14 11 9 51:36 +15 53 5 1. FSV Mainz 05 II 34 15 7 12 58:45 +13 52 6 Borussia M'gladbach II 34 14 9 11 50:49 +1 51 7 Rot-Weiss Essen (A) 34 13 10 11 61:41 +20 49 8 SC Verl (A) 34 13 10 11 45:42 +3 49 9 Bayer Leverkusen II 34 14 7 13 53:56 -3 49 10 Sportfreunde Lotte 34 14 7 13 53:57 -4 49 11 SV Elversberg (A) 34 11 13 10 39:37 +2 46 12 FSV LU-Oggersheim (A) 34 11 9 14 43:58 -15 42 13 Eintracht Trier 34 11 8 15 37:51 -14 41 14 VfL Bochum II 34 11 7 16 51:59 -8 40 15 FC Schalke 04 II 34 10 9 15 41:54 -13 39 16 Wormatia Worms 34 8 9 17 39:55 -16 33 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 17 BV Cloppenburg 34 8 4 22 51:76 -25 28 relegated 18 1. FC Kleve 34 6 9 19 44:73 -29 27 relegated Regionalliga Süd 1 1. FC Heidenheim 34 22 6 6 61:37 +24 72 promoted ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 Hessen Kassel (A) 34 22 5 7 75:33 +42 71 3 Eintracht Frankfurt II 34 19 9 6 61:35 +26 66 4 Waldhof Mannheim 34 19 6 9 54:30 +24 63 moving to West 5 1. FC Nürnberg II 34 17 10 7 65:37 +28 61 6 1860 München II (A) 34 16 7 11 59:42 +17 55 7 SSV Ulm 1846 34 13 14 7 55:35 +20 53 8 SC Pfullendorf (A) 34 14 8 12 50:48 +2 50 9 SV Wehen Wiesbaden II 34 15 4 15 40:37 +3 49 10 1. FC Eintracht Bamberg 34 12 8 14 50:61 -11 44 11 SpVgg Greuther Fürth II 34 10 11 13 37:39 -2 41 12 SSV Reutlingen (A) 34 10 10 14 41:55 -14 40 13 Viktoria Aschaffenburg 34 9 12 13 38:46 -8 39 14 SC Freiburg II 34 11 5 18 46:63 -17 38 15 SV Darmstadt 98 34 9 10 15 44:54 -10 37 16 Karlsruher SC II (A) 34 10 4 20 37:66 -29 34 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 17 TSV Großbardorf 34 4 6 24 32:84 -52 18 relegated 18 SpVgg Unterhaching II 34 4 5 25 35:78 -43 17 relegated