Yet another season went down to the wire, and yet again, it was the
Bayer
Leverkusen Aspirins who needed a dose of their own Alka-Seltzer to soothe
their massive hangover.
The Leverkuseners built up an "almost impregnable" 5 point lead with only
a couple of games left, but managed to blow it and lose the championship
to Dortmund.
Champions Dortmund didn't appear to be the strongest team, but
coach Matthias Sammer made sure that his squad stayed on track and ground
out the results when needed. The Czech duo of midfielder Tomas Rosicky and
giant forward Jan Koller contributed greatly to the title run. Borussia
almost capped the season by making it to the UEFA Cup final as well.
Unfortunately, the match was held in Rotterdam, where Dortmund lost 2-3 to
host Feyenoord in a rough match.
Leverkusen choked. There is no other way to put things. They were
clearly the best team through most of the season, but an ending collapse
of monumental proportions did them in. Unfortunately, this may have been
the best chance, as Aspirin fans will see their team broken up in the
offseason. Bayer also reached the final of the DFB Cup, which was lost 2-4
to Schalke 04. Then half a week later, they lost the Champions League
final 1-2 to Real Madrid. So what could have been a season of legendary
proportions ended up as a goose egg.
Defending Champion Bayern
München could never really get off track. Despite a singy
defense, especially early in the season, they never looked like they could
defend their title. The Champions League title defense also petered out,
so they basically end up with no silverware. It took a strong
finish stretch to reach the Champions League qualifying rounds for
next year. However, they remain the
megabucks of the league, as witnessed as their signing of Leverkusen star
Michael Ballack for the upcoming season. Hertha and Schalke
never really threatened in the title race, but both jockeyed for position
and perhaps hoping to reach the Champions League. Frequent injuries to the
scoring duo of Sand and Mpenza fatally weakened Schalke, and Berlin was
too inconsistent when they needed big results.
Of the mid level teams, Bremen had some good results and played
attractive football. They seem to be an upcoming squad, maybe ready to
move up to the next level. Kaiserslautern got off to a decent start
and even had visions of gandeur. Then reality came crashing home, and they
sucked, slinking home to a crap Intertoto Cup finish. After some house
cleaning and some new signings, they may be back next season.
Nürnberg was pretty much crap most of the season, but the
addition of a couple of Brazilians, Paulo Rink (from Leverkusen) and Cacau
(from the B team) inspired "der Club" just enough to score some critical
results and save themselves. Both eastern clubs, Rostock and
especially Cottbus continue to defy the pundits and maintained thei
Bundesliga standing. The grim reality of a continuous relegation battle
seems to have focused both squads into getting desperate points when
needed.
Stuttgart, 1860 and
Wolfsburg were pretty much crap/acceptable through the season, and
ended up with ho-hum rankings. Hamburg expected better things and
have to be disappointed with their crap finish, as the seemed especially
lame down the stretch. Gladbach achieved their goal of maintaining
the Bundesliga, as they young squad were able to come up with the critical
points when needed.
On the bottom, St.Pauli everybody expected to
struggle from day
one. Not surprisingly, they weren't good enough, but fought mightily and
gave a good account of themselves. Köln dug themselves a hole
early and got into a hopeless situation. When the squad started to play
well, it was too late. Freiburg was a surprise. Volker Finke's
squad was certainly capable of greater things, but they completely
collapsed down the stretch and ruined what had been a promising start.
Their vaunted offensive style came up empty, and like the last relegation,
it comes after a decent previous season.
G W D L GF:GA Diff Pts
1. Borussia Dortmund 34 21 7 6 62:33 +29 70 CL
2. Bayer Leverkusen 34 21 6 7 77:38 +39 69 CL
--------------------------------------------------------------
3. Bayern München (M) 34 20 8 6 65:25 +40 68 CLQ
4. Hertha BSC Berlin 34 18 7 9 61:38 +23 61 UEFA
5. FC Schalke 04 (P) 34 18 7 9 52:36 +16 61 UEFA
6. Werder Bremen 34 17 5 12 54:43 +11 56 UEFA
7. 1. FC Kaiserslautern 34 17 5 12 62:53 +9 56 UI
8. VfB Stuttgart 34 13 11 10 47:43 +4 50 UI
9. 1860 München 34 15 5 14 59:59 0 50 UI
10. VfL Wolfsburg 34 13 7 14 57:49 +8 46
11. Hamburger SV 34 10 10 14 51:57 -6 40
12. Borussia M'gladbach (N) 34 9 12 13 41:53 -12 39
13. Energie Cottbus 34 9 8 17 36:60 -24 35
14. Hansa Rostock 34 9 7 18 35:54 -19 34
15. 1. FC Nürnberg 34 10 4 20 34:57 -23 34
--------------------------------------------------------------
16. SC Freiburg 34 7 9 18 37:64 -27 30 relegated
17. 1. FC Köln (N) 34 7 8 19 26:61 -35 29 relegated
18. FC St. Pauli (N) 34 4 10 20 37:70 -33 22 relegated
M = Meister, defending Champion
P = Pokal, defending Cup Winner
N = Neuling, newly promoted
CL = Champions League
CLQ = Champions League Qualifying
UEFA = UEFA Cup
UI = Intertoto Cup
Scorers List:
18 - Max (1860), Amoroso (Dortmund),
17 - Elber (Bayern), Ballack (Leverkusen)
16 - Ailton (Werder), Klose (Kaisersl.)
15 - Pizarro (Bayern)
13 - Marcelinho (Hertha), Neuville (Leverkusen)
12 - Preetz (Hertha), van Lent (MG), Maric (Wolfsburg)
11 - Kirsten (Lever), Sand (Schalke), Koller (Dortmund), Lokvenc (Kaiser)
10 - Klimovitz (Wolfsburg), Meggele (Pauli), Everthon (Dortmund),
Ganea (Stuttgart)
Attendance:
Overall league average was 33,239
1. Dortmund 65,862 10. M'gladbach 29,773
2. Schalke 04 60,377 11. Nuernberg 29,164
3. Bayern Muenchen 52,312 12. Stuttgart 25,640
4. Hamburger SV 43,731 13. Freiburg 25,640
5. Kaiserslautern 39,105 14. Leverkusen 22,406
6. 1860 Muenchen 37,589 15. St.Pauli 22,234
7. Berlin 34,020 16. Rostock 19,157
8. Koeln 30,058 17. Cottbus 17,664
9. Bremen 29,967 18. Wolfsburg 14,669
The 2.Liga was dominated by champions Hannover, who led from start
to finish. The 96ers got off to a fantastic start, and went some 20 games
without losing, the longest run in German professional ranks this season.
Then they simply coasted home.
The battle for the remaining promotion spots was a dogfight. In the end,
Bundesliga retreads Bielefeld and Bochum nipped the others
and snuck in. Mainz seemed to have one foot in the top flight, but
a couple of crap results, and once again they threw it away by dumping on
the last match of the season. Fürth was also a contender for
most of the season, but they fell off in the last few games. Newly
promoted Union Berlin had a surprising season, and was in
contention for most of the year. Relegated Frankfurt wasn't much of
a factor, and instead spent most of the year dealing with financial
scandal.
For the mid table teams, they were basically mediocre. Duisburg has
to be disappointed, as they struggled throughout. On the other hand, their
neighbors in Oberhausen were just about dead by midseason, but a
coaching change inspired a revival that saved their bacon.
On the bottom, Babelsberg and Saarbrücken were total
crap and without much of a chance. Schweinfurt had some decent
results early, but then fell apart down the stretch. Unterhaching
takes a longer elevator ride. After dropping out of top flight, they were
unlucky to drop again, but couldn't get enough wins after playing tight.
(under the old 2 pt system, Aachen would have gone down.) The Hachingers
were reduced to hoping that Reutlingen would get the axe.
Initially, Reutlingen was denied a license by the DFB for financial
problems and were forcibly relegated. However, on appeal, that decision
was overturned and the Munich suburb team is sent down instead. But at the
last minute, another reprieve: Eintracht Frankfurt was denied a license,
and once again Unterhaching was "saved".
Despite the presence of potential draws like Frankfurt, attendance was
mediocre this year, slightly above 9,000 per match, down about 500 from
last year and almost 2,000 below the peak of 1998-99. However, next season
should see a revival: good draws in Köln and Freiburg, possibly
St.Pauli and the return of Braunschweig.
1. Hannover 96 34 22 9 3 93:37 +56 75 promoted
2. Arminia Bielefeld 34 19 8 7 68:38 +30 65 promoted
3. VfL Bochum (A) 34 19 8 7 69:49 +20 65 promoted
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4. FSV Mainz 05 34 18 10 6 66:38 +28 64
5. Greuther Fürth 34 16 11 7 62:41 +21 59
6. 1. FC Union Berlin (N) 34 16 8 10 61:41 +20 56
7. Eintracht Frankfurt (A) 34 14 12 8 52:44 +8 54 (*)
8. LR Ahlen 34 14 6 14 60:70 -10 48
9. SV Waldhof Mannheim 34 12 9 13 42:48 -6 45
10. SSV Reutlingen (N) 34 13 5 16 53:57 -4 44 (*)
11. MSV Duisburg 34 11 10 13 56:57 -1 43
12. RotWeiss Oberhausen 34 11 9 14 55:49 +6 42
13. Karlsruher SC (N) 34 11 8 15 45:51 -6 41
14. Alemannia Aachen 34 12 4 18 41:67 -26 40
----------------------------------------------------------------------
15. SpVgg Unterhaching (A) 34 10 8 16 40:49 -9 38
16. 1. FC Saarbrücken 34 6 7 21 30:74 -44 25 relegated
17. FC Schweinfurt 05 (N) 34 6 6 22 30:70 -40 24 relegated
18. SV Babelsberg 03 (N) 34 4 6 24 39:82 -43 18 relegated
(*) - Reutlingen denied license. Forcibly relegated, pending appeal.
Overturned on upheld, then Unterhaching relegated. But then the same thing
happened to Frankfurt.
A = Absteiger, relegated last season
N = Neuling, newly promoted
Scorers list:
18 - Feinbier (Ahlen), Wichniarek (Arminia),
16 - Simak (Hannover), Kryszalowicz (Frankfurt), Stendel (Hannover),
Christiansen (Bochum)
15 - Azzouzi (Greuther),
14 - Ristic (Union), Melunovic (Schweinfurt)
13 - N'Kufo (Mainz)
12 - Ebbers (Duisburg), Thurk (Mainz)
11 - Kaufmann (Hannover), Klausz (Waldhof)
10 - Ciric (Frankfurt)
Attendance: (average 9,033)
1. Hannover 20,562 10. Fuerth 7,116
2. Frankfurt 14,151 11. Mannheim 6,325
3. Bielefeld 13,312 12. Reutlingen 6,213
4. Bochum 12,552 13. Ahlen 5,932
5. Aachen 11,904 14. Saarbruecken 5,765
6. Karlsruhe 11,807 15. Schweinfurt 5,720
7. Mainz 9,826 16. Unterhaching 4,959
8. Berlin 9,360 17. Oberhausen 4,784
9. Duisburg 7,821 18. Babelsberg 4,480
An exiciting race saw several teams contend for a promotion spot, although
in the end, the favorites prevailed. Lübeck was perhaps the
most consistent club in the league, and deservingly won the title.
Braunschweig had to struggle until the last match, when they eeked
out a win over Wattenscheid in the last second to gain promotion.
Essen hurt
themselves early with a penalty point, and in the end, that contributed to
their downfall. Wattenscheid proved to be a solid team, especially
in the 2nd half of the season. Whereas Uerdingen has to be
pleasantly surprised with their strong showing, disappointment reigned for
the two 2.Liga Absteiger, Chemnitz and
Osnabrück. Neither club mounted a serious promotion challenge.
All 4 newly promoted squads struggled at times, but all survived.
Magdeburg did so in a dramatic fashion, scoring 13 times in their
last two matches. The relegated teams, Dresden and the two
Fortunas were crap almost all year and deservedly drop.
Münster looks to survive only because the north squads did
well in the 2.Liga.
Ex-Bundesligist Heiko Bonan of RW Essen was named Player of the Year.
1. VfB Lübeck 34 20 5 9 70:46 +24 65 promoted
2. Eintracht Braunschweig 34 19 7 8 60:29 +31 64 promoted
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3. RotWeiss Essen 34 18 10 6 58:33 +25 63
4. SG Wattenscheid 09 34 17 7 10 64:51 +13 58
5. KFC Uerdingen 05 34 14 11 9 49:41 +8 53
6. Chemnitzer FC (A) 34 15 6 13 53:40 +13 51
7. VfL Osnabrück (A) 34 13 11 10 46:35 +11 50
8. Bayer Leverkusen Am. (N) 34 14 7 13 53:59 -6 49
9. Erzgebirge Aue 34 13 9 12 47:43 +4 48
10. Werder Bremen Am. 34 12 10 12 50:51 -1 46
11. SC Verl 34 12 9 13 57:61 -4 45
12. 1. FC Magdeburg (N) 34 11 10 13 54:54 0 43 (**)
13. Holstein Kiel (N) 34 10 12 12 36:51 -15 42
14. SC Paderborn 07 (N) 34 11 7 16 51:60 -9 40
----------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Preußen Münster 34 11 4 19 49:68 -19 37
16. Dresdner SC 34 9 5 20 41:60 -19 32
17. Fortuna Düsseldorf 34 8 8 18 36:57 -21 32 relegated
18. Fortuna Köln 34 6 8 20 33:68 -35 26 relegated
* - Essen deducted one point for financial shenanigans.
** - Magdeburg goes into bankruptcy and is therefore relegated. Dresdner SC
is spared the axe.
Scorers List:
19 - Gerov (Paderborn), Teixeira (Braunschweig)
16 - Milde (Verl)
15 - Iyodo (Wattenscheid)
14 - Scharping (Luebeck), Altintop (Wattenscheid)
12 - Lau (Dresden), Mamoum (Bremen)
11 - de Wit (Braunschw.), Guscinas (Kiel), Daun (Leverk.),
Lintjens (Wattenscheid), Dobry (Magdeburg)
10 - Wolf (Essen), Homola (Lubeck)
Attendance: (average 3,766)
1. Braunschweig 11,921 10. Kiel 2,552
2. Essen 8,961 11. Paderborn 2,219
3. Osnabrück 6,140 12. Uerdingen 2,099
4. Düsseldorf 5,730 13. Wattenscheid 1,502
5. Lübeck 5,305 14. Verl 1,420
6. Magdeburg 4,464 15. Dresden 1,032
7. Münster 4,398 16. Koeln 975
8. Chemnitz 4,036 17. Leverkusen 897
9. Aue 3,314 18. Bremen 816
REGIONALLIGA SÜD (3rd division)
Burghausen pretty much led the race start-to-finish, an outstanding
season. Trier joined them in promotion with a week to spare. Given
the long effort the Mosel club has expended on gaining the 2.Liga, it's
about time. Regensburg made a valiant effort, but fell short.
The relegated squads were basically crap and deserve to be on the bottom.
Ansbach deserves some sympathy though, since they were a completely
amateur squad and gave it their best shot.
1. Wacker Burghausen 34 19 10 5 49:22 +27 67 promoted
2. Eintracht Trier 34 16 11 7 51:34 +17 59 promoted
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Jahn Regensburg 34 17 7 10 57:40 +17 58
4. VfR Aalen 34 17 5 12 67:60 +7 56
5. RotWeiss Erfurt 34 15 9 10 47:31 +16 54
6. SV Wehen 34 14 12 8 50:45 +5 54
7. Spfr. Siegen 34 14 10 10 49:37 +12 52
8. Kickers Offenbach 34 14 8 12 42:37 +5 50
9. VfR Mannheim 34 12 13 9 47:42 +5 49
10. FC Bayern Amat. 34 13 9 12 58:51 +7 48
11. SV Elversberg 34 14 6 14 41:41 0 48
12. Stuttgarter Kickers (A) 34 10 14 10 42:45 -3 44
13. TSG Hoffenheim (N) 34 11 9 14 53:49 +4 42
14. SV Darmstadt 98 34 10 12 12 43:45 -2 42
----------------------------------------------------------------------
15. 1.FC K'lautern Am. (N) 34 9 7 18 41:60 -19 34 relegated
16. VfB Stuttgart Amat. 34 8 7 19 43:58 -15 31 relegated
17. SpVgg Ansbach (N) 34 7 7 20 27:66 -39 28 relegated
18. Borussia Fulda (N) 34 2 12 20 23:67 -44 18 relegated
Scorers List:
18 - Ben Neticha (Wehen)
16 - Würll (Offenbach), Hebestreit (Erfurt)
15 - Tölcseres (Jahn)
14 - Agu (Aalen), Winkler (Trier), Costa (Darmstadt), Hoffmann (Bayern)
13 - Mifsud (Kaisersl.), Idrissou (Wehen), Misimovic (Bayern),
Coulibaly (Aalen)
12 - Rogosic (Aalen), Maier (Darmstadt), Bettenstaedt (Siegen),
11 - van Buskirk (Siegen)
10 - Fühbeis (Burghausen)