No drama this year, as Bayern mercilessly crushed all opposition
and ran away with the title.
Runners-up Stuttgart was a pleasant surprise. The team is
essentially rebuilt with young players, and showed initiative and drive,
and were rewarded by a Champions League spot. Whether they flame and burn
out like the exciting team of a few years ago is still in the cards, but
for this year at least, the future looks bright.
Defending champ Dortmund had a solid season on paper, but by
everybody's expectation, they sucked, since they wanted to seriously
defend their title. Hamburg and Hertha Berlin on the other
hand, have to be relatively pleased with their campaigns, as both looked
to have laid the foundation for improvements.
Schalke is another team at the crossroads. Bitter disappointment is
in order "Auf Schalke" as the team basically quit near the end of the
season. The clubhouse is in turmoil, and not just because they have
"Heulsuse der Nation" (crybaby whiner of the nation) Andy Moeller in their
ranks. The listless play was an affront to the dedicated Schalke fans, so
expect a major house cleaning in the off season.
Kaiserslautern looked dead and buried by mid season. The club was
mired in last place and financially bankrupt. But ex-Belgian international
Erik Gerets took over for a clueless Andy Brehme, and FCK began the climb
back to salvation. On the financial side, the taxpayers of Rheinland Pfalz
ended up footing the bill to get the club out of the crapper.
Nuernberg was clearly not Bundesliga quality, and pretty much
sucked. Like Bielefeld, they lived "down" to their
reputation as an elevator club. Cottbus' superhuman efforts of
staying up finally came to
and end, and with financial difficulties mounting, they could disappear
from the radar.
From an attendance standpoint, despite the small parks in Cottbus and
Leverkusen, it was another successful year, with the average draw over
34,000.
1. Bayern München 34 23 6 5 70:25 +45 75 CL
2. VfB Stuttgart 34 17 8 9 53:39 +14 59 CL
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3. Borussia Dortmund (M) 34 15 13 6 51:27 +24 58 CLQ
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4. Hamburger SV 34 15 11 8 46:36 +10 56 UEFA
5. Hertha BSC Berlin 34 16 6 12 52:43 +9 54 UEFA
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6. Werder Bremen 34 16 4 14 51:50 +1 52
7. FC Schalke 04 (P) 34 12 13 9 46:40 +6 49
8. VfL Wolfsburg 34 13 7 14 39:42 -3 46
9. VfL Bochum (N) 34 12 9 13 55:56 -1 45
10. 1860 München 34 12 9 13 44:52 -8 45
11. Hannover 96 (N) 34 12 7 15 47:57 -10 43
12. Borussia M'gladbach 34 11 9 14 43:45 -2 42
13. Hansa Rostock 34 11 8 15 35:41 -6 41
14. 1. FC Kaiserslautern 34 10 10 14 40:42 -2 40
15. Bayer Leverkusen 34 11 7 16 47:56 -9 40
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16. Arminia Bielefeld (N) 34 8 12 14 35:46 -11 36 relegated
17. 1. FC Nürnberg 34 8 6 20 33:60 -27 30 relegated
18. Energie Cottbus 34 7 9 18 34:64 -30 30 relegated
Scoring:
1. Elber (Bayern) 21
2. T. Christiansen (Bochum) 21
3. Ailton (Bremen) 16
4. Kuranyi (Stuttgart) 15
5. Pizarro (Bayern) 15
6. Bobic (Hannover) 14
7. Marcelinho (Hertha) 14
8. Romeo (Hamburg) 14
9. Schroth (1860) 14
10. Koller (Dortmund) 13
11. Lauth (1860) 13
12. Ciric (Nuernberg) 12
13. Maric (Wolfsburg) 12
14. Wichniarek (Bielefeld) 12
Average Attendance: 34,198
1. Dortmund 67,859 10. M'gladbach 29,000
2. Schalke 60,583 11. Nuernberg 28,247
3. Bayern 52,471 12. 1860 26,518
4. Hamburg 45,625 13. Bochum 25,015
5. Hertha 42,131 14. Bielefeld 23,267
6. Hannover 36,496 15. Leverkusen 22,500
7. Kaiserslautern 36,230 16. Rostock 19,871
8. Stuttgart 34,376 17. Wolfsburg 19,412
9. Bremen 32,804 18. Cottbus 13,157
High drama in the 2.Liga this season. Whereas Koeln and
Freiburg ensured
promotion early, the last promotion and relegation spots went down to the
wire. In the end, Frankfurt scored twice in injury time against
Reutlingen to sneak past Mainz, who were beating Braunschweig away.
This allowed the Frankfurters to go up on goal difference. Fuerth,
which might have also sneaked in with a win, instead was thumped by
relegation threatened Karlsruhe.
On the bottom, Mannheim had a crap season and was dead last.
St.Pauli put
in a good end run, but ran out of gas. Reutlingen was unfortunate,
as they
were penalized 6 points by the DFB for financial irregularities - points
that cost them relegation. In addition, they failed to
take care of tyhe problem that got them into the mess
in the first place, and were denied a Regionalliga
license, forcing a drop to the Oberliga. Braunschweig was dead last
most of
the season, but fought back. But they needed a win against Mainz to save
possibly save themselves, and got ripped instead. St.Pauli
struggled all season on the field and financially. They seemed to be
getting both things in order in the 2nd half, but ran out of gas. For
Mannheim, it
would be a grim season indeed. The previous semi-fusion between Waldhof
and VfR was only partially successful, as obviously the team failed to
deliver. Then at the end of the season, the Waldhofers had to declare
bankruptcy, and the DFB Finance Committee denied them a Regionalliga
license, so they srop down to the Oberliga.
1. SC Freiburg (A) 34 20 7 7 58:32 +26 67 promoted
2. 1.FC Köln (A) 34 18 11 5 63:45 +18 65 promoted
3. Eintracht Frankfurt 34 17 11 6 59:33 +26 62 promoted
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4. FSV Mainz 05 34 19 5 10 64:39 +25 62
5. SpVgg Greuther Fürth 34 15 12 7 55:35 +20 57
6. Alemannia Aachen 34 14 9 11 57:48 +9 51
7. Eintracht Trier (N) 34 14 6 14 53:46 +7 48
8. MSV Duisburg 34 12 10 12 42:47 -5 46
9. 1.FC Union Berlin 34 10 15 9 36:48 -12 45
10. SV Wacker Burghausen (N) 34 10 14 10 48:41 +7 44
11. VfB Lübeck (N) 34 13 5 16 51:50 +1 44
12. LR Ahlen 34 11 7 16 48:60 -12 40
13. Karlsruher SC 34 9 12 13 35:47 -12 39
14. RotWeiss Oberhausen 34 10 7 17 38:48 -10 37
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15. Eintracht Braunschweig (N)34 8 10 16 33:53 -20 34 relegated
16. SSV Reutlingen 34 11 6 17 43:53 -10 33 relegated
17. FC St. Pauli (A) 34 7 10 17 48:67 -19 31 relegated
18. SV Waldhof Mannheim 34 6 7 21 32:71 -39 25 relegated
Scoring:
1. Woronin (Mainz) 20
2. Frommer (Reutlingen) 18
3. Ivanovic (Aachen) 18
4. Scherz (Koeln) 18
5. Bajramovic (Freiburg) 15
6. Ebbers (Duisburg) 15
7. Braham (Trier) 13
8. Lottner (Koeln) 13
9. Roesler (Fuerth) 13
10. Labbadia (Karlsruhe) 12
11. Baerwolf (Luebeck) 12
12. Beliakov (Oberhausen) 11
13. Bella (Ahlen) 11
To look for the sensation, you only have to look at the top: Erzgebirge
Aue stunned everybody, including themselves, by taking the title. The
club had hoped for a secure place in mid-table, but solid performance
throughout the season carried them to the top. For the decisive battle on
the last day against Borussia Dortmund Amateurs, they drew 16,500 fans;
this in a town of only 19,700!
Both Essen and Wattenscheid were contenders throughout the year,
but stumbled badly at the end.
On the bottom, bad luck for Verl,
which went down at the last
instance. In fact, HSV Amateurs had an unfair advantage, as they
played and won on Monday at Uerdingen, knowing that they needed a win. The
rest of the league had ended on Sunday. The other relegated teams,
Bablesberg, Leverkusen mini-aspirins and Dresdner SC were pretty
lame throughout the campaign, so deservedly go down.
Essen and Osnabrueck averaged over 9,000 per home game. Meanwhile, most of
the "amateur" squads had averages of 1,000 or less.
1. Erzgebirge Aue 34 20 6 8 59:34 +25 66 promoted
2. VfL Osnabrueck 34 19 8 7 56:29 +27 65 promoted
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3. RotWeiss Essen 34 16 12 6 56:33 +23 60
4. Wattenscheid 09 34 16 8 10 66:49 +17 56
5. Bor. Dortmund Am. 34 13 12 9 57:51 +6 51
6. Werder Bremen Am. 34 13 11 10 59:53 +6 50
7. Dynamo Dresden 34 13 11 10 34:34 0 50
8. SC Paderborn 07 34 13 8 13 58:49 +9 47
9. 1. FC Koeln Am. 34 12 9 13 52:55 -3 45
10. KFC Uerdingen 05 34 13 6 15 43:51 -8 45
11. Chemnitzer FC 34 12 8 14 47:55 -8 44
12. Preussen Muenster 34 12 7 15 45:55 -10 43
13. Holstein Kiel 34 10 12 12 54:54 0 42
14. Hamburger SV Am. 34 10 11 13 44:52 -8 41
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15. SC Verl 34 12 4 18 47:65 -18 40 relegated
16. SV Babelsberg 03 34 9 7 18 54:73 -19 34 relegated
17. Bayer Leverkusen Am. 34 9 6 19 46:59 -13 33 relegated
18. Dresdner SC 34 7 8 19 32:58 -26 29 relegated
Scoring:
1. Guscinas (Kiel) 23
2. Halil Altintop (Wattens.) 19
3. Demir (Chemnitz) 18
4. Gerov (Paderborn) 18
5. Loebe (Wattensch.) 17
6. A. Weber (Essen) 16
7. Haedo Valdez (Bremen Am.) 15
8. Antwerpen (Muenster) 14
9. Claassen (Osnabrueck) 13
10. Jank (Aue) 13
11. Bester (HSV Am.) 12
12. Chalaskiewicz (Babelsb.) 12
13. Federico (Koeln Am.) 12
14. Lau (Babelsberg) 12
15. Steegmann (Koeln) 12
Attendance:
Total: 937,246 Average: 3,063
1. Rot-Weiss Essen 161,376 9,492
2. VfL Osnabrück 154,550 9,091
3. Dynamo Dresden 113,465 6,674
4. Erzgebirge Aue 84,020 4,942
5. Chemnitzer FC 62,154 3,656
6. Preußen Münster 57,367 3,374
7. SV Babelsberg 03 38,491 2,264
8. KFC Uerdingen 35,963 2,115
9. Holstein Kiel 33,665 1,980
10. Dresdner SC 32,473 1,910
11. SC Paderborn 28,400 1,670
12. Wattenscheid 09 28,078 1,651
13. SC Verl 21,213 1,247
14. Bor. Dortmund Am. 19,667 1,156
15. 1. FC Köln Am. 19,036 1,119
16. Hamburger SV Am. 17,878 1,051
17. Bayer Leverkusen Am. 17,250 1,014
18. Werder Bremen Am. 12,200 717
REGIONALLIGA SÜD (3rd division)
Not too much excitement at the top as relegated Unterhaching
immediately bounced back to claim the title on goals scored.
Regensburg was a bit of a surprise, in the sense that they sailed
through without much trouble.
There weren't too many surprises. Augsburg, although newly
promoted, were expected to be decent. Saarbruecken was expected to
contend, but quickly fell off.
On the bottom, no stunning news. Stuttgart ended up being saved as
relegated 2.Liga club Waldhof Mannheim declared insolvency, and were
denied a Regionalliga license.
Siegen was initially relegated due to an error. They won 1-0 at bayern
amateurs,
but failed to field the required U24 player, and thereby forfeited. Their
fate will depend on whether relegated 2.Liga Reutlingen's appeal for a
Regionalliga license will be uphelp.
1. SpVgg Unterhaching (A) 36 22 7 7 75:34 +41 73 promoted
2. Jahn Regensburg 36 22 7 7 66:25 +41 73 promoted
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3. FC Augsburg (N) 36 17 8 11 55:39 +16 59
4. FC Bayern Amat. 36 16 9 11 51:35 +16 57
5. TSG Hoffenheim 36 15 10 11 60:44 +16 55
6. 1. FC Saarbrücken (A) 36 15 12 9 43:38 +5 53
7. SV Wehen 36 13 11 12 52:47 +5 50
8. Kickers Offenbach 36 11 17 8 42:38 +4 50
9. RotWeiss Erfurt 36 12 14 10 44:44 0 50
10. VfR Aalen 36 14 6 16 48:55 -7 47
11. SC Pfullendorf (N) 36 13 8 15 51:61 -10 47
12. 1. FC Schweinfurt 05 (A) 36 13 6 17 56:54 +2 45
13. 1.FC K'lautern Am. 36 11 12 13 43:47 -4 45
14. SV Elversberg 36 13 6 17 38:51 -13 45
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15. Stuttgarter Kickers 36 11 12 13 40:54 -14 45
16. Spfr. Siegen 36 11 10 15 47:55 -8 43 relegated
17. Darmstadt 98 36 11 9 16 42:53 -11 42 relegated
18. Eintr. Frankfurt Am. (N) 36 7 11 18 36:64 -28 32 relegated
19. Borussia Neunkirchen (N) 36 3 9 24 23:74 -51 18 relegated
Scoring:
1. Copado (Unterhaching) 24
2. Roemer (Pfullendorf) 22
3. Popovic (Schweinfurt) 20
4. Ollhoff (Hoffenheim) 19
5. Reeb (Augsburg) 15
6. Teinert (Hoffenheim) 14
7. Coulibaly (Augsburg) 13
8. Mehic (Wehen) 13
9. Papic (Regensburg) 13
10. Adzic (K'lautern) 12
11. Ben Neticha (Wehen) 12
12. Delic (Schweinfurt) 12
13. Hasenhuettel (Bayern) 12
14. M. Zimmermann (Unterh.) 12
15. Maier (Darmstadt) 12
16. Rogosic (Aalen) 12
17. Theres (Aalen) 12
18. Toelcseres (Regensburg) 12
M = Meister (defending Champion)
P = Pokal (defending Cup winner)
A = Absteiger (relegated last season)
N = Neuling (promoted last season)