FINAL STANDINGS: G W L T GF:GA Diff Pts 1. FC Bayern München (M,P) 34 19 6 9 62:37 +25 63 CL 2. FC Schalke 04 34 18 8 8 65:35 +30 62 CL ------------------------------------------------------------ 3. Borussia Dortmund 34 16 10 8 62:42 +20 58 CLQ 4. Bayer 04 Leverkusen 34 17 6 11 54:40 +14 57 CLQ 5. Hertha BSC Berlin 34 18 2 14 58:52 +6 56 UEFA 6. SC Freiburg 34 15 10 9 54:37 +17 55 UEFA ------------------------------------------------------------ 7. SV Werder Bremen 34 15 8 11 53:48 +5 53 UI 8. 1. FC Kaiserslautern 34 15 5 14 49:54 -5 50 9. VfL Wolfsburg 34 12 11 11 60:45 +15 47 UI 10. 1. FC Köln (N) 34 12 10 12 59:52 +7 46 11. TSV München 1860 34 12 8 14 43:55 -12 44 UI 12. FC Hansa Rostock 34 12 7 15 34:47 -13 43 13. Hamburger SV 34 10 11 13 58:58 0 41 14. FC Energie Cottbus (N) 34 12 3 19 38:52 -14 39 15. VfB Stuttgart 34 9 11 14 42:49 -7 38 ------------------------------------------------------------ 16. SpVgg. Unterhaching 34 8 11 15 35:59 -24 35 relegated 17. Eintracht Frankfurt 34 10 5 19 41:68 -27 35 relegated 18. VfL Bochum (N) 34 7 6 21 30:67 -37 27 relegated M = Meister, defending champion P = Pokal, defending cupwinner N = Neuling, newly promoted CL = direct qualified for Champions League CLQ = Champions League Qualifying Round UEFA = UEFA Cup UI = UI Cup (Intertoto) Goalgetters: 1. Ebbe Sand (Schalke 04) 22 2. Sergej Barbarez (HSV) 22 3. Claudio Pizarro (Bremen) 19 4. Michael Preetz (Hertha) 16 5. Giovane Elber (Bayern) 15 6. Oliver Neuville (Leverksn) 15 7. Ailton (Bremen) 14 8. Emile Mpenza (Schalke) 13 9. Ulf Kirsten (Leverkusen) 12 10. Andrzej Juskowiak (Wolfsbg) 12 11. Paul Agostino (1860) 12 12. Carsten Jancker (Bayern) 12
The Bundesliga season ended sensationally, as Bayern nipped their continuing record with the 17th title. However, it all came down to a questionable finale. Needing only a draw in Hamburg to win the title over Schalke, Bayern gave up a goal in the 90th minute to trail 0-1. Meanwhile, over in Gelsenkirchen, Schalke had just finished a tough 5-3 win over desperate Unterhaching. Schalke was champion for the first time in 43 years! But wait, there were 4 minutes of extra time in Hamburg. For some unknown reason, Hamburg's ex-Schalker keeper Schober unexplicabley handled the ball on a backwards pass - Bayern got a free kick, and Patrick Andersson hammered in the tying goal, giving the title to Bayern.
Bayern München won their record 17th title, but it was difficult. At times, they seemed distracted by the Champions League, and suffered setbacks (like a stunning defeat at Energie Cottbus). But with their backs to the wall, Bayern's veterans ground out the points and sneaked to the win. Runner-up Schalke was the sensation of the league. After several poor seasons, die Knappen were back with a vengeance. Led by dynamic forwards Ebbe Sand and Emile Mpenza, Schalke attacked well and seemed to have won the title until choking at the wire. They did manage to take home some silver though, as they defeated sensation Union Berlin to win the DFB-Cup.
Of the teams that qualified for UEFA-Cup, Dortmund was a slight surprise, as Matthias Sammer debuted as coach and got solid performances. On the other hand, Leverkusen expected to win the title. However, things seemed to fall apart when coach Christoph Daum was forced out in the wake of the drug scandal. When they finally settled on Berti Vogts as his replacement, Vogts secured his reputation as being a nice guy, but a crap coach, and Bayer needed a large dose of their Aspirins. Whereas Hertha BSC was expected to turn in a solid season, Freiburg was a sensation due to a wide open attacking game and a strong finish.
Bremen was simply too inconsistent to finish higher, but Kaiserslautern was a major disappointment. The Reds finally crashed out of the UEFA in the semis, but they began to fall apart in the league stretch run too. Expect some house cleaning in the off season. Wolfsburg continues to defy odds and put in decent results, whereas newcomer Köln got off to a quick start and held their ground throughout.
1860 and Rostock had poor starts and struggled against relegation until pulling free near the end. Hamburg did just the opposite. Cottbus surprised everybody by surviving, as they were picked by virtually everybody to go go down. On the other hand, starting a couple of games with no German players certainly put a new light on small budgets. Stuttgart continued it's slide from a great exciting attacking team to an organization in disarray, barely missing relegation.
Of the teams going down, Unterhaching put up a good fight, but finally couldn't make it. It's amazing they managed to last this long. Frankfurt generally sucked, and Bochum was lame throughout.
STANDINGS: 1. 1.FC Nürnberg 34 20 5 9 58:35 +23 65 promoted 2. Borussia Mönchengladbach 34 17 11 6 62:31 +31 62 promoted 3. FC St. Pauli 34 17 9 8 70:52 +18 60 promoted ------------------------------------------------------------ 4. SV Waldhof Mannheim 34 17 8 9 57:42 +15 59 5. SpVgg. Greuther Fürth 34 15 9 10 55:38 +17 54 6. LR Ahlen (N) 34 15 9 10 60:52 +8 54 7. SSV Reutlingen (N) 34 15 8 11 64:52 +12 53 8. 1. FC Saarbrücken (N) 34 14 8 12 48:58 -10 50 9. Hannover 96 34 12 10 12 52:45 +7 46 10. Alemannia Aachen 34 13 7 14 42:60 -18 46 11. MSV Duisburg (A) 34 12 9 13 45:40 +5 45 12. Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 34 13 6 15 45:50 -5 45 13. Arminia Bielefeld (A) 34 10 11 13 53:46 +7 41 14. FSV Mainz 05 34 10 10 14 37:45 -8 40 ------------------------------------------------------------ 15. VfL Osnabrück (N) 34 9 10 15 40:52 -12 37 relegated 16. SSV Ulm 1846 (A) 34 9 7 18 42:58 -16 34 relegated 17. Stuttgarter Kickers 34 8 10 16 31:51 -20 34 relegated 18. Chemnitzer FC 34 3 7 24 24:78 -54 16 relegated A = Absteiger, just relegated from Bundesliga N = Neuling, just promoted from Regionalliga Note: Ulm denied a 3rd division license, and busted down to Oberliga. Leading Scorers: --------------- Oliver Djappa (Reutlingen) 18 Artur Wichniarek (Bielefeld) 18 Sambo Choji (Saarbrucken) 16 Marcel Rath (St.Pauli) 15 Arie van Lent (M'gladbach) 14 Xie Hui (Aachen) 14 Marcus Feinbier (Ahlen) 13 Thomas Meggele (St.Pauli) 13
The Zweite Liga turned into quite an interesting season.
Nürnberg was dominant from the start, and pretty mcuh led
start to finish. By the end of the season, they were beginning to wear
thin, but still clinched the title. The young M'Gladbach team was
solid and finished strong. However, the real story was St.Pauli,
picked by most to be the first relegated team - they had the lowest
operating budget. Instead, they stunned everyone by hanging in. And
they needed to win on the last day of the season - at Nürnberg
- and they pulled it off.
Clubs such as Waldhof and Fürth had fine seasons, as
did newcomer Ahlen. The Ahleners were dead last early, but with new
coach
Peter Neururer, they turned things around with a great run.
Last year's relegated teams were disappointments across the board.
Duisburg never really contended, and s stunned Bielefeld was
almost relegated. Ulm was crap, and dropped out of sight.
Also taking the drop was newcomer Osnabrueck, who were floundering
in last place midway. But then almost saved themselves with a great 2nd
half.
Bringing up the rear was Chemnitz, who were clearly overmatched.
Note: The Regionalligen were reduced from 4 to 2 this season.
FINAL STANDINGS:
G GF:GA Diff Pts
1. 1.FC Union Berlin 36 62:23 +39 73 promoted UEFA
2. SV Babelsberg 36 57:41 +16 68 promoted
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3. VfB Luebeck 36 69:43 +26 62
4. Fortuna Koeln (A) 36 58:42 +16 62
5. Preussen Muenster 36 66:50 +16 61
6. SC Verl 36 53:46 +7 55
7. Erzgebirge Aue 36 39:48 -9 54
8. Eintracht Braunschweig 36 55:43 +12 49
9. Dresdner SC 36 38:41 -3 49
10. SV Wilhelmshaven 92 36 55:55 0 48 relegated
11. SG Wattenscheid 09 36 65:66 -1 48
12. KFC Uerdingen 05 36 50:62 -12 48
13. Rot Weiss Essen 36 45:54 -9 47
14. Sachsen Leipzig 36 42:43 -1 45 relegated
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15. Werder Bremen Amat. 36 49:53 -4 45
16. Fortuna Duesseldorf 36 46:52 -6 45
17. Lueneburger SK 36 52:73 -21 33 relegated
18. Borussia Dortmund Amat. 36 36:55 -19 30 relegated
19. Tennis Borussia Berlin (A) 36 33:80 -47 23 relegated
A = Absteiger; relegated previous season from 2.Liga
N = Neuling; promoted previous season from Oberliga
Top 2 teams promoted into 2.Liga
Bottom 5 teams are relegated to Oberliga
Leading Scorers:
---------------
Daniel Teixeira (Braunschweig) 32
Carlos Castilla (Münster) 16
Jens Scharping (Lüneburg) 16
Dirk Weetendorf (Braunschwieg) 16
The Regionalliga Nord contained a few surprises. Union Berlin
entered the season as a tentative favorite. The Berliners started out
slowly, but they hid their pace mid season, and were unstoppable. Not only
did they wrap up a promotion spot early, but they had a sensational run to
the finals of the DFB Cup. They were stopped 0-2 by Schalke, but gave
a good account of themselves. Their reward was qualification for the UEFA
Cup, the first 3rd division club ever. Well done, Eisern-Union!
Meanwhile, the Postdamers of Babelsberg were not expected to contend seriously. But they hung tough throughout, and were finally rewarded as their 1-0 victory in the last round assured promotion and simultaneously sent Duesseldorf down.
Lübeck, Fortuna Köln and Münster all had solid seasons, and were in contention for promotion till the end. Verl and Aue have to be happy with their finish, as strong endspurts enabled them to grab a top half spot.
One of the biggest disappointments was Braunschweig. They were picked to win it all, and indeed topped the table at winterbreak. But then they descended into chaos and totally crapped out in the 2nd half.
At the bottom, the only real surprise was how fast Tennis Borussia fell. With the collapse of their money-bags sponsor, TB was left in the lurch and deserted by it's mercenary players. With little more than the youth squad and some oldtimers, they finished out the season, but relegation was inevitable. Düsseldorf was also relegated, but then reprieved. Since both Leipzig and Wilhelmshaven were denied 3rd division license by the finance commitee of the DFB, Fortuna would be saved.
Brazilian forward Daniel Teixeira of Uerdingen/Braunschweig was named Player of the Year.
FINAL STANDINGS:
G GF:GA Diff Pts
1. Karlsruher SC (A) 34 48:25 +23 61 promoted
2. VfB Stuttgart Am. 34 57:38 +19 58
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3. FC Schweinfurt 05 34 57:43 +14 57 promoted
4. Eintracht Trier 34 48:34 +14 57
5. SV Darmstadt 98 34 46:39 +7 53
6. SpFr Siegen 34 45:45 0 50
7. VfR Aalen 34 45:37 +8 49
8. VfR Mannheim 34 50:45 +5 45
9. FC Bayern Muenchen Amat. 34 52:55 -3 44
10. Kickers Offenbach (A) 34 39:43 -4 44
11. SV Wehen 34 41:49 -8 44
12. Jahn Regensburg (N) 34 57:62 -5 43
13. Wacker Burghausen 34 46:52 -6 43
14. SV Elversberg 34 40:58 -18 43
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15. Rot Weiss Erfurt 34 40:47 -7 39 relegated
16. 1860 Muenchen Amat. 34 49:63 -14 37 relegated
17. SC Pfullendorf 34 42:49 -7 36 relegated
18. FC Carl Zeiss Jena 34 39:57 -18 29 relegated
A = Absteiger; relegated previous year from 2.Liga
N = Neuling; promoted previous year from Oberliga
Top two clubs promoted to 2.Liga ("Amateur" squads not eligible)
Bottom 4 teams relegated to Oberliga
Leading Scorers:
---------------
Marco Barcelaj (Pfullendorf) 18
Antonio di Salvo (Bayern Am.) 16
Michael Fersch (Regensburg) 14
Danny Fuchs (1860 Am.) 14
The South division looked like a runaway. Relegated Karlsruhe put
things together and dominated with a stingy defense and were running away
with things. Rookie coach Stefan Kuntz built his club around
young players, and it paid dividends. Sensationally, Schweinfurt
kept pace, and by halfway, it looked all
over. But then they began to falter, and a race developed that went down
to
the wire. In the end,
Eintracht Trier blew it. They went into the last match at home only
really
needing a draw against Stuttgart's amateurs. Instead they lost, and ended
up tied with Schweinfurt on points and goal difference. But the next tie
breaker is goals scored, and here they lost. VfB Stuttgart Amateurs
actually ended up in 2nd, but since they are barred from promotion,
Schweinfurt gets the spot.
On the bottom, not much good news, except that 1860 Amateurs go
down, eliminating another "amateur" squad. The two east German teams,
Erfurt and Jena were very disappointing, indicating
continued weakness in eastern football. Pfullendorf made a gallant
effort, but weren't strong enough.
(c) Abseits Guide to Germany - www.abseits-soccer.com