The relegation battle turned out to be fairly interesting as well. Arminia turned out to be too weak, and the relegation of 1.FC Köln brought tears to the eyes of many fans. The Kölners were one of the original Bundesliga founders, back in 1963, and had never been relegated. Oh well, I guess all good things come to an end. Also somewhat of a shock was Karlsruhe going down, as they collapsed at season's end.
FINAL STANDINGS: 1. 1.FC Kaiserslautern (N) 63:39 +24 68 2. Bayern Muenchen (M) 69:37 +32 66 -------------------------------------------------- 3. Bayer Leverkusen 66:39 +27 55 4. VfB Stuttgart (P) 55:49 +6 52 5. Schalke 04 38:32 +6 52 -------------------------------------------------- 6. Hansa Rostock 54:46 +8 51 7. Werder Bremen 43:47 -4 50 8. MSV Duisburg 43:44 -1 44 9. Hamburger SV 38:46 -8 44 10. Borussia Dortmund 57:55 +2 43 11. Hertha BSC Berlin (N) 41:53 -12 43 12. VfL Bochum 41:49 -8 41 13. 1860 Muenchen 43:54 -11 41 14. VfL Wolfsburg (N) 38:54 -16 39 15. Borussia M'Gladbach 54:59 -5 38 -------------------------------------------------- 16. Karlsruher SC 48:60 -12 38 17. 1.FC Koeln 49:64 -15 36 18. Arminia Bielefeld 43:56 -13 32 M = Meister, defending champion P = Pokal, defending cupwinner N = Neuling, newly promoted 1st dotted line indicates qualified for Champions League 2nd dotted line indicates qualified for UEFA Cup 3rd dottted line indicates "Auf wiedersehen in Unterhaching" Scorers list: 22 - Kirsten (Leverkusen) 21 - Marschall (Kaisersl.) 14 - Chapuisat (Dortmund) 13 - Bobic (Stuttgart) 13 - Jancker (Bayern) 13 - Pettersson (M'gladbach) 13 - Polster (Köln) 13 - Präger (Wolfsburg) 13 - Winkler (1860)
At the bottom, a total collapse of the former GDR sees the relegation of 3 clubs.
FINAL STANDINGS: 1. Eintracht Frankfurt 50:32 +18 64 2. SC Freiburg (A) 57:36 +21 61 3. 1.FC Nuernberg (N) 52:35 +17 59 ------------------------------------------------- 4. FC St.Pauli (A) 43:31 +12 56 5. FC Guetersloh 43:26 +17 55 6. Fortuna Koeln 53:53 +0 46 7. Fortuna Duesseldorf (A) 52:54 -2 46 8. Energie Cottbus (N) 38:36 +2 45 9. SpVgg Greuther Fuerth (N) 32:32 +0 45 10. FSV Mainz 05 55:48 +7 44 11. SpVgg Unterhaching 41:35 +6 44 12. Kickers Stuttgart 44:47 -3 44 13. KFC Uerdingen 36:40 -4 43 14. SG Wattenscheid 09 (N) 41:41 +0 40 -------------------------------------------------- 15. VfB Leipzig 31:51 -20 39 16. FC Carl Zeiss Jena 39:61 -22 33 17. FSV Zwickau 32:55 -23 28 18. SV Meppen 35:61 -26 27
On the bottom, there was no doubt that Goettingen would go down. The only excitement was whether they would actually finish the season, as they were in dire financial straits. In fact, at one point, the players even went on strike. Delmenhorst was without much of a chance, and Norderstedt just couldn't put it together. Herzlake looked ready to declare bankruptcy, but a last second campaign raised enough sponsorship to save the club. VfL Hamburg was able to make the grade on the field, but management is debating whether to accept voluntary relegation as a way to cut costs.
Hannover 96 defeated Tennis Borussia Berlin (2-0,0-2) finally on penalties and were promoted to the 2.Liga.
FINAL STANDINGS: 1. Hannover 96 120:29 +91 89 ------------------------------------------------- 2. Eintracht Braunschweig 70:24 +46 82 3. VfL Osnabrueck 70:26 +42 66 4. Werder Bremen Amat. 91:52 +39 65 5. VfB Oldenburg (A) 69:48 +21 63 6. Arminia Hannover (N) 65:45 +20 56 7. VfB Luebeck (A) 60:45 +15 54 8. Kickers Emden 54:65 -11 44 9. Sv Wilhelmshaven 92 47:56 -9 42 10. Eintracht Nordhorn (N) 50:62 -12 40 11. VfL Hamburg 93 (N) 51:78 -27 40 12. FC Celle 50:68 -18 39 13. SpFr Ricklingen 40:59 -19 37 14. Hamburger SV Amat. 51:59 -8 36 15. VfL Hasetal Herzlake 39:71 -32 33 -------------------------------------------------- 16. SC Norderstedt 44:64 -20 31 17. Atlas Delmenhorst 37:83 -46 21 18. Goettingen 05 35:107 -72 13 A = Absteiger; relegated previous season from 2.Liga N = Neuling; promoted previous season from Oberliga
Since there really was no race for the title, just a question of whether TeBe would concede 10 goals, the rest were basically jockeying for position. Dresden was able to claim the crown prince title, on the strength of 10 straight games without defeat to close out the season. EFC Stahl managed a good placing.
FINAL STANDINGS: 1. Tennis Borussia Berlin 86:7 +79 92 -------------------------------------------------- 2. Dynamo Dresden 60:39 +21 60 3. FC Stahl Eisenhuettenstadt 68:55 +13 57 4. Sachsen Leipzig 60:36 +24 56 5. RotWeiss Erfurt 59:49 +10 56 6. 1.FC Union Berlin 46:36 +10 54 7. Erzgebirge Aue 43:43 0 52 8. Chemnitzer FC 54:36 +18 51 9. Lok Altmark Stendal 50:56 -6 51 10. VFC Plauen 55:51 +4 48 11. FC Berlin 55:55 0 43 12. 1.FC Magdeburg (N) 60:65 -5 39 13. Spandauer SV 62:64 -2 39 14. SV Babelsberg (N) 35:50 -15 38 -------------------------------------------------- 15. Hertha Zehlendorf 39:62 -23 34 16. Reinickendorf Fuechse 27:64 -37 31 17. Wacker Nordhausen 32:58 -26 29 18. Hansa Rostock Amat. (N) 34:77 -43 20
When Trier began to falter, Oberhausen seized control, and essentially never let go, winning the championship deservedly. Siegen proved to be the sensation, as they consistently climbed the table, and fended off all challenges to hold onto the 2nd spot.
There were three major disappointments this season. LR Ahlen spent tons of DM in the offseason, and were considered by many as a preseason favorite, but they never really got started. Wuppertal, which had contended in previous years, had a horrible season. And RW Essen experienced absolute disaster, and were relegated.
Whereas there was never any doubt that Teveren would go down, Bonn put together a nice end of season run that culminated in a nice upset of Oberhausen on the final day. However, it was not enough, as Salmrohr saved itself by defeating....Eintracht Trier on the last day. Although Bonn made some hints that something was not right here, you would have to say that Salmrohr fought hard, basically fielding a youth team for most of the season.
FINAL STANDINGS: 1. RotWeiss Oberhausen 66:31 +35 71 2. SpFr Siegen (N) 69:37 +32 65 ------------------------------------------------- 3. FC Homburg 70:38 +32 59 4. 1.FC Saarbruecken 70:43 +27 59 5. Eintracht Trier 56:41 +15 54 6. LR Ahlen 62:52 +10 51 7. Alemannia Aachen 62:46 +16 49 8. Preussen Muenster 57:48 +9 49 9. SC Paderborn 07 61:37 +24 48 10. SC Verl 52:56 -4 47 11. 1.FC Kaisersl. Amat. (N) 45:46 -1 46 12. Wuppertaler SV 49:58 -9 43 13. FC Remscheid 40:55 -15 38 14. FSV Salmrohr 33:66 -33 37 15. SpVgg Erkenschwick 41:69 -28 36 -------------------------------------------------- 16. Bonner SC (N) 34:65 -31 35 17. RW Essen (A) 41:80 -39 30 18. Germannia Teveren 32:72 -40 24 A = Absteiger; relegated previous year from 2.Liga N = Neuling; promoted previous year from Oberliga
Waldhof, just relegated from the 2.Liga, was a huge disappointment. They declared from the start that their goal was immediate re-promotion, and their budget to accomplish that dwarfed most other clubs. Despite some decent results, they struggled and eventually fell out of the race. Probably the most excitement in Mannheim was the proposed merger between Waldhof and rival VfR. An agreement had apparently been reached by management, but angry fans on both sides voted down the merger.
On the bottom, the first relegated club was known in early December. Hessen Kassel was forced to declare bankruptcy, and all matches were therefore annulled. Where Kassel will actually play next year has yet to be determined, as the club was refounded in February 1998. Whereas Kirchheim was beaten down on the field early enough, Darmstadt waged a desperate struggle until the end. Unfortunately, Offenbach crashed in the promotion playoffs against Tennis Borussia, thereby condemning the Darmstaedters.
FINAL STANDINGS: 1. SSV Ulm 1846 63:36 +27 60 2. Kickers Offenbach (N) 56:37 +19 59 ------------------------------------------------- 3. Borussia Fulda 52:46 +6 57 4. SSV Reutlingen 50:30 +20 55 5. Wacker Burghausen 56:34 +22 54 6. FC Bayern Muenchen Amat. 45:44 +1 48 7. SV Waldhof Mannheim (A) 46:40 +6 47 8. Karlsruher SC Amat. 41:52 -11 47 9. 1860 Muenchen Amat. (N) 51:43 +8 43 10. FC Augsburg 51:47 +4 42 11. SC Weismain 42:48 -6 40 12. TSF Ditzingen 36:47 -11 38 13. SV Wehen (N) 50:56 -6 35 14. VfR Mannheim 37:48 -11 35 15. SC Neukirchen 45:56 -11 33 -------------------------------------------------- 16. SV Darmstadt 98 38:57 -19 33 17. VfL Kirchheim (N) 31:69 -38 18 18. Hessen Kassel 0:0 0 0 A = Absteiger; relegated previous year from 2.Liga N = Neuling; promoted previous year from Oberliga
(c) Abseits Guide to Germany