Hertha BSC was a pleasant surprise, as they deservedly finished 3rd and made it to the Champions League qualifying rounds. They also featured the leading scorer, with Michael Preetz bagging 23. Borussia Dortmund did the same, despite an unimpressive season. While defending champs Kaiserslautern were brought back down to earth, Wolfsburg surprised everybody by threatening a Champions League spot. They were finally shown their place, losing 1-6 at Duisburg in the final match, and missing out.
While Duisburg played well, Schalke, Stuttgart and Bremen sucked, and were only able to get out of relegation trouble near the season end. The relegation battle was the highlight of this season. Whereas legendary Moenchengladbach sucked out of the gate and were dead, and Bochum ran out of gas, the last spot went down to the wire. Eintracht Frankfurt looked dead, but with a super-human 5-1 thrashing of Kaiserslautern, they managed to save themselves. Nuernberg was the stunning loser, when they already had booked their tickets for the next season Bundesliga. Instead, it went to the 2nd tie breaker. Equal on points and Goal Difference, Frankfurt wins on more goals scored!
STANDINGS: G GF:GA Diff Pts 1. Bayern Muenchen (P) 34 76:28 +49 78 CL 2. Bayer Leverkusen 34 61:29 +31 63 CL ---------------------------------------------------------- 3. Hertha BSC Berlin 34 59:32 +27 62 CLQ 4. Borussia Dortmund 34 48:34 +14 57 CLQ 5. 1.FC Kaiserslautern (M) 34 51:47 +4 57 UEFA 6. VfL Wolfsburg 34 54:49 +5 55 UEFA 7. Hamburger SV 34 47:46 +1 49 UI 8. MSV Duisburg 34 48:45 +3 48 UI 9. 1860 Muenchen 34 49:57 -8 41 10. Schalke 04 34 41:54 -13 41 11. VfB Stuttgart 34 41:49 -8 39 12. SC Freiburg (N) 34 37:45 -8 39 13. Werder Bremen 34 42:49 -7 38 UEFA 14. Hansa Rostock 34 49:58 -9 38 15. Eintracht Frankfurt (N) 34 44:54 -10 37 ---------------------------------------------------------- 16. 1.FC Nuernberg (N) 34 40:50 -10 37 17. VfL Bochum 34 41:66 -25 29 18. Borussia M'Gladbach 34 41:79 -38 21 M = Meister, defending champion P = Pokal, defending cupwinner N = Neuling, newly promoted CL = Champions League CLQ = Champions League (qualifying round) UEFA = UEFA Cup UI = UI (intertoto) Cup Top Goalscorers # Name Goals Games ø Pens Club 1 Preetz 23 34 0.68 3 Hertha BSC Berlin 2 Kirsten 19 31 0.61 3 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 3 Neuville 14 33 0.42 3 Hansa Rostock - Yeboah 14 34 0.41 0 Hamburger SV 5 Elber 13 21 0.62 0 FC Bayern Muenchen - Jancker 13 26 0.50 0 FC Bayern Muenchen - Beierle 13 28 0.46 0 MSV Duisburg - Ciric 13 28 0.46 1 1.FC Nuernberg - Juskowiak 13 31 0.42 0 VfL Wolfsburg 10 Hobsch 12 25 0.48 0 TSV 1860 Muenchen - Marschall 12 28 0.43 2 1.FC Kaiserslautern Leading Assists # Name Assts Games ø Goals Club 1 Jancker 11 26 0.42 13 FC Bayern Muenchen - Bode 11 29 0.38 8 Werder Bremen - Tretschok 11 32 0.34 4 Hertha BSC Berlin 4 Thom 10 28 0.36 3 Hertha BSC Berlin - Wosz 10 31 0.32 3 Hertha BSC Berlin - Greiner 10 31 0.32 1 VfL Wolfsburg 7 Wagner 9 21 0.43 1 1.FC Kaiserslautern - Beinlich 9 23 0.39 6 Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Breitkreutz 9 25 0.36 3 Hansa Rostock - Basler 9 27 0.33 5 FC Bayern Muenchen - Moeller 9 30 0.30 7 Borussia Dortmund
The sensation was the play of the "dwarfs", SpVgg Unterhaching and SSV Ulm, who also gained promotion to the Bundesliga! Ulm was picked by almost everybody to be immediately relegated, and Unterhaching has few resources, and even fewer fans. But both clubs were consistently good throughout the season, and only a slow finish prevented either club from winning the title outright.
Newcomers Hannover and Berlin were expected to be good, and they lived up to the billing. Meanwhile, Karlsruhe's goal of immediate promotion was not achieved, as they choked when they needed some clutch results. The other Bundesliga dropout, 1.FC Koeln, had a disastrous season.
At the bottom, four West teams take the drop, and they basically all sucked.
THE STANDINGS:
G GF:GA Diff Pts
1. Arminia Bielefeld (A) 34 62:32 +30 67
2. SpVgg Unterhaching 34 47:30 +17 63
3. SSV Ulm 1846 (N) 34 63:51 +12 58
---------------------------------------------------------
4. Hannover 96 (N) 34 52:36 +16 57
5. Karlsruher SC (A) 34 54:44 +10 56
6. Tennis Borussia Berlin (N) 34 48:39 +9 55
7. FSV Mainz 05 34 48:44 +4 50
8. SpVgg Greuther Fuerth 34 40:31 +9 49
9. FC St.Pauli 34 49:46 +3 45
10. 1.FC Koeln (A) 34 46:54 -8 43
11. Energie Cottbus 34 48:42 +6 41
12. RW Oberhausen (N) 34 40:47 -7 41
13. Kickers Stuttgart 34 39:53 -14 41
14. Fortuna Koeln 34 49:55 -6 40
----------------------------------------------------------
15. FC Guetersloh 34 40:58 -18 37
16. KFC Uerdingen 34 32:55 -23 31
17. SG Wattenscheid 09 34 31:46 -15 30
18. Fortuna Duesseldorf 34 35:59 -24 28
A = Absteiger, just relegated from Bundesliga
N = Neuling, just promoted from Regionalliga
Top Goalscorers:
---------------
Bruno Labbadia (Bielefeld) 28
Rainer Krieg (KSC) 19
Arie van Lent (Furth) 16
Dragan Trkulja (Ulm) 14
Achim Weber (Oberhausen) 14
Thomas Brdaric (Koeln) 13
David Zdrilic (Ulm) 12
The Regionalliga Nord went down to final week, in unexpected fashion.
After last year's battle with Hannover 96, ex-Bundesligist Eintracht
Braunschweig was the
towering favorite, almost conceded by everybody. And early on, they kept a
steady pace, although relegated Meppen and Osnabrueck kept pace. Then
about mid season, EB began to falter, and in desperate attempts to stay on
course, began to fire their coaches left and right. However, Osnabrueck
was putting on a blistering pace, and it soon looked like a runaway
freight train. Perhaps the "Lilacs" rested too soon, as quietly Luebeck
put together a marvelous home stretch. In the penultimate round, in front
of a packed house, they defeated Osnabrueck 1-0 and took over the lead.
However, the Schleswig-Holstein derby would play a decisive role. While
Osnabrueck struggled nervously past Arminia Hannover, Holstein Kiel
stunned their neighbors 2-1, handing the championship to the Westphalians.
Aside from Braunschweig ending up in the dust, there were a few other
surprises. Meppen totally tanked the 2nd half of the season. Ex 2.Liga
club Oldenburg got off to a horrendous start, but in the final third got
things going right to sail into safe waters. Kickers Emden had been a
contender only a couple of years ago, and now have reached bottom. As for
the other two relegated clubs, Herzlake was pretty much lame and fell off,
and Ricklingen never even got out of the starting gate.
STANDINGS:
G GF:GA Diff Pts
1. VfL Osnabrueck 34 67:26 +41 74
---------------------------------------------------------
2. VfB Luebeck 34 73:33 +40 73
3. Eintracht Braunschweig 34 71:42 +29 64
4. Werder Bremen Amat. 34 81:54 +27 56
5. Eintracht Nordhorn 34 55:54 +1 52
6. Tus Celle FC 34 59:54 +5 51
7. SV Wilhelmshaven 92 34 53:50 +3 49
8. Lueneburger SK (N) 34 51:49 +2 46
9. VfB Oldenburg 34 59:58 +1 46
10. BV Cloppenburg (N) 34 53:53 0 45
11. SV Meppen (A) 34 42:46 -4 45
12. SC Norderstedt 34 43:49 -10 45
13. Arminia Hannover 34 37:42 -5 43
14. Holstein Kiel (N) 34 44:60 -16 42
15. Hamburger SV Amat. 34 38:60 -22 38
----------------------------------------------------------
16. Kickers Emden 34 49:65 -16 34
17. VfL Hasetal Herzlake 34 44:83 -39 25
18. SpFr Ricklingen 34 33:70 -37 24
A = Absteiger; relegated previous season from 2.Liga
N = Neuling; promoted previous season from Oberliga
Top Goalscorers:
---------------
26 Daniel Bärwolf (Lübeck)
22 Daniel Thoune (Osnabrück)
17 Marinus Bester (Lüneburg)
The Regionalliga Nordost race was very exciting in 98-99, with at least
six teams involved in the title chase. In the end, Chemnitz put together
a
powerful stretch run, and ran away with the title. Their stingy
defense was the key to victory.
VfB Leipzig and FSV Zwickau were another two ex-2.Liga clubs that held
the lead on several occasions. However, they began to fade when faced with
Chemnitz' blistering final stretch run. Magdeburg put in an excellent
effort, and Plauen was a surprise all season long.
For Union Berlin, the season ends bitterly. Midway through the year, Union
was gathering steam, and looked like perhaps the team to beat. However,
when everybody else went into the last lap, they choked and croaked.
Another team experiencing a disastrous season was famed Dynamo Dresden.
Early on, they were even in serious relegation trouble. However, towards
the end they were able to stabilize. FC Berlin had an ineventful season,
however they made big news: the members voted to go back to the old name
of BFC Dynamo Berlin.
In the bottom, the only surprise was perhaps the other Dresden team, DSC,
managing to stay up. Eisenhuettenstadt and Croatia were clearly too weak
for salvation. A good final third of the season was enough for Babelsberg
to reach momentary safety, pending outcomes of the 2.Liga and promotion
playoffs.
An interesting note is to look at last year's standings: Tennis Borussia
ran away from the start and were promoted to the 2.Liga. However, Dynamo
Dresden was runner up, Eisenhuettenstadt 3rd and Sachsen Leipzig 4th!
FINAL STANDINGS:
G GF:GA Diff Pts
1. Chemnitzer FC 34 59:12 +47 77
----------------------------------------------------------
2. VfB Leipzig (A) 34 59:28 +31 70
3. 1.FC Magdeburg 34 55:35 +20 64
4. FSV Zwickau (A) 34 54:35 +19 64
5. VFC Plauen 34 56:42 +14 59
6. Union Berlin 34 57:27 +30 57
7. Erzgebirge Aue 34 48:38 +10 53
8. Dynamo Berlin 34 47:37 +10 53
9. FC Carl Zeiss Jena (A) 34 36:38 -2 48
10. RW Erfurt 34 40:45 -5 45
11. Dynamo Dresden 34 43:44 -1 38
12. Lok Altmark Stendal 34 34:57 -23 38
13. Dresdner SC (N) 34 31:51 -20 36
14. Sachsen Leipzig 34 41:62 -21 35
15. SV Babelsberg 34 36:50 -14 34
----------------------------------------------------------
16. Spandauer SV 34 31:54 -23 27
17. FC Stahl Eisenhuettenstdt. 34 31:62 -31 23
18. SD Croatia Berlin (N) 34 20:61 -41 21
A = Absteiger, newly relegated from 2.Liga
N = Neuling, newly promoted from Oberliga
Top Goalscorers:
---------------
19 Rainer Wiedemann (Stendal)
16 Vesselin Popovic (Zwickau)
14 Steffen Menze (Union)
At the top, Alemannia Aachen put together a brilliant stretch run of 11 consecutive wins to break open a tight race. Throughtout most of the year, at least 10 teams contended for the title and playoffs. In the end, Trier bagged the critical 2nd spot, with a stunning 2-1 away win in Siegen in the penultimate round. Favored Saarbruecken was the leader until a late collapse did them in. Muenster and Wuppertal dug themselves holes that made it difficult to climb out of.
At the bottom, Remscheid was clearly out. In fact, they went bankrupt and offered to forfeit all their games at midseason, but then raised enough money to finish out the season. Despite being outmanned, they fought valiantly. Erkenschwick was also outclassed. Salmrohr also deserved the drop, but it they'll benefit from Wuppertal and Homburg being forced out. Somewhat disgraceful, but there you have it.
STANDINGS:
G GF:GA Diff Pts
1. Alemannia Aachen 32 56:38 +18 64
2. Eintracht Trier 32 62:37 +25 60
---------------------------------------------------------
3. SpFr Siegen 32 48:24 +24 54
4. Preussen Muenster 32 60:36 +24 53
5. 1.FC Saarbruecken 32 53:38 +15 53
6. LR Ahlen 32 55:41 +14 53
7. SC Paderborn 07 32 51:39 +12 53
8. Wuppertaler SV (*) 32 62:54 +8 53
9. Bayer Leverkusen Amat (N) 32 58:47 +11 49
10. SC Verl 32 55:56 -1 47
11. 1.FC Kaisersl. Amat. 32 62:48 +14 45
12. SV Elversberg (N) 32 35:40 -5 39
13. FC Homburg (*) 32 29:49 -20 36
14. Bor. Dortmund Amat. (N) 32 46:57 -11 33
15. FSV Salmrohr 32 38:59 -21 29
----------------------------------------------------------
16. SpVgg Erkenschwick 32 29:77 -47 15
17. FC Remscheid 32 23:83 -60 10
A = Absteiger; relegated previous year from 2.Liga
N = Neuling; promoted previous year from Oberliga
* = Wuppertal and Homburg forcibly relegated due to financial shenanigans
Top Goalscorers:
---------------
19 Daniel Graf (FCK)
17 Vlado Papic (Trier)
17 Christian Timm (Dortmund)
So while the top two places were never really in question, the mediocre middle was ho-hum. However, the bottom turned out to be the ringer. The fight against relegation was extremely hard fought. On the last day, about 6 teams were still up in the air, and several others had barely secured a safe spot. As it was, FSV Frankfurt, which had been given up for lost, managed to save themselves with a brilliant victory. SC Pfullendorf could have gone down as the only team to have a positive goal difference and still be relegated. However, when Offenbach won the promotion playoff, SCP was assured another year.
STANDINGS:
G GF:GA Diff Pts
1. SV Waldhof Mannheim 34 57:25 +32 71
2. Kickers Offenbach 34 71:38 +33 68
---------------------------------------------------------
3. SSV Reutlingen 34 54:30 +24 56
4. VfB Stuttgart Amat. (N) 34 54:48 +6 53
5. FC Schweinfurt (N) 34 51:43 +8 51
6. SV Wehen 34 47:56 -9 51
7. Wacker Burghausen 34 50:42 +8 50
8. FC Bayern Muenchen Amat. 34 53:41 +12 48
9. 1860 Muenchen Amat. 34 49:51 -2 45
10. VfR Mannheim 34 33:45 -12 40
11. Karlsruher SC Amat. 34 51:52 -1 39
12. TSF Ditzingen 34 43:57 -14 39
13. Borussia Fulda 34 45:69 -24 39
14. FC Augsburg 34 42:57 -15 38
15. FSV Frankfurt (N) 34 45:62 -17 38
----------------------------------------------------------
16. SC Pfullendorf (N) 34 38:37 +1 37
17. SC Weismain 34 42:53 -11 36
18. SC Neukirchen 34 43:62 -19 35
A = Absteiger; relegated previous year from 2.Liga
N = Neuling; promoted previous year from Oberliga
SC Pfullendorf stays up due to Kickers Offenbach gaining promotion to the
2.Liga
Top Goalscorers:
---------------
23 Mario Maric (Reutlingen)
16 Oliver Roth (Offenbach)
16 Thorsten Seufert (Schweinfurt)
(c) Abseits Guide to Germany