Regionalliga review

The 4th division is in winterbreak, usually not starting back up until early February.
I actually think that the DFB got it right, having true regional leagues that make sense.
There still are too many “B” squads, which has a downward influence on attendance figures, but you could argue that the mostly U23 sides have contributed strongly to the development of young German players, reflected in the revival of the national squad. And a few of the old traditionals, like Rot-Weiss Essen, are doing decently at the box office. (RWE seems to be pulling in 8,500+ average crowds at home).

The North division has several traditional clubs, but only leaders Holstein Kiel is doing well. Clubs such as Oldenburg, Meppen, Lübeck and Wilhelmshaven have graced the 2nd division at some time, but the latter two are in severe trouble. Lübeck is probably worse off, as they are struggling to avoid insolvency.

The Northeast division is essentially a remake of the old DDR-Oberliga, albeit not with all it’s members. Noveau riche RB Leipzig is the pacesetter, perhaps Hoffenheim, part Deux. Traditionals such as Jena, Zwickau, Magdeburg, Lok Leipzig and Plauen make this one of the more interesting leagues. Of course, it’s also the home of Hoffenheim cup killer Berliner AK-47, although they’re pretty obscure, even by obscure Berlin standards.

The West is a dogfight, with several clubs vying for the top spot. Of course, it’s has some of the more attractive headliners, with no less than four ex-Bundesligists in the ranks: Fortuna Köln, Essen, Wuppertal and Oberhausen. Indeed, next year we see the addition of another, Alemannia Aachen, who look to be forcibly relegated from the 3.Liga due to insolvency. And the fun continues, as a 6th seems inevitable: KFC Uerdingen has the best record in German football, and a 19(!) point lead in the 5th division Oberliga Niederrhein.

The Southwest has two clubs in the 3.Liga promotion playoffs, as it’s made up of the most regional associations. There are 3 ex-Bundesliga clubs, Waldhof, Ulm and Homburg, but only the former looks like it has a chance to move up. The pacesetter is Elversberg, a village team that has made a name for itself. Also interesting is Alzenau, which actually is in Bayern, and should be playing in their league. But fortunately, they stand a good chance of getting relegated, so they’ll disappear from the southwest :)

There is no “south”, having been replaced by a single Bayern division. It’s a bit arrogant of those pompous Bavarians, don’t you think? It’s mostly unkown village teams, I would say the most fanous club is Bayern Hof, and they’re dead last. Still never underestimate those villagers. The name of TSV Vestenbergsgreuth still strikes fear in the heart of Bayern München fans. Well, it would if most of them weren’t fair weather Hansi-komm-lately types, who wouldn’t even know what I was talking about, hehehe

Regionalliga Nord

 1  Holstein Kiel	  	19   14   3   2    55:19  +36 	  45
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 2  Hannover 96 II	  	19   13   3   3    51:24  +27 	  42 
 3  TSV Havelse	  	        18   10   5   3    28:13  +15 	  35 
 4  VfL Wolfsburg II	  	19    9   6   4    31:14  +17 	  33 
 5  Werder Bremen II (A)	18    9   3   6    41:26  +15 	  30 
 6  Goslarer SC 08 (N)	  	18    8   3   7    36:32  +4 	  27 
 7  VfR Neumünster (N)	  	19    8   3   8    20:30  -10 	  27 
 8  BSV SW Rehden (N)	  	17    7   4   6    30:27  +3 	  25 
 9  ETSV Weiche Flensburg (N)	17    7   2   8    20:26  -6 	  23 
10  VfB Oldenburg (N)	  	18    5   7   6    22:24  -2 	  22 
11  BV Cloppenburg (N)	  	18    5   6   7    38:44  -6 	  21 
12  SV Meppen	  	        18    6   2  10    26:34  -8 	  20 
13  Hamburger SV II	  	19    5   4  10    25:34  -9 	  19 
14  FC St. Pauli II	  	18    5   4   9    21:43  -22 	  19
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15  VfB Lübeck	  	        18    5   3  10    12:24  -12 	  18
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16  SV Wilhelmshaven	  	18    6   4   8    21:28  -7 	  16 
17  Victoria Hamburg (N)	18    4   3  11    22:42  -20 	  15 
18  FC Oberneuland (N)	  	17    3   3  11    18:33  -15 	  12

Champion goes to 3.Liga playoffs. Bottom 3 are relegated, a fourth 
depending on outcomes. Wilhelmshaven is deducted 6 points for infractions.


Regionalliga Nordost

 1  RasenBallsport Leipzig	14   11   3   0    35:11  +24 	  36
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 2  Carl Zeiss Jena (A)	  	15    8   6   1    21:9   +12 	  30
 3  FSV Zwickau (N)	  	13    7   4   2    22:5   +17 	  25
 4  ZFC Meuselwitz	  	14    7   2   5    13:17  -4 	  23
 5  1. FC Magdeburg	  	14    6   4   4    19:16  +3 	  22 
 6  Berliner AK 07	  	14    4   9   1    12:7   +5 	  21 
 7  Germania Halberstadt	14    5   5   4    14:18  -4 	  20 
 8  VfB Auerbach (N)	  	13    4   4   5    19:17  +2 	  16 
 9  TSG Neustrelitz (N)	  	13    4   4   5    13:13   0 	  16 
10  Optik Rathenow (N)	  	13    4   3   6    17:21  -4 	  15 
11  Hertha BSC II	  	13    3   4   6    15:16  -1 	  13 
12  1. FC Union Berlin II (N)	13    2   7   4    13:18  -5 	  13 
13  1. FC Lok Leipzig (N)	14    4   1   9    11:20  -9 	  13 
14  VFC Plauen	  	        13    2   6   5    12:18  -6 	  12
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15  Energie Cottbus II	  	14    1   7   6    15:23  -8 	  10 
16  Torgelower SV Greif (N)	14    1   3   10    9:31  -22 	  6

Champion to 3.Liga playoff, bottom two relegated.

Regionalliga West

 1  Sportfreunde Lotte	  	21   13   5   3    39:19  +20 	  44
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 2  FC Schalke 04 II	  	21   13   5   3    36:17  +19 	  44 
 3  FC Viktoria Köln (N)	20   13   4   3    49:26  +23 	  43 
 4  Fortuna Köln	  	20   13   3   4    39:17  +22 	  42 
 5  Rot-Weiss Essen	  	21   12   6   3    37:27  +10 	  42 
 6  Sportfreunde Siegen (N)	20   11   4   5    35:18  +17 	  37 
 7  Wuppertaler SV 	  	20    7   8   5    32:27  +5 	  29 
 8  SC Verl	  	        21    7   7   7    40:32  +8 	  28 
 9  1. FC Köln II	  	20    7   6   7    35:33  +2 	  27 
10  SC Wiedenbrück 2000	  	21    7   5   9    31:34  -3 	  26 
11  VfL Bochum II	  	19    7   3   9    21:26  -5 	  24 
12  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen (A)	21    7   2   12   30:40  -10 	  23 
13  Bayer Leverkusen II	  	21    6   4   11   26:34  -8 	  22 
14  SSVg Velbert (N)	  	20    6   4   10   20:33  -13 	  22
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15  Borussia M'gladbach II	20    6   3   11   23:33  -10 	  21
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16  SV Bergisch Gladbach 09 (N)	20    6   3   11   20:40  -20 	  21 
17  MSV Duisburg II (N)	  	19    4   7    8   20:27  -7 	  19 
18  FC Kray (N)	  	        21    5   2   14   20:42  -22 	  17 
19  VfB Hüls (N)	  	19    4   4   11   19:36  -17 	  16 
20  Fortuna Düsseldorf II	19    3   5   11   20:31  -11 	  14

Champion to 3.Liga playoff. Bottom five relegated, 15th based on outcomes. 
The league shrinks to 18 clubs next season.


Regionalliga Südwest

 1  SV Elversberg	  	17   12   2   3    35:20  +15 	  38 
 2  Hessen Kassel	  	19   10   6   3    31:20  +11 	  33  
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 3  1899 Hoffenheim II	  	19    9   7   3    40:18  +22 	  34 
 4  Eintracht Trier	  	19    9   6   4    30:21  +9 	  33 
 5  Waldhof Mannheim	  	19   10   3   6    29:20  +9 	  33
 6  SG Sonnenhof Großaspach	19    7   8   4    32:16  +16 	  29 
 7  1. FC Kaiserslautern II	19    7   7   5    26:28  -2 	  28 
 8  TuS Koblenz	  	        19    7   6   6    24:23  +1 	  27 
 9  SC Freiburg II	  	19    6   7   6    27:28  -1 	  25 
10  FC 08 Homburg (N)	  	19    8   1   10   28:37  -9 	  25 
11  SSV Ulm 1846 Fußball (N)	19    7   3   9    25:24  +1 	  24 
12  Wormatia Worms	  	19    5   9   5    24:26  -2 	  24 
13  SC Idar-Oberstein	  	19    5   8   6    21:21   0 	  23
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14  1. FC Eschborn (N)	  	19    5   5   9    20:28  -8 	  20 
15  1. FSV Mainz 05 II	  	19    4   7   8    27:33  -6 	  19 
16  SC Pfullendorf	  	19    4   7   8    19:25  -6 	  19 
17  FSV Frankfurt II	  	19    5   3   11   17:33  -16 	  18
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18  Bayern Alzenau	  	19    3   7   9    22:40  -18 	  16 
19  Eintracht Frankfurt II	18    4   2   12   19:35  -16 	  14

Champion and runner up to 3.Liga playoff. Bottom two relegated. 
14th-17th can be relegated depending on outcomes.


Regionalliga Bayern

 1  FV Illertissen (N)	  	23   13   6   4    48:26  +22 	  45
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 2  TSV Buchbach (N)	  	23   12   4   7    45:33  +12 	  40 
 3  SV Seligenporten (N)	23   12   2   9    42:36  +6 	  38 
 4  Bayern München II	  	24    9   10  5    33:19  +14 	  37 
 5  1. FC Nürnberg II	  	22   11   4   7    34:26  +8 	  37 
 6  1860 München II	  	21   11   3   7    38:27  +11 	  36 
 7  SV Heimstetten (N)	  	21    8   10  3    31:24  +7 	  34 
 8  FC Ingolstadt 04 II	  	23    9   6   8    45:35  +10 	  33 
 9  Würzburger Kickers (N)	23    9   6   8    40:47  -7 	  33 
10  TSV 1860 Rosenheim (N)	23   10   3   10   21:29  -8 	  33 
11  TSV Rain/Lech (N)	  	23   10   2   11   33:39  -6 	  32 
12  SpVgg Greuther Fürth II	23    8   7   8    31:36  -5 	  31 
13  FC Ismaning (N)	  	22    7   9   6    31:21  +10 	  30 
14  FC Memmingen	  	22    7   7   8    22:24  -2 	  28 
15  Viktoria Aschaffenburg (N)	22    8   3   11   32:47  -15 	  27
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16  SC Eltersdorf (N)	  	23    7   5   11   35:44  -9 	  26 
17  FC Augsburg II (N)	  	23    6   6   11   39:41  -2 	  24
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18  FC Eintracht Bamberg  (N)   22    6   6   10   28:42  -14 	  24 
19  VfL Frohnlach (N)	  	23    3   8   12   22:40  -18 	  17
20  SpVgg Bayern Hof (N)	21    3   5   13   16:30  -14 	  14

Champion in 3.Liga playoff. Bottom three relegated, 16th-17th in 
relegation playoff.

2.Liga: Midseason report card

1 Eintracht Braunschweig (19 13 5 1 35:15 +20 44)
GRADE: A
I didn’t really expect Braunschweig to be doing this well, but they’ve been consistently good all season so far. A return to the Bundesliga after 28 years seems certain, so how could it not be top marks? Strong defense and the Kumbela/Kruppke kombo has been very effective.

2 Hertha BSC Berlin (A) (19 12 6 1 36:15 +21 42)
GRADE: A-
Hertha was obviously a favorite for immediate promotion, and after a somewhat shaky start, they figured out the 2.Liga and began marching forward.

3 1. FC Kaiserslautern (A) (19 8 8 3 29:21 +8 32)
GRADE: B-
Lautern was a co-favorite, and of the relegated teams, they seemed to be best prepared. Indeed, they were unbeaten for the longest time. However, there was something suspect, and they collapsed just before the winterbreak. They are still in the driver seat – but only for 3rd place.

4 Energie Cottbus (19 8 5 6 26:23 +3 29)
GRADE: B
Cottbus is up and down, in good years they are a dark horse for promotion. This has been a good year so far.

5 VfR Aalen (N) (19 8 4 7 20:16 +4 28)
GRADE: A
Nobody expected anything from the promoted side, but they’ve been a tough opponent and have done quite well.

6 1860 München (19 6 9 4 21:15 +4 27)
GRADE: B-
More of the same crap from 1860. They should be a massive club, but they suck when it counts. They’ve got a decent squad on paper, but they lack guts. Perhaps they are what Hans und Franz would call girlie men. I think most of Germany would like to see them back in the Bundesliga, but it doesn’t seem likely this year either.

7 1. FC Union Berlin (19 7 6 7 30:27 +3 27)
GRADE: B
Union has turned things around after a somewhat shaky spell and are a tough opponent.

8 FSV Frankfurt (19 8 3 8 27:24 +3 27)
GRADE: A-
FSV is basically a mini-club with few resources. They’ve been a tough adversary throughout the season and have done well with what they have. The fact that they’re not anywhere near the relegation zone merits a good grade.

9 FC Ingolstadt 04 (19 6 8 5 22:21 +1 26)
GRADE: B
Ingolstadt can be very tough to beat, but they also don’t win easily. A solid mid-table club doing what you’d expect.

10 1. FC Köln (A) (19 6 8 5 22:21 +1 26)
GRADE: C
Köln was really stinking things up, but they at least appear to have stabilized the ship.

11 Erzgebirge Aue (19 6 5 8 27:28 -1 23)
GRADE: B-
Aue was expected to struggle, and they’ve met expectations :). But they’ve also shown some force when they’ve needed it.

12 SC Paderborn 07 (19 6 5 8 23:24 -1 23)
GRADE: C
Paderborn has slowly been sinking, and are probably surprised to be this low.

13 FC St. Pauli (19 5 7 7 18:22 -4 22)
GRADE: D
They expected to contend, and they’re struggling. They’ve got some good experienced players, but they’re not delivering.

14 MSV Duisburg (19 6 3 10 20:32 -12 21)
GRADE: D-
If not for a turnaround in the last couple of matches, they would merit an “F”. Obviously the season can’t be saved, but if the Zebras follow up with their decent form and avoid financial collapse, perhaps they can salvage a passing grade.

15 VfL Bochum (19 5 5 9 24:33 -9 20)
GRADE: F
They suck. They expected to contend. But they’ve sucked. I’m not sure what their excuse is, since Bochum doesn’t seem to have the same financial meltdown problems that Duisburg contends with.

16 Dynamo Dresden (19 3 7 9 19:29 -10 16)
GRADE: D
Not sure where or when the wheels fell off, but Dynamo has been struggling and dropping points despite some strong performances.

17 SV Sandhausen (N) (19 3 6 10 20:39 -19 15)
GRADE: C-
I think everyone expected Sandhausen to struggle, and they haven’t disappointed :) But they’ve had a couple of memorable matches to take with them when they fall back into obscurity.

18 Jahn Regensburg (N) (19 3 4 12 22:34 -12 13)
GRADE: C-
Jahn only snuck in through promotion playoffs. They have few resources or fans, so it’s not surprising they’re at the bottom. It would be a stretch to survive.

Wolfsburg steals coach

VfL Wolfsburg made a somewhat surprise moved as they swooped and grabbed Dieter Hecking from 1.FC Nürnberg. GM Klaus Allofs originally had intended to “take his time” finding the right fit after Felix Magath got dumped, but interim coach Lothar Kostner apparently didn’t want the job long term (or perhaps wanted a more permanent arrangement). The German press was full of speculation that Bernd Schuster was the likely candidate, but apparently talks broke down.

Hecking wasn’t considered a candidate initially, but things moved rapidly, as initial talks were held Thursday, and he was announced on Friday. He’s done a reasonable job at Nürnberg, saving them from relegation a couple of seasons ago, and keeping them alive, despite essentially having to rebuild his team each year. Certainly he should be getting a hefty pay hike, and supposedly his personality should blend nicely with Allofs.

No announcement as to Hecking’s replacement at Nürnberg, although speculation is that der Club is looking internally at least for an interim assignment.

Manager money

Wonder what the head coaches make? Like everything else, it’s best to be employed by Bayern if you want the cash. Jupp Heynckes had to be persuaded to sign on, and it cost. He must be happy, since it’s astronomically more than he made in his player days – and he was damn good, usually just behind Gerd Müller in the scoring charts. Perhaps it most clearly demonstrates that you really have to pay to play…

No real shockers I suppose. Thomas Schaaf is up there because he’s the longest serving Bundesliga coach, 13 years with Werder. (In fact, it’s only right that he’s rewarded for his loyalty: he started as a 11 year old player in the youth ranks in 1972, played in the Bundesliga, then started coaching the U17, U19, B squad, assistant then finally top dog in 1999).

If you look at the salaries, you’d expect Thomas Tuchel and Christian Streich to get nice increases if they move on. Schalke in particular has been rumoured to try and entice Tuchel over. Mainz is said to be “demanding 60 million” in compensation, although that is hardly serious. But it will cost the Blues a pretty penny to get him.

Obviously, I’m having some fun with the “euros per point”, since it’s a bogus stat. It’s a pretend on how much the coaches brilliance has on the bottom line: how many points does the club have. Jens Keller and Marco Kurz haven’t really earned any points yet anyway.

                                          SALARY        EUROS PER POINT
Jupp Heynckes       (FC Bayern München)   5,000,000     119,048
Jürgen Klopp        (Borussia Dortmund)   2,500,000      83,333
Thomas Schaaf       (Werder Bremen)       2,000,000      90,909
Lucien Favre        (Borussia M'gladbach) 1,500,000      60,000
Bruno Labbadia      (VfB Stuttgart)       1,500,000      60,000
Armin Veh           (Eintracht Frankfurt) 1,500,000      50,000
Thorsten Fink       (Hamburger SV)        1,400,000      58,333
Mirko Slomka        (Hannover 96)         1,200,000      52,174
Sami Hyypiä         (Bayer Leverkusen)    1,100,000      48,484 (1)
Sascha Lewandowski  (Bayer Leverkusen)      500,000      n.a.
Marco Kurz          (1899 Hoffenheim)     1,000,000      83,333 (2)
Dieter Hecking      (1. FC Nürnberg)        900,000      45,000
Thomas Tuchel       (FSV Mainz 05)          800,000      30,769
Mike Büskens        (Greuther Fürth)        600,000      50,000
Christian Streich   (SC Freiburg)           500,000      19,230
Markus Weinzierl    (FC Augsburg)           500,000      41,667
Norbert Meier       (Fortuna Düsseldorf)    450,000      21,429
Jens Keller         (Schalke 04)            240,000       9,600 (3)

No data available for VfL Wolfsburg

(1) Combined total for Leverkusen 1.6 million
(2) Kurz just inherited team from Markus Babbel
(3) Keller just inherited team from Huub Stevens

Winterbreak: League Attendance

Below are the attendance numbers for the leagues going into the winterbreak. I’ve included the Regionalliga West of the 4th division only, because I’m too lazy to calculate the other regions.

The Bundesliga is averaging roughly 42,223 per match so far this year, for an overall capacity load of 91.7%, which seems pretty impressive. Tickets are a bit hard to come by, especially if you want the popular clubs, like Bayern, Dortmund and Schalke.


BUNDESLIGA
                      STADIUM              CAPACITY   AVERAGE   LOAD
Borussia Dortmund     Signal Iduna Park      80,645   80,496    99.8 %
Bayern München        Allianz-Arena          71,000   71,000   100.0 %
FC Schalke  04        Veltins Arena          61,673   61,017    98.9 %
Hamburger SV          Imtech Arena           57,000   52,611    92.3 %
VfB Stuttgart         Mercedes-Benz Arena    60,300   49,087    81.3 %
Borussia M'gladbach   Borussia Park          54,049   48,293    89.3 %
Eintracht Frankfurt   Commerzbank Arena      51,500   47,239    91.7 %
Fortuna Düsseldorf    Espirit Arena          54,600   45,034    82.5 %
Hannover 96           AWD Arena              49,000   43,922    89.6 %
1. FC Nürnberg        Stadion Nürnberg       50,000   41,656    83.3 %
Werder Bremen         Weserstadion           42,100   40,434    96.0 %
1. FSV Mainz 05       Coface Arena           34,034   30,173    88.7 %
FC Augsburg           SGL Arena              30,660   29,047    94.7 %
Bayer Leverkusen      BayArena               30,210   27,616    91.4 %
VfL Wolfsburg         Volkswagen Arena       30,000   26,625    92.1 %
1899 Hoffenheim       Wirsol Rhein-Neckar    30,164   24,863    82.4 %
SC Freiburg           Mage Solar Stadion     24,000   23,300    97.1 %
SpVgg Greuther Fürth  Trolli Arena           18,000   17,595    97.7 %

2.LIGA
                                            CAPACITY ATTENDANCE  LOAD
1.FC Köln             RheinEnergieStadion    49,959   37.836 	75.7 % 
Hertha BSC Berlin     Olympiastadion         74,244   33,826    45.6 %
1.FC Kaiserslautern   Fritz-Walter-Stadion   49,780   29,134 	58.5 %
TSV 1860 München      Allianz-Arena          69,901   25,444 	36.4 %
Dynamo Dresden        glücksgas stadion      30,577   23,197 	75.9 %
FC St. Pauli          Millerntor-Stadion     24.487   20,779 	84.6 %
Eintr. Braunschweig   Eintracht-Stadion      25,356   20,256 	79.9 %
1.FC Union Berlin     Alte Försterei         18.432   16,141 	87.6 %	
VfL Bochum            rewirpowerSTADION      29,299   11,774 	40.2 %	
MSV Duisburg          Schauinsland-Reisen    31,502   11,345 	36.0 %
FC Energie Cottbus    Stad. der Freundschaft 22,528   11,271 	50.0 %
SC Paderborn 07       Benteler-Arena         15,000   10,326 	68.8 %
FC Erzgebirge Aue     Sparkassen-stadion     15,711    8,360 	53.2 %
VfR Aalen             Scholz-Arena           13,251    7,335 	55.4 %
Jahn Regensburg       Jahnstadion            12,500    7,626 	61.0 %
FC Ingolstadt 04      Audi Sportpark         15,800    7,150 	45.3 %
FSV Frankfurt         Volksbank Stadion      10,826    5,410 	50.0 %
SV Sandhausen         Hardtwaldstadion       12,100    4,517 	37.3 %

3.LIGA
                                            CAPACITY ATTENDANCE  LOAD
Alemannia Aachen      Tivoli                 33,060   13,545 	41.0 %
VfL Osnabrück         Osnatel-Arena          16,667   10,960 	65.8 %
Karlsruher SC         Wildparkstadion        29,619   10,374 	35.0 %
FC Hansa Rostock      DKB-Arena              29,000    9,840 	33.9 %
1.FC Heidenheim 1846  Voith-Arena            10,000    8,167 	81.7 %
Arminia Bielefeld     Schüco-Arena           27,300    7,890 	28.9 %
Hallescher FC         erdgas-Sportpark       15,057    7,852 	52.1 %
Preußen Münster       Preußenstadion         15,050    7,714 	51.3 %
Kickers Offenbach     Sparda-Bank-Stadion    20,500    6,537 	31.9 %
SV Darmstadt 98       Böllenfalltor          19,400    5,922 	30.5 %
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt    Steigerwaldstadion     20,000    4,912 	24.6 %
Chemnitzer FC         Gellertstraße          17,700    4,755 	26.9 %
1.FC Saarbrücken      Ludwigsparkstadion     35,303    4,070 	11.5 %
Stuttgarter Kickers   GAZi-Stadion           11,544    3,913 	33.9 %
SV Wehen Wiesbaden    BRITA-Arena            12,566    3,499 	27.8 %
SV Babelsberg 03      Karl-Liebknecht        10,499    2,973 	28.3 %
SV Wacker Burghausen  Wacker-Arena           10,000    2,507 	25.1 %
SpVgg Unterhaching    Sportpark              15,053    2,314 	15.4 %
Borussia Dortmund II  Rote Erde              10,000    2,212 	22.1 %

REGIONALLIGA WEST
                                            CAPACITY ATTENDANCE  LOAD

Rot-Weiss Essen       Stadion Essen          20,650    8,250 	40.0 %
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen   Niederrheinstadion     21,318    3,070 	14.4 %
Sportfreunde Siegen   Leimbachstadion        18,500    2,184 	11.8 %
FC Viktoria Köln      Sportpark Höhenberg    12,000    2,087 	17.4 %
Wuppertaler SV        Stadion am Zoo         23,067    1,986 	 8.6 %
Fortuna Köln          Südstadion             14,944    1,155 	 7.7 %
FC Kray               Kray Arena              2,500 	 824 	19.3 %
1.FC Köln II          Franz-Kremer-Stadion    5,457 	 750 	13.7 %
SV Bergisch Gladbach  Belkaw Arena           10,500 	 683 	 6.5 %
Sportfreunde Lotte    connectM-Arena          7,474 	 655 	 8.8 %
SSVg Velbert 02       Christopeit Arena       6,258 	 646 	10.3 %
FC Schalke 04 II      Mondpalast-Arena       13,500 	 506 	 3.7 %
SC Verl               Poststraße              5,000 	 488 	 9.8 %
VfB Hüls              Stadion am Badeweiher   6,000 	 462 	 7.7 %
Bor. M'gladbach II    Grenzlandstadion       10,000 	 437 	 4.4 %
Bayer Leverkusen II   Ulrich-Haberland        3,200 	 405 	12.7 %
MSV Duisburg II       Stadion Meiderich       5,000 	 403 	 8.1 %
VfL Bochum II         Lohrheidestadion       16,233 	 375 	 2.3 %
SC Wiedenbrück 2000   Jahnstadion             5,000 	 365 	 7.3 %
Fort. Düsseldorf II   Paul-Janes-Stadion      8,698 	 299 	 3.4 %










BUNDESLIGA: Mid season report card

1 Bayern München (17 13 3 1 44:7 +37 42)
GRADE: A
Bayern has been on point, which is not surprising. Management vowed to take action based on last season’s trophyless campaign, and they’ve been firing on all cylinders. Barring a total collapse, the title is theirs. Frank Ribery is ranked as top league performer overall, and Thomas Müller is back to his old form. Newcomer Dante has been excellent in defense (which has been unreal), and Mario Mandzukic scored bunches with Gomez out injured. Not much that coach Jupp Heynckes has done wrong.

2 Bayer Leverkusen (17 10 3 4 33:22 +11 33)
GRADE: B+
The Asiprins have quietly put together a decent campaign so far. Midfielder Gonzalo Castro has been outstanding, and Stefan Kiessling has been scoring goals.

3 Borussia Dortmund (M, P) (17 8 6 3 35:20 +15 30)
GRADE: B
The defending champs haven’t been terrible, but they’ve dropped points where last season they would have gotten the win. Marco Reus has been fine, so they haven’t really missed Shinji Kagawa, especially since Mario Götze has been outstanding. Perhaps Dortmund’s efforts in Europe have taken away some focus.

4 Eintracht Frankfurt (N) (17 9 3 5 33:27 +6 30)
GRADE: A
As a promoted side, the first order of business is to stay up. Eintracht attacked that goal from the start, and it’s already accomplished. They’ve ground out wins and generally been excellent. GK Kevin Trapp is a nobody, but has been outstanding. The success of the club however is the midfield (Rode, Schwegler, Meier, Inui). Frankfurt will probably start sliding down the table, but they’ve already achieved success.

5 SC Freiburg (17 7 5 5 24:18 +6 26)
GRADE: A-
Can you name *anybody* on this squad? That’s what I thought. Clearly a case where the collective is what counts. The Breisgauer have fought in every match.

6 1. FSV Mainz 05 (17 8 2 7 24:21 +3 26)
GRADE: A-
Same as Freiburg, although coach Thomas Tuchel is already recognized as one of the birght young minds in German football. Mainz has played good football on a small budget.

7 FC Schalke 04 (17 7 4 6 27:25 +2 25)
GRADE: C+
Things started rosy for the Blues when Huub Stevens came back, and the club looked like it was going places. Finishing 1st in their Champions League group looked to reaffirm that. But then the wheels fell off, and the club has descended into bickering and failure. Stevens raus. But blaming the coach may just be hiding greater problems. Obviously they have the talent to turn things around, but they really look like a rudderless ship. The hottest rumor is that they want to steal Mainz’ Thomas Tuchel, but they’ll have to pay through the nose to get him.

8 Borussia M’gladbach (17 6 7 4 25:26 -1 25)
GRADE: C+
I think nobody in their right mind expected Gladbach to replicate last season. However, there was some thought that since the spent money after selling Marco Reus, at least they’d be decent. Bzzzt! Largely the high priced newcomers have sucked. They’re still a decent squad, but they seem to rely too heavily on veteran Juan Arango magic to pull out games.

9 VfB Stuttgart (17 7 4 6 21:28 -7 25)
GRADE: C
Stuttgart is all over the place, you never know who is showing up. At times they’ve looked good, at other times like a hapless 2.Liga squad.

10 Hamburger SV (17 7 3 7 18:21 -3 24)
GRADE: C-
HSV started slow and looked disastrous. Then fan favorite Rafael van der Vaart was signed, and they at least began to look competant in matches. The main bright spot is the offseason free transfer of GK Rene Adler, who has looked superb.

11 Hannover 96 (17 7 2 8 32:31 +1 23)
GRADE: C
As a long time German football follower, I can’t take the 96ers seriously. I know they’ve been decent the last couple of seasons, but it’s Hannover we’re talking about. So it’s no surprise they’ve sort of fallen apart. They’re still strong enough to avoid getting into trouble, and capable of giving opponents a rough game.

12 Werder Bremen (17 6 4 7 28:29 -1 22)
GRADE: C
Not sure if half-full or half-empty. Werder cleaned house in the offseason, basically to save money. So they really didn’t pay out for new players. Midfielder Aaron Hunt has been outstanding, but the rest have been OK, about what their market value is. With GM Klaus Allofs gone, perhaps there will be another shakeup this offseason as well.

13 Fortuna Düsseldorf (N) (17 5 6 6 20:22 -2 21)
GRADE: B
Fortuna started off with catenaccio, and then got more conservative :). Tight defense was key in gathering points early, and then when things looked to go south, they started coming out of their shell. They look to have done their work to stay up, so they deserve a reasonable grade.

14 1. FC Nürnberg (17 5 5 7 17:22 -5 20)
GRADE: B-
Nürnberg seems to want to play to the level of their opponents. Obviously they need some offensive firepower, but that doesn’t seem likely. But they seem solid enough to avoid relegation, and perhaps that’s all that’s in it.

15 VfL Wolfsburg (17 5 4 8 17:27 -10 19)
GRADE: C-
The VWs were headed down the toilet, but they recognized that Felix Magath the Championship wonder from a couple years ago was replaced by his psycho alter-ego. So they fired his ass just in time, and at least they’ve been respectable since. The main bright spot is that playmaker Diego has led the charge back. The board however seems nuts, and will probably shake things up so things could still go south.

16 1899 Hoffenheim (17 3 3 11 23:41 -18 12)
GRADE: D
They suck. There is some talent, but they have no clue. Or at least Markus Babbel had no clue, so his ass was fired. But still, there is a sneaking suspicion that the players really don’t care, so relegation is a possibility.

17 FC Augsburg (17 1 6 10 12:29 -17 9)
GRADE: D
They have no talent, so what do you expect? They play hard, but can’t score. Last year was great, they survived. But their coach bailed to a 2.Liga team, so that gives you an indication of what he thought of their prospects. Their fans support the team strongly, so that’s worth something.

18 SpVgg Greuther Fürth (N) (17 1 6 10 11:28 -17 9)
GRADE: D-
Not a real surprise. Same as Augsburg, only they don’t have a fan base.

DFB-Cup 3rd round

No real shocking results in the 3rd round of the DFB Cup, the so-called Achtelfinale (“the eigth finals”). Actually, I suppose that Offenbach dumping out Düsseldorf would qualify, especially since the Kickers have been shite recently, and Fortuna seems to have recovered their way in the Bundesliga.

Defending Cup holder Dortmund totally dominated and kicked Hannover’s ass. Stuttgart only went through the motions, but had an easy time since Köln was crap.

Wolfsburg was a bit more interested than Leverkusen, so they ended up the winner.

Bochum has shown some signs of life recently, but they had an easy time with their 2.Liga rival 1860. The guests were on the backfoot when Vallori got his ass tossed early, and the Bochumers ran over them.

Augsburg put in an admirable performance against Bayern, but they still lost. Fact is, they’re not good enough to take points off the Bundesliga leaders, let alone knock them off in the Cup.

However there was one underdog that was successful. Offenbach was playing over their head, and since Düsseldorf was sucking, the Kickers got a memorable win in front of a packed house. Since their 3.Liga campaign is basically in the toilet, perhaps Cup glory is the way to make it a memorable season.

Schalke actually dominated against Mainz, but given the chaos they’re in, no surprise they lost. Mainz was clever and patient, Schalke attacked furiously but wasted chances. Then the guests kicked them in the balls and ran away with the win.

Freiburg almost ended up with egg on their faces. The in-form Bundesligist jumped to a quick start, but then tried to coast. Instead, 3.Liga KSC attacked and pressed them back, and were perhaps unlucky not to equalize.

For the quarter-finals, the draw has a Knaller: Bayern will host Dortmund. All eyes will be on this one. The other interesting match is of course Offenbach, who will host Wolfsburg. Tough, but the VWs are all over the place, so a stunning upset is not impossible. Stuttgart hosts Bochum in a likely snoozer, and two in form Bundesliga sides in Mainz hosting Freiburg (although likely no one really cares).

Borussia Dortmund   - 	 Hannover (Mi.) 	5:1 (3:0)   77,655

                   1:0  M. Götze (3., Großkreutz)
                   2:0  Blaszczykowski (18., Reus)
                   3:0  M. Götze (40.)
                   3:1  M. Diouf (79., Huszti)
                   4:1  M. Götze (84., Lewandowski)
                   5:1  Lewandowski (90., Bittencourt)

VfB Stuttgart 	    - 	 1.FC Köln 	        2:1 (2:0)   27,500

                   1:0  Gentner (31., Traoré)
                   2:0  Ibisevic (35., penalty
                   2:1  Clemens (80., Royer)

VfL Wolfsburg 	    - 	 Bayer Leverkusen 	2:1 (0:1)   10,781

                   0:1  Fagner (31., pwn goal, Boenisch)
                   1:1  Träsch (78., Olic)
                   2:1  Dost (90.)

VfL Bochum 	    - 	 1860 München 	        3:0 (1:0)   20,206

                   1:0  Dedic (30., Goretzka)
                   2:0  Maltritz (75., Sinkiewicz)
                   3:0  Maltritz (78., Goretzka)

FC Augsburg 	    - 	 FC Bayern München	0:2 (0:1)   30,660 *

                   0:1  Gomez (26., Ribery)
                   0:2  Shaqiri (85., T. Müller)

Kickers Offenbach   - 	 Fortuna Düsseldorf 	2:0 (0:0)   18,400 *

                   1:0  Fetsch (76., Hahn)
                   2:0  Vogler (85., Feldhahn)

Schalke 04	    - 	 FSV Mainz 05 	        1:2 (0:1)   54,202

                   0:1  M. Caligiuri (30., Szalai)
                   1:1  Huntelaar (75., Marica)
                   1:2  N. Müller (83., Kirchhoff)

Karlsruher SC 	    - 	 SC Freiburg 	        0:1 (0:1)   28,200 *

                   0:1  Schmid (2., Rosenthal)

WSV: Winter comes…mercifully

A decent outing for change, but no real result for WSV. Wuppertal travelled to Köln to face Fortuna, and despite a late strike, was unable to hold on for the victory. As usual, WSV is drifting aimlessly around. We’ll be spared any more crap performances till end January, as they get snowed in…

The big news is that Christian Knappmann will be leaving WSV in the Winterbreak, going to Borussia Dortmund II. His contract was dissolved this morning. How lame is that? Knappmann has been one of the few positives this season. He’s behind last season’s total of 30, but has managed 12 at the halfway mark, pretty respectable (2nd in league). There was some thought of him leaving before the season started, but the deal fell through. For Knappmann, it’s a jump up to the 3.Liga, and perhaps a chance to sneak in a cup-of-coffee with the big Neons. But let’s be serious. He’s already 31, and BVB-II is to develop future talent. So I assume Dortmund’s intention is to try and keep the II squad at the 3.Liga level, to maximize the quality for the young starts. So perhaps a proven goal scorer like Knappmann can help them stay up. Of course, for WSV, this is a disaster, but it just reinforces how the club is on the train to Nowheresburg…

	
SC Fortuna Köln: 
Poggenborg – 
Yilmaz, Flottmann, Ndjeng, Schäfer – 
Pagano, Nottbeck, Pospischil (66. Schaaf), Kessel – 
Kraus (79. Scherz), Montabell (71. Cannizzaro). 
Trainer: Uwe Koschinat 

WSV: 
Semmler – 
Schumacher, Reichert (38. Haas), Wiwerink, El Hammouchi – 
Neppe (86. Abel), Meier, Fleßers, Moosmayer, Quotschalla (79. Boztepe) – 
Knappmann. 
Trainer: Jörg Jung 

Scoring: 0:1 Abel (89.), 1:1 Cannizzaro (90.) 

Cards: Wiwerink, Reichert, Neppe, Haas 

Ref: Benjamin Bläser (Niederzier) 

Attendance: 912 (Südstadion, Köln)



REGIONALLIGA WEST

SC Verl	               -   Sportfreunde Siegen	    3:3 (2:2)     332
1. FC Köln II	       -   Sportfreunde Lotte	    0:1 (0:1)     250
Bayer Leverkusen II    -   FC Viktoria Köln	    2:3 (2:1)     620
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen    -   FC Schalke 04 II	    1:2 (0:0)   1,924
Fortuna Köln	       -   Wuppertaler SV 	    1:1 (0:0)     912
SV Bergisch Gladbach   -   Borussia M'gladbach II   0:6 (0:1)     150
FC Kray	               -   SC Wiedenbrück 2000	    0:2 (0:2)     450
SSVg Velbert	       -   Rot-Weiss Essen	    2:4 (0:3) 	1,460  
Fortuna Düsseldorf II  -   VfL Bochum II	canceled
VfB Hüls	       -   MSV Duisburg II	canceled



 1  Sportfreunde Lotte	  	21   13   5   3     39:19  +20 	  44
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 2  FC Schalke 04 II	  	21   13   5   3     36:17  +19 	  44 
 3  FC Viktoria Köln (N)	20   13   4   3     49:26  +23 	  43 
 4  Fortuna Köln	  	20   13   3   4     39:17  +22 	  42 
 5  Rot-Weiss Essen	  	21   12   6   3     37:27  +10 	  42 
 6  Sportfreunde Siegen (N)	20   11   4   5     35:18  +17 	  37 
 7  Wuppertaler SV 	  	20    7   8   5     32:27  +5 	  29 
 8  SC Verl	  	        21    7   7   7     40:32  +8 	  28 
 9  1. FC Köln II	  	20    7   6   7     35:33  +2 	  27 
10  SC Wiedenbrück 2000	  	21    7   5   9     31:34  -3 	  26 
11  VfL Bochum II	  	19    7   3   9     21:26  -5 	  24 
12  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen (A)	21    7   2   12    30:40  -10 	  23 
13  Bayer Leverkusen II	  	21    6   4   11    26:34  -8 	  22 
14  SSVg Velbert (N)	  	20    6   4   10    20:33  -13 	  22
--------------------------------------------------------------------
15  Borussia M'gladbach II	20    6   3   11    23:33  -10 	  21
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  SV Bergisch Gladbach 09 (N)	20    6   3   11    20:40  -20 	  21 
17  MSV Duisburg II (N)	  	19    4   7   8     20:27  -7 	  19 
18  FC Kray (N)	  	        21    5   2   14    20:42  -22 	  17 
19  VfB Hüls (N)	  	19    4   4   11    19:36  -17 	  16 
20  Fortuna Düsseldorf II	19    3   5   11    20:31  -11 	  14


Top club to playoffs. 
Bottom 5 clubs relegated, 15th relegated depending on 3.Liga

BUNDESLIGA, Round 17

Half-way mark and the title race seems over as we go into the winterbreak. Still, there are lot’s of other interesting things going on for me to keep blabbing about…

Leaders Bayern München were solid and pressed hard to go into a pleasant holiday. But they had one problem. Gladbach’s GK Marc-André ter Stegen is just another of the fine young German keepers, and he was brilliant in staving off the furious Bayern attack. Great point for the Gladbachers, and I doubt that the Bayern brass are going to lose any sleep over the dropped points.

Leverkusen is…I guess…the official “chaser” of Bayern, which means that the title is Bayern’s, since even if the Aspirins could get close, they would choke and fail. That said, they can’t be too unhappy with how they’ve been playing, and looked very good against Hamburg. The Alka-Seltzers attacked throughout the match, creating lots of chances, and it was only a matter of how-much they would bitch-slap the Hamburgers. HSV players are probably just looking for some nice bikini eye-candy and warm weather to try and forget a rather poor first half.

Excellent win for Frankfurt at Wolfsburg. The VWs kicked themselves in their own ass when Josue got tossed for a dirty foul early. Despite the deficit, the Wolfies tried hard to get back into the match, but Eintracht was solid and kept a solid grip on the match after Meier and Inui had given them the early one-two punch.

Freiburg is one of the surprises this season. They’ve quietly climbed up the table and stunned Schalke. The Blues dominated early on and grabbed the lead, but then completely lost their way. The Freiburgers took advantage of Schalke brain-farts and quickly seized control. Jan Rosenthal led the way with two goals, before getting shown the door for a double yellow. But it was already over, and Huntelaar followed him 60 seconds later anyway. Disgusting Schalke display, at least if you’re a Blues fan. The Breisgauer deservedly win this one and must love looking at the standings…For Schalke, continued disaster, and after the match coach Huub Stevens was apparently canned. Jens Keller, Schalke U17 coach, will become interim coach and try to figure out what to do.

Mainz put in a great performance and beat down in-form Stuttgart. After a ho-hum first half, things heated in the 2nd, and Harnik quickly put the visitors in front. But Mainz has proven to be quite resilient, and Nicolai Müller notched a double that put the Rheinhessen on the road to victory.

Hannover has no one to blame but themselves for the loss at Düsseldorf. Fortuna seemed content to do nothing and let another scoreless draw go across. But the 96ers were so crap they couldn’t even allow that, and managed to give up a goal. The 96ers eventually were able to equalize, but kept dicking around. So Fortuna grabbed their chance, as Danish midfielder Ken Ilsö put in a direct freekick to give the Düsseldorfers additional cushion above the drop zone…probably enough to keep them up.

Greuther Fürth and Augsburg met in a Bavarian cellar-duel. And as befitting of the main relegation candidates, there wasn’t much skill on display, but there was lots of running around. The visitors had the edge in the initial phase, and deservedly led. The Greuther improved after the restart and equalized, but the offensive lameness was evident – so clearly they weren’t going to win this. Both squads are not strong enough, and look at the tie-breaker: exact same W-D-L, even on points, goal difference…Augsburg gets the edge because they’ve score one more goal…

UPDATE:

Dortmund had few problems bringing home the bacon against Hoffenheim. The Hoppers looked better than usual, especially defensively, but the Neons basically overpowered them. The 1st half saw Dortmund control the match, but the hosts looked decent in defense and were able to relieve the pressure with counters. The 2nd half was more of the same, but the champion’s control seemed to increase as time rolled, and after they took the lead, it was basically over. When Lewandowski put Dortmund up two, the Neons basically shut down and ran out the clock, Hoffenheim having nothing to threaten them with.

Wild finish in Bremen, as Werder and Nürnberg split the points. The hosts totally dominated the match, but were being driven to desperation by FCN GK Rafael Schäfer, who was in superb form. Constant Bremen attacks, but the Greens either blew their chance or had it snuffed out by Schäfer. Then near the end, a Club counter, and all of a sudden the visitors looked to be unlikely winners. But Werder threw everything including the kitchen sink and was finally able to get a goal. A somewhat lucky point for Nürnberg, but I’m sure they’re not complaining.

Total attendance: 350,690 (avg 38,966), two sellouts

 	
Bayern München	       -   Borussia M'gladbach	 1:1 (0:1)   71,000 *

                      0:1  Marx (21., penalty)
                      1:1  Shaqiri (59.)

Bayer Leverkusen       -   Hamburger SV	         3:0 (2:0)   29,489

                      1:0  Kießling (26., Castro)
                      2:0  Schürrle (36., Kießling)
                      3:0  Kießling (66., Leno)


VfL Wolfsburg	       -   Eintracht Frankfurt	 0:2 (0:2)   26,452

                      0:1  Meier (12., Schwegler)
                      0:2  Inui (18., Aigner)

1. FSV Mainz 05	       -   VfB Stuttgart	 3:1 (0:0)   31,376

                      0:1  Harnik (48., Traoré)
                      1:1  N. Müller (55., Pospech)
                      2:1  N. Müller (71., Szalai)
                      3:1  Soto (90. + 2, Polanski)

SpVgg Greuther Fürth   -   FC Augsburg	         1:1 (0:1)   16,340

                      0:1  Mölders (9., Werner)
                      1:1  Sobiech (69., Stieber)

Fortuna Düsseldorf     -   Hannover 96	         2:1 (1:0)   47,263

                      1:0  Schahin (39., Balogun)
                      1:1  M. Diouf (69., Schmiedebach)
                      2:1  Ilsö (83.)

FC Schalke 04	       -   SC Freiburg	         1:3 (1:2)   60,620

                      1:0  Farfan (20., Holtby)
                      1:1  Rosenthal (26., M. Kruse)
                      1:2  Schmid (32., M. Kruse)
                      1:3  Rosenthal (61., D. Caligiuri)


Sunday:

1899 Hoffenheim	       -   Borussia Dortmund     1:3 (1:1)   30,150 *

                      0:1  M. Götze (26., Leitner)
                      1:1  Schipplock (35., Volland)
                      1:2  Großkreutz (58., Reus)
                      1:3  Lewandowski (66., Gündogan)

Werder Bremen	       -   1. FC Nürnberg        1:1 (0:0)   38,000

                      0:1  Gebhart (82., Pinola)
                      1:1  Petersen (88., de Bruyne)

	


 1  Bayern München	  	17   13   3   1     44:7   +37 	  42 
 2  Bayer Leverkusen	  	17   10   3   4     33:22  +11 	  33 
 3  Borussia Dortmund (M, P)	17    8   6   3     35:20  +15 	  30
 4  Eintracht Frankfurt (N)	17    9   3   5     33:27  +6 	  30
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  SC Freiburg	  	        17    7   5   5     24:18  +6 	  26 
 6  1. FSV Mainz 05	  	17    8   2   7     24:21  +3 	  26
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 7  FC Schalke 04	  	17    7   4   6     27:25  +2 	  25 
 8  Borussia M'gladbach	  	17    6   7   4     25:26  -1 	  25 
 9  VfB Stuttgart	  	17    7   4   6     21:28  -7 	  25 
10  Hamburger SV	  	17    7   3   7     18:21  -3 	  24 
11  Hannover 96	  	        17    7   2   8     32:31  +1 	  23 
12  Werder Bremen	  	17    6   4   7     28:29  -1 	  22 
13  Fortuna Düsseldorf (N)	17    5   6   6     20:22  -2 	  21 
14  1. FC Nürnberg	  	17    5   5   7     17:22  -5 	  20 
15  VfL Wolfsburg	  	17    5   4   8     17:27  -10 	  19
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  1899 Hoffenheim	  	17    3   3   11    23:41  -18 	  12
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  FC Augsburg	  	        17    1   6   10    12:29  -17 	  9 
18  SpVgg Greuther Fürth (N)	17    1   6   10    11:28  -17 	  9


M = Meister, defending Champion
P = Pokal, defending Cup winner
N = Neuling, newly promoted

1st line: Champions League
2nd line: Europaliga (+ Cup winner)
3rd line: Playoff with 2.Liga 3rd place
4th line: Relegation to 2.Liga

2.Liga, Round 19

Hertha deservedly won in a difficult match against an FSV Frankfurt side that hunkered down and didn’t yield an inch defensively. Hertha tried to press, but found now way through. To make matters worse, the Bornheimers launched a raid and even took the lead. It was Brazilian Ronny, who’s having a fine season for the Berliners, who managed to turn the tide late and get the win. Looks like a return to the Bundesliga is in the cards, provided they don’t stink up the joint in the 2nd half of the season.

BTW, Hertha oldie Levan Kobiashvili has been fined 60,000 euros for his disgraceful behavior in the promotion playoff at Düsseldorf last season. Seems reasonable punishment for the foreigner with the most all-time Bundesliga matches. He seems to have accepted the verdict, at least he hasn’t applied for a Serbian passport so UEFA could just give him a wrist slap instead…

No ho-ho-ho in Kaiserslautern. FCK’s holiday collapse has been shocking. The Reds were stunned at home by Aalen, whom most FCK fans probably couldn’t even find on a map. The hosts controlled the ball and space, but the promoted side showed excellent defensive discipline and warded off threats easily. Then just before half FCK fell asleep and Aalen pounced with a blitz counter and scored. Lautern totally dominated in the 2nd half and blew some decent chances to equalize, and are left with an egg on their face and have completely lost touch with the top. Great result for Aalen, continuing their fine maiden 2.Liga season.

Crappy weather and conditions put a damper on the ex-GDR derby between Aue and Cottbus. Freezing cold but hot-tempers made for a nasty struggle that ultimately ended with some red cards at the end. Erzgebirge was rewarded a somewhat contraversial penalty, but in the end deservedly won, as they were the better side. They needed the win to try and keep some room above the abyss-zone. Energie might have deserved a little better, but blew their chance to make K-lautern’s Xmas even worse…

Hard fought match in Sandhausen, Köln perhaps wondering what they were doing in some unknown village in mid-December, fighting to keep their asses warm. Lots of fouls, few scoring opportunities, a fair result.

Entertaining match in Ingolstadt, but the hosts and St.Pauli having a few goal chances. Overall, a fair result.

UPDATE:

Dresden got a good point at 1860, but still remain in the dumps. The hosts were the dominant squad, but Dynamo showed decent spirit and a compact defense. They even managed to grab the lead and perhaps felt they could hold on as the Lions wasted their chances. But a late goal squared the match, which gives the fair result.

Duisburg has found life recently, although it looked like a step backwards against Regensburg. With MSV sleeping, Jahn jumped out to a nice half-time lead, which a few weeks ago would have been sufficient for a nice win. However the Zebras have straightened some things out, and came out with a furious assault in the 2nd half, and the Regensburg dream crumbled.

Bochum is another club that has perhaps woken up. They weren’t doing much against Paderborn, but neither were the guests. What was different is that VfL actually converted their chances. For SCP, the second goal was apparently the sign it was vacation, and they basically stopped playing in the 2nd half. Bochum toyed around and then decided to kick Paderborn in the ass a couple more times as an Xmas present.

Braunschweig had a hardtime, but was finally able to beat down a spirited Union Berlin. Eintracht was able to leap back into the lead with the win, while Union’s mini unbeaten streak is stopped at seven.

 	
1. FC Kaiserslautern   -   VfR Aalen	        0:1 (0:1)   23,006

                      0:1  Valentini (45., Leandro)

Erzgebirge Aue	       -   Energie Cottbus	3:0 (1:0)    7,050

                      1:0  Sylvestr (38., penalty, Hochscheidt)
                      2:0  Sylvestr (80., Könnecke)
                      3:0  M. Fink (85., Könnecke)

SV Sandhausen	       -   1. FC Köln	        0:0 (0:0)    6,200

Hertha BSC Berlin      -   FSV Frankfurt	2:1 (0:0)   30,000

                      0:1  M. Görlitz (55.)
                      1:1  M. Ndjeng (82., Ronny)
                      2:1  Ronny (84., Lustenberger)

FC Ingolstadt 04       -   FC St. Pauli	        0:0 (0:0)    6,648

Sunday:
 	
1860 München	       -   Dynamo Dresden	1:1 (0:0)   22,200

                      0:1  Gueye (61., Solga)
                      1:1  Vallori (80., Tomasov)

MSV Duisburg	       -   Jahn Regensburg	4:2 (0:2)   10,741

                      0:1  Sembolo (11., Altinay)
                      0:2  Laurito (40., Neunaber)
                      1:2  Sukalo (52., Jovanovic)
                      2:2  Jovanovic (61., Bomheuer)
                      3:2  Brandy (63., Baljak)
                      4:2  Brosinski (88.)
 
VfL Bochum	       -   SC Paderborn 07	4:0 (2:0)   10,250

                      1:0  Aydin (17., Rzatkowski)
                      2:0  Goretzka (40., Rzatkowski)
                      3:0  Aydin (72., Rzatkowski)
                      4:0  Scheidhauer (80., Goretzka)


Monday:
Eintracht Braunschweig -   1. FC Union Berlin   4:3 (2:2)   21,200

                      0:1  Nemec (4., Quiring)
                      1:1  Kumbela (10.)
                      1:2  Nemec (32.)
                      2:2  Kumbela (43., penalty, Ademi)
                      3:2  Kumbela (57., Boland)
                      4:2  Boland (75.)
                      4:3  Quiring (90.)


Total attendance: 137,295 (avg 15,255)


 1  Eintracht Braunschweig	19   13   5   1     35:15  +20 	  44
 2  Hertha BSC Berlin (A)	19   12   6   1     36:15  +21 	  42
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  1. FC Kaiserslautern (A)	19    8   8   3     29:21  +8 	  32
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  Energie Cottbus	  	19    8   5   6     26:23  +3 	  29 
 5  VfR Aalen (N)	  	19    8   4   7     20:16  +4 	  28 
 6  1860 München	  	19    6   9   4     21:15  +4 	  27 
 7  1. FC Union Berlin	  	19    7   6   7     30:27  +3 	  27 
 8  FSV Frankfurt	  	19    8   3   8     27:24  +3 	  27 
 9  FC Ingolstadt 04	  	19    6   8   5     22:21  +1     26
10  1. FC Köln (A)	  	19    6   8   5     22:21  +1 	  26 
11  Erzgebirge Aue	  	19    6   5   8     27:28  -1 	  23
12  SC Paderborn 07	  	19    6   5   8     23:24  -1 	  23 
13  FC St. Pauli	  	19    5   7   7     18:22  -4 	  22 
14  MSV Duisburg	  	19    6   3   10    20:32  -12 	  21 
15  VfL Bochum	  	        19    5   5   9     24:33  -9 	  20
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16  Dynamo Dresden	  	19    3   7   9     19:29  -10 	  16
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17  SV Sandhausen (N)	  	19    3   6   10    20:39  -19 	  15 
18  Jahn Regensburg (N)	  	19    3   4   12    22:34  -12 	  13	


A = Absteiger just Relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

1st line: Promotion to Bundesliga
2nd line: Playoff with 16th Bundesliga
3rd line: Playoff with no.3 of 3.Liga
4th line: Relegation to 3.Liga