Köln had a rough time at Bielefeld. Arminia was determined to get something from the match, and fought relentlessly. Köln raised their game in the 2nd half, and were rewarded with a late goal. Perhaps Bielefeld deserved something for their courageous performance, but this is the kind of game you need to see from a team that is wanting a return to the Bundesliga this season.

Ingolstadt continued their revival with an unexpected win at Greuther Fürth. Unexpected, but not undeserved. The Schanzer showed good organization and determination, and their hosts largely phoned it in for the first half. When the Greuther finally got down, FCI was ready and withstood the pressure.

St.Pauli should have won easily against Sandhausen, but they wasted their chances like a bunch of fairies. They had enough to win two or three matches, but just pissed it away, which is perhaps a true indication of why they don’t seem to be ready to challenge. Obviously a nice point for SVS, and certainly not expected.

Disastrous performance by Düsseldorf, as they got their ass ripped at home by Paderborn. Man of the match was ex-Wuppertaler Mahir Saglik, who bagged four in embarassing the home side. Fortuna dicked around aimlessly and were duly punished. The fans should have rioted, but were probably too stunned to believe what they were seeing.

Not much going on in Frankfurt, basically neither FSV nor Aalen deserved to win this one. FSV had the best chance, but Aalen GK Jasmin Fejzic stopped Yelen’s penalty.

Union Berlin dominated the match against Aue, with Erzgebirge hunkered down to try and catenaccio a point. Luckily, it didn’t work, and the Berliners ended up with a win that keeps them at the top.

Another fierce eastern derby, this one with relegation implications. Dresden hosted Cottbus, and the fervor on the pitch was matched by the stands. Referee Felix Brych, fresh off his legendary performance in Hoffenheim last week, was once again a focal point, although this time it wasn’t his doing: he interrupted the match for about 10 minutes because Cottbus fans launched rockets onto the field. Overall, Dynamo started fast, but soon Energie assumed control, creating better chances and pushing the hosts back. It was a somewhat lucky goal that gave them the win, which they desperately needed.

Karlsruhe knocked off the toothless Lions to get back on track. Not much t report here except they deserved the win. 1860 looked better in the 2nd half, but their desolate performance in the opening period was enough to sink them.

Monday has a desperate Bochum hosting Kaiserslautern.

SpVgg Greuther Fürth  -   FC Ingolstadt 04	0:1 (0:1)   10,025

                     0:1  Mo. Hartmann (9., P. Groß)

FC St. Pauli	      -   SV Sandhausen	        0:0 (0:0)   27,901

Arminia Bielefeld     -   1. FC Köln	        0:1 (0:0)   26,500 *

                     0:1  Peszko (80., M. Lehmann)

Fortuna Düsseldorf    -   SC Paderborn 07	1:6 (1:2)   31,500

                     0:1  Saglik (28., Bertels)
                     1:1  Latka (40., Bellinghausen)
                     1:2  Saglik (45. + 1, Meha)
                     1:3  Saglik (63., Meha)
                     1:4  Saglik (70., Vrancic)
                     1:5  Kachunga (76., Brückner)
                     1:6  Latka (86., own goal, Kachunga)

FSV Frankfurt	      -   VfR Aalen	        0:0 (0:0)    3,500


 	
1. FC Union Berlin    -   Erzgebirge Aue	1:0 (0:0)   20,541

                     1:0  Mattuschka (62., direct freekick)

Dynamo Dresden	      -   Energie Cottbus	1:0 (0:0)   29,593

                     1:0  Poté (72., Ouali)

Karlsruher SC	      -   1860 München	        2:1 (2:0)   16,527

                     1:0  Alibaz (16., Nazarov)
                     2:0  Vallori (22., own goal, Klingmann)
                     2:1  Stoppelkamp (85.)


Monday:
VfL Bochum	      -   1. FC Kaiserslautern	0:0 (0:0)   16,563
 	


 1  1. FC Köln	  	        12    6  6  0 	  17:5 	 +12 	  24 
 2  1. FC Union Berlin	  	12    7  3  2 	  21:12  +9 	  24
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SpVgg Greuther Fürth (A)	12    6  2  4 	  20:14  +6 	  20
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  1. FC Kaiserslautern	12    5  4  3 	  17:13  +4 	  19 
 5  FC St. Pauli	  	12    5  4  3 	  17:14  +3 	  19 
 6  SC Paderborn 07	  	12    5  3  4 	  22:22   0 	  18 
 7  FSV Frankfurt	  	12    4  4  4 	  17:13  +4 	  16 
 8  Karlsruher SC (N)	  	12    4  4  4 	  13:13   0 	  16 
 9  VfR Aalen	  	        12    4  4  4 	  12:12   0 	  16 
10  Fortuna Düsseldorf (A)	12    4  4  4 	  14:19  -5 	  16 
11  1860 München	  	12    4  3  5 	   9:12  -3 	  15 
12  Erzgebirge Aue	  	12    5  0  7 	  14:19  -5 	  15 
13  SV Sandhausen	  	12    3  5  4 	   8:11  -3 	  14 
14  Arminia Bielefeld (N)	12    4  2  6 	  17:23  -6 	  14 
15  Energie Cottbus	  	12    3  4  5 	  18:17  +1 	  13
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  VfL Bochum	  	        12    3  3  6 	  13:14  -1 	  12 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Dynamo Dresden	  	12    2  6  4 	  11:18  -7 	  12
18  FC Ingolstadt 04	  	12    3  1  8 	  11:20  -9 	  10

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

The trimumvirate marches on, as Bayern, Dortmund and Leverkusen have opened up a 10(!) point gap on the rest of the field. That pretty much puts a lock on the three direct Champions League qualifiers, and everybody else has to fight for the scraps.

All eyes were of course on the famed “Revier-derby” as Schalke hosted Dortmund. The Neons were the better team and come away with a deserved victory. Schalke gave a good effort, but never looked like they could fully come back. They’ve had the upper hand in the last couple (indeed for first 3 game streak since 1969), but were really too weak in front of goal. Dortmund was strong on the ball and finished when needed, grabbing an early lead and then keeping the pressure.

Leaders Bayern München had a hard time with Hertha. The upstart Berliners jumped into a lead, and it took a while for Bayern to get rolling. When the champs finally broke through and looked like they would roll on to another rout, Hertha struck back and kept the match interesting. The Berliners can look to a positive performance, Bayern of course gets the win to keep the lead. This was Frank Ribery’s 39th straight match win as a starter, breakig the old record from HSV’s Holger Hieronymous in the early 1980s.

Leverkusen kept pace with a win over stubborn Augsburg. The Fuggers grabbed an early lead, and then withstood constant Aspirin pressure. Bayer was beginning to get a bit desperate, but were ultimately rewarded with a late goal that gives them a deserved win. Good effort by Augsburg, but they never seem to get much against the Aspirins.

Interesting match in Hannover, as the 96ers went down in flames against Hoffenheim. Hannover’s Mame Diouf should change the spelling of his name to “Doof”, which seems more appropriate (if you don’t speak German, “Google Translate” can help out). First he complained too much, as Hannover felt that an early Hoffenheim penalty was somehow “make-up” for the Hoppers bad call against Leverkusen last week (yeah, right). Besides, we all know how many times a ref changes his mind after a player argues with him…exactly. Then a few minutes later Doof gets another yellow for some crap foul. Actually, this is legendary, as Doof now is in the history books as the fastest double-yellow in Bundesliga history. Well done! BTW, Marcelo apparently was upset that Doof got all the accolades, so after about an hour of simmering, when he got called for a foul blabbed so much that the ref tossed his ass too.
Meanwhile, Hoffenheim was running rampant and ripped the home side’s ass, their first home loss of the season. The Hoffenheimers were certainly a hated team because of their “money”, but things seem to be changing, as they’ve jettisoned their spendthrift ways and brought in hungry players and a young coach, playing attractive football (Well, basically with best attack and worst defense).

Nürnberg featured their new coach, Dutchman Gert Verbeek, and FCN did manage to grab a draw at Stuttgart. The home side looked stronger and probably should have won given recent form, but der Club defended well. VfB wasted too many chances, so they really can’t complain too loudly about dropping points. Nürnberg is still looking for it’s first victory. Verbeek is known for being a disciplinarian, despite his “wild man of wongo” hairstyle. He’s done some impressive things in Dutch football, but usually ends up with a player revolt. Kind of like a poor man’s Felix Magath? Perhaps this is what der Club needs now, but it doesn’t seem like this is a match for the ages.

Braunschweig is going down and looking to take someone with them. Mainz has been struggling and is certainly a candidate. The home side suprisingly decided not to take the initiative, allowing Braunschweig to control the pace and midfield. Instead Mainz relied on counters. Coach Tuchel showed why he is considered a major talent, as his plan worked to perfection, with Japanese import Shinji Okazaki notching a double. The win gives Mainz a needed boost. Braunschweig looks a lot like last season’s Greuther Fürth: the will and fight is there, but there just ain’t enough talent.

The northern derby in Wolfsburg ended with a clear win for the VWs. Bremen looked total crap, and can thank their GK Sebastian Mielitz that it wasn’t an embarassment. Wolfsburg showed clever combinations and pressed forward, and if they show this consistently, should be able to challenge for the Euroliga. (And of course the 4th Champions League spot is also up for grabs).

Frieburg GK Oliver Baumann is on suicide watch, probably the worst game of his career against Hamburg. First, he pulled a “Neuer”, running out of his goal and missing the ball, then he had one go through his hands, and finally a lame defense of a harmless shot knocked right to van der Vaart about 5 meters in front of goal. 3 goals to Hamburg, and a critical relegation battle defeat. HSV was basically gifted the game, but at least they said “thankyouverymuch” and went about their business.

Gladbach showed why they are good at home, as they ripped Frankfurt. However the match was pretty even, with Eintracht having a slight edge in possession and attack. Problem was, Gladbach was rock solid in defense and launched dangerous counters, which ultimately finished off the Frankfurters.

Total attendance 388,676 (avg 43,187), sellouts in München, Schalke and Freiburg

VfB Stuttgart	      -   1. FC Nürnberg	1:1 (1:1)   48,640

                     1:0  Ibisevic (3., penalty, Maxim)
                     1:1  Drmic (6., Chandler)

Bayern München	      -   Hertha BSC	        3:2 (1:1)   71,000 *

                     0:1  Ramos (4., Skjelbred)
                     1:1  Mandzukic (30., Ribery)
                     2:1  Mandzukic (51., Schweinsteiger)
                     3:1  M. Götze (54., Rafinha)
                     3:2  Ben-Hatira (58., Ramos)

FC Schalke 04	      -   Borussia Dortmund	1:3 (0:1)   61,973 *

                     0:1  Aubameyang (14., Reus)
                     0:2  Sahin (51., H. Mkhitaryan)
                     1:2  M. Meyer (62., Szalai)
                     1:3  Blaszczykowski (74., H. Mkhitaryan)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen   -   FC Augsburg	        2:1 (1:1)   25,000

                     0:1  Hahn (24., To. Werner)
                     1:1  Rolfes (34., Boenisch)
                     2:1  Can (83., R. Kruse)

Hannover 96	      -   1899 Hoffenheim	1:4 (0:2)   44,500

                     0:1  Salihovic (10., penalty, Modeste)
                     0:2  Herdling (18., Beck)
                     1:2  Sané (56., Bittencourt)
                     1:3  Roberto Firmino (62., Polanski)
                     1:4  Roberto Firmino (64., Schipplock)

1. FSV Mainz 05	      -   Eintr, Braunschweig	2:0 (1:0)   30,657

                     1:0  Okazaki (8., Junior Diaz)
                     2:0  Okazaki (68., N. Müller)

VfL Wolfsburg	      -   Werder Bremen	        3:0 (1:0)   29,488

                     1:0  Arnold (7., Olic)
                     2:0  Olic (72., Perisic)
                     3:0  Perisic (89., Evseev)


Sunday:
SC Freiburg	      -   Hamburger SV	        0:3 (0:1)   24,000 *

                     0:1  Beister (37., Badelj)
                     0:2  Lasogga (47., van der Vaart)
                     0:3  van der Vaart (63., Beister)
 
Bor. Mönchengladbach  -   Eintracht Frankfurt	4:1 (2:1)   53,418

                     1:0  Arango (11., direct freekick)
                     1:1  Aigner (15., Kadlec)
                     2:1  Wendt (18., Raffael)
                     3:1  Herrmann (60., M. Kruse)
                     4:1  Raffael (66., Herrmann)


 1  Bayern München (M, P)	10    8  2  0 	  22:6 	 +16 	  26 
 2  Borussia Dortmund	  	10    8  1  1 	  25:8 	 +17 	  25 
 3  Bayer 04 Leverkusen	  	10    8  1  1 	  22:10  +12 	  25
 4  Bor. Mönchengladbach	10    5  1  4 	  23:15  +8 	  16 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  Hertha BSC Berlin (N)	10    4  3  3 	  17:12  +5 	  15
 6  VfL Wolfsburg	  	10    5  0  5 	  14:12  +2 	  15
-------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 7  FC Schalke 04	  	10    4  2  4 	  18:22  -4 	  14
 8  VfB Stuttgart	  	10    3  4  3 	  20:14  +6 	  13 
 9  1899 Hoffenheim	  	10    3  4  3 	  25:23  +2 	  13 
10  Hannover 96	  	        10    4  1  5 	  12:16  -4 	  13 
11  1. FSV Mainz 05	  	10    4  1  5 	  15:21  -6 	  13 
12  Hamburger SV	  	10    3  3  4 	  23:22  +1 	  12
13  Werder Bremen	  	10    3  3  4 	   9:15  -6 	  12 
14  Eintracht Frankfurt	  	10    2  4  4 	  13:18  -5 	  10 
15  FC Augsburg	  	        10    3  1  6 	  11:19  -8 	  10 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  1. FC Nürnberg	  	10    0  7  3 	  11:19  -8 	  7
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  SC Freiburg	  	        10    0  5  5 	   9:21  -12 	  5 
18  Eintracht Braunschweig (N)	10    1  1  8 	   7:23  -16 	  4

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

An interesting round in the 3rd division, with a lot of the favorites having trouble.

Wehen suprisingly fired their coach midweek, and the villagers were down a man after 30 minutes. Plus they faced leaders Heidenheim away, so things looked grim. But they held on in dtermined fashion and saved a point, a good result. FCH probably didn’t mind too much, since Leipzig went down and they remain firmly in control of the board.

The new Sachsen derby went off in hot fashion, as Chemnitz faced money bags Leipzig, who due to the brazen action of Red Bull have created a lot of ill-will and envy among the eastern clubs. CFC was up to the task and they managed to beat down a good Leipzig squad, getting a bit of room from the relegation mire.

Osnabrück was stunned at home by Elversberg, but it wasn’t undeserved. The guests thoroughly outplayed the homes ide, who evidently just thought they could phone it in and get the win. By the time they woke up, they did create some good chances at the end, but SVE held on for a good win.

Two clubs expected to be opposites met in Darmstadt. SV98 was expected to be relegation candidate, Preußen Münster promotion candidate. Well, they’re still opposites, but reversed. Darmstadt really didn’t have to do much as Münster pretty much self-destructed. Dominik Stroh-Engel hit another hat-trick for the home side, now 14 goals/14 matches. The Lilies jump back into 2nd and continue their good season. Münster had been showing signs of life, but now it’s back to the drawing board.

Unterhaching has been in good form recently, but they showed little against Kiel, who were happy for a point and regaining a bit of stability.

Ho-hum match in Stuttgart, who have quietly climbed the table. Duisburg is still struggling, but get a point.

Regensburg has been sinking, but they put it together and fought down Erfurt in a good match (at least for the home fans).

Hansa still has faithful fans, so a decent crowd showed in an eastern battle against Halle. Rostock’s coach Bergmann is trying to save the sinking ship (and his job), and Halle hasn’t won in Rostock in 40 years…so both sides had a lot to play for. Hansa looked good early but when HFC climbed back into the game, it was a nerve wracking end game/ But Hansa held on and got some well needed points.

An exciting relegation battle in Saarbrücken, where FCS came out on top somewhat fortunately against Stuttgarter Kickers. The match was pretty even and both sides were playing for the win. The home side had a bit more luck and got a desperate win that lifts them from the bottom.

Dortmund B had a routine win against bottom Burghausen. Since the BVB-Bubis are mostly unknown youngsters, nobody bothers to show up, especially when all eyes are on the Revier derby as the A team took on Schalke at the same time (who planned that schedule?!)

Total attendance 51,879 (avg 5,188)

 	
SpVgg Unterhaching    -   Holstein Kiel	        0:0 (0:0)    2,550
VfL Osnabrück	      -   SV Elversberg	        0:1 (0:1)    7,044
VfB Stuttgart II      -   MSV Duisburg	        1:1 (1:1)    1,200
1. FC Saarbrücken     -   Stuttgarter Kickers	3:2 (2:2)    4,205
Hansa Rostock	      -   Hallescher FC	        2:1 (2:0)   11,000
SV Darmstadt 98	      -   Preußen Münster	4:0 (1:0)    6,100
Borussia Dortmund II  -   Wacker Burghausen	3:1 (1:0)      323
Chemnitzer FC	      -   RB Leipzig	        3:1 (2:1)    8,305
Jahn Regensburg	      -   Rot-Weiß Erfurt	3:1 (0:0)    3,152
1. FC Heidenheim      -   SV Wehen Wiesbaden	0:0 (0:0)    8,000


 1  1. FC Heidenheim	  	14    9  3  2 	  23:11  +12 	  30 
 2  SV Darmstadt 98	  	14    7  4  3 	  24:10  +14 	  25
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N)	14    7  3  4 	  24:17  +7 	  24
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  SpVgg Unterhaching	  	14    6  5  3 	  22:20  +2 	  23 
 5  VfB Stuttgart II	  	14    6  4  4 	  22:15  +7 	  22 
 6  VfL Osnabrück	  	14    6  4  4 	  20:15  +5 	  22 
 7  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  	14    6  4  4 	  18:16  +2 	  22 
 8  SV Elversberg (N)	  	14    6  3  5 	  13:14  -1 	  21 
 9  Rot-Weiß Erfurt	  	14    6  2  6 	  23:20  +3 	  20 
10  Borussia Dortmund II	14    6  2  6 	  19:23  -4 	  20 
11  MSV Duisburg (A)	  	14    5  4  5 	  17:18  -1 	  19 
12  Hallescher FC	  	14    6  1  7 	  15:18  -3 	  19 
13  Holstein Kiel (N)	  	14    4  6  4 	  18:14  +4 	  18 
14  Hansa Rostock	  	14    5  3  6 	  15:22  -7 	  18 
15  Chemnitzer FC	  	14    4  5  5 	  17:21  -4 	  17 
16  Jahn Regensburg (A)	  	14    4  4  6 	  20:25  -5 	  16 
17  Preußen Münster	  	14    3  6  5 	  24:24   0 	  15
--------------------------------------------------------------------
18  Stuttgarter Kickers	  	14    3  3  8 	  16:21  -5 	  12 
19  1. FC Saarbrücken	  	14    2  5  7 	  15:25  -10 	  11 
20  Wacker Burghausen	  	14    2  3  9 	  13:29  -16 	  9


A = Absteiger just relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

1st line: Promotion to 2.Liga
2nd line: Promotion Playoff with 2.Liga 16th place
3rd line: Relegation to Regionalliga

Pretty decent crowd by Cottbus standards watched Energie and Union battle out to a scoreless draw. Not too many chances, lots of tackling and hard, albeit fair, play. Overall, no doubt this is a reasonable result, and enough to send Union to top of the table, at least for the weekend.

Aalen ripped Bielefeld, continuing their improvement. The match was largely equal, but Arminia fell apart when Aalen scored first.

Believe it or nuts, there was some interest in Sandhausen’s match with Dresden, both sides desperately needing points against relegation. The match itself, although bereft of talent, was quite exciting, both sides having huge chances. Perhaps though not being able to score is a true reflection of their problems, and neither side really helped themselves with the scoreless draw.

Paderborn gave themselves some life as they stomped FSV Frankfurt. A deserved result, SCP playing hard and charging forwards for the victory. FSV has conituned to amaze the pundits, but were out of their zone in this one. In interesting side news, FSV had announced earlier that their budget for the whole squad was only 5 million euros, which is pretty tiny, as there are 4th division clubs that are within that reaching range.

Bochum continues in crisis. They looked like they might be turning it around, as they grabbed an early lead at Aue and dominated till half. But Erzgebirge came out breathing fire after the restart, and the Bochumers folded like a tent…

St.Pauli ran rings around their hosts Greuther Fürth, a somewhat surprising result, as the Greuther are one of the clear favorites, and have been playing pretty well. The Paulistas are very inconsistent, but showed what they’re capable of when they’re on point. SP was aggressive in attack, and took the match to the hosts, and ended up with a deserved victory. It’s too early to say whether St.Pauli will contend, let’s see what they are up to in the next few games. Most likely this won’t impact Greuther Fürth too drastically.

Kaiserslautern laid an egg when they let Karlsruhe escape with a point. The home side dominated the match, taking the lead twice. But KSC hit back and managed to secure a point, much to the dismay of the large FCK crowd. Results like this cost Lautern last season, and if they want a secure promotion, they can’t be dropping points like this. Obviously a good result for KSC.

Düsseldorf continues to suck, but have quietly moved up into respectability, and if they could get some “Fortuna”, they could actually contend. They had a hard time early going against Ingolstadt, who despite propping up the table, still remain a difficult opponent. But another double from new Dutch striker Charlison Benschop got Düsseldorf the win, so they can’t complain. Overall, it was deserved, as they were the better team. The main question is whether they have straightened out the ship after their poor start. It will be hard to see Ingolstadt putting together enough wins to avoid the drop, although with several clubs sucking, it’s not out of possibility.

On Monday, Köln faces 1860, a battle of two traditionals (and original Bundesliga members). The Kölners dominated, and had several chances, but ultimately blew it, hitting the woodwork and missing a penalty.

Total attendance 157,071 (avg 17,452)

 	
Energie Cottbus	      -   1. FC Union Berlin	0:0 (0:0)   16,491

VfR Aalen	      -   Arminia Bielefeld	3:0 (0:0)    5,904

                     1:0  A. Hofmann (61., Linksschuss, Junglas)
                     2:0  Junglas (70., Kopfball, Leandro)
                     3:0  Lechleiter (81., Rechtsschuss, Reichwein)

SC Paderborn 07	      -   FSV Frankfurt	        4:2 (1:1)    6,593

                     0:1  Leckie (22., Huber)
                     1:1  Saglik (29., Krösche)
                     2:1  Wurtz (49., Saglik)
                     3:1  Saglik (51., Kachunga)
                     3:2  Kapllani (52., M. Görlitz)
                     4:2  Meha (53., Wemmer)

SV Sandhausen	      -   Dynamo Dresden        0:0 (0:0)    6,500
 	  	
Erzgebirge Aue	      -   VfL Bochum	        2:1 (0:1)    7,500

                     0:1  Sukuta-Pasu (3., Tiffert)
                     1:1  Kocer (48., Schröder)
                     2:1  Kocer (50., Janjic)
	 	
SpVgg Greuther Fürth  -   FC St. Pauli	        2:4 (1:1)   14,110

                     0:1  Maier (12., Bartels)
                     1:1  Fürstner (24.)
                     1:2  Schindler (50.)
                     1:3  Schindler (58., Nöthe)
                     2:3  Trinks (77., Stieber)
                     2:4  Bartels (90. + 5, Buchtmann)

1. FC Kaiserslautern  -   Karlsruher SC	        2:2 (1:1)   45,293

                     1:0  Simunek (20., Matmour)
                     1:1  Torres (40.)
                     2:1  Orban (62., Torrejon)
                     2:2  van der Biezen (74., Yabo)

FC Ingolstadt 04      -   Fortuna Düsseldorf	1:2 (0:0)    6,380

                     0:1  Benschop (50.)
                     0:2  Benschop (63., O. Fink)
                     1:2  Matip (90. + 1, Mo. Hartmann)


Monday:
1. FC Köln	      -   1860 München	        0:0 (0:0)   48,300 	


 1  1. FC Köln	  	        11   5 	6  0 	  16:5 	 +11 	  21 
 2  1. FC Union Berlin	  	11   6 	3  2 	  20:12  +8 	  21 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SpVgg Greuther Fürth (A)	11   6 	2  3 	  20:13  +7 	  20
 -------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  1. FC Kaiserslautern	11   5 	3  3 	  17:13  +4 	  18 
 5  FC St. Pauli	  	11   5 	3  3 	  17:14  +3 	  18 
 6  Fortuna Düsseldorf (A)	11   4 	4  3 	  13:13   0 	  16 
 7  FSV Frankfurt	  	11   4 	3  4 	  17:13  +4 	  15 
 8  1860 München	  	11   4 	3  4 	   8:10  -2 	  15 
 9  VfR Aalen	  	        11   4 	3  4 	  12:12   0 	  15 
10  Erzgebirge Aue	  	11   5 	0  6 	  14:18  -4 	  15 
11  SC Paderborn 07	  	11   4 	3  4 	  16:21  -5 	  15 
12  Arminia Bielefeld (N)	11   4 	2  5 	  17:22  -5 	  14 
13  Energie Cottbus	  	11   3 	4  4 	  18:16  +2 	  13 
14  Karlsruher SC (N)	  	11   3 	4  4 	  11:12  -1 	  13 
15  SV Sandhausen	  	11   3 	4  4 	   8:11  -3 	  13
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  VfL Bochum	  	        11   3 	2  6 	  13:14  -1 	  11
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Dynamo Dresden	  	11   1 	6  4 	  10:18  -8 	  9 
18  FC Ingolstadt 04	  	11   2 	1  8 	  10:20  -10 	  7


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

OK, let’s get the outrage of of the way first. Bayer Leverkusen got what is sure to be remembered as “a phantom goal” which for all intents and purposes decided the match against Hoffenheim. Leading 1-0, the Aspirins served up a corner kick to the near post that Stefan Kiessling headed into the outside netting. However it managed to slip through a hole in the net and went in!! And even after examining the hole, referee Dr. Felix Brych allowed the goal to stand. The Hoppers had already had an equalizing goal ruled null due to a non-existant offside, so this was like getting kicked in the balls twice. Apparently the good Doktor decided he had to try and even things out a bit, so a few minutes later he awarded Hoffenheim a dubious penalty, which they duly missed. So Leverkusen got the win that shouldn’t have been. You might argue it was a poor display of sportsmanship by the Aspirins, knowing it wasn’t a goal. But on the other hand, I don’t suppose anybody else would have done much different. Hoffenheim will apparently lodge an official protest. Now that should be interesting, since the DFB has been known to reverse decisions. I remember one a few years back when Nürnberg hosted Bayern München, and Bayern scored a non-goal. I think the game ended in a draw or perhaps Bayern won 2-1. In any case, the DFB examined the evidence and ordered a replay – which Nürnberg promptly lost 0-5, so I guess they should have shut up. So let’s see what happens here…

Bayern München was on break for a half, but then got down to business. Visitors Mainz hoped to catenaccio their way to a result, and indeed took the lead into the half and hoped for the best. No dice, as Bayern just turned up the heat a notch after the restart and quickly seized control of the match en route to a clear win.

Crap match in Dortmund as the Neons got an early penalty against Hannover and then phoned it in for the rest of the match. The 96ers were clearly better in the 2nd half, but were worthless up front, so Dortmund continued to sip their beers and wait for the whistle.

Horrible match in Bremen, as both Werder and Freiburg apparently were on strike. Neither side could do anything and it looked like the players wanted to just go watch Bundesliga highlights at the pub. Ultimately the disappointed fans (a sellout no less) probably just agreed with them. BTW, this match does have some claim to fame, as I believe this is the first scoreless match of the season, which goes to show that in general offense rules in the Bundesliga.

Schalke got a lucky win at Braunschweig, the promoted side deserving a point. The Blues struck in injury time to get the win, after having come back twice from the fighting Lions. I suppose philosophically it’s OK, since Braunschweig is going down anyway, so they don’t need the points Plus Schalke could use some good news, because apparently it sounds like injured star striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar needs an operation after all and will miss the whole season.

Hertha BSC played decently, Gladbach was lame. So the Berlin victory goes in order, and Hertha finds themselves in A Euro spot, which certainly nobody expected.

Decent performance by Nürnberg at Frankfurt, but they’re still without a win. They fired coach Michael Wiesinger last week, although polls show that only around 16% of the fans think it’s the coach. (56% “players”, 30% “management”). Frankfurt was happy that injured Alex Meier was back, and dominated the early part, and seemed well in control when they took the lead. However der Club woke up and fought their way back, probably deserving a point.

On Sunday games, HSV showed tat they’re a different team under Van Maarwijk. Against Stuttgart, they were a bit like coackroaches, they kept coming back despite getting stomped on by VfB. The fans were treated to an entertaining HSV, which was down three times, but came back each time to equalize. Overall a good match from two teams that seem to finally be stabilized.

Wolfsburg was more clever, Augsburg a bit naive. Thus a win for teh VWs. The Fuggers attacked and controlled most of the match, especially at the start. They grabbed the lead, but Wolfsburg struck a double and gained the advantage that they then rigorously defended. FCA tried hard, but the VWs were solid and get important away points.

Total attendace was pretty good, 431,453 (avg 47,939), sellouts in Dortmund, München and Bremen.

 	
1899 Hoffenheim	        -   Bayer 04 Leverkusen	 1:2 (0:1)   25,213

                       0:1  Sam (26., Castro)
                       0:2  Kießling (70., Castro)
                       1:2  Schipplock (88.)

Borussia Dortmund	-   Hannover 96	         1:0 (1:0)   80,645 *

                       1:0  Reus (4., penalty, Durm)

Bayern München	        -   1. FSV Mainz 05	 4:1 (0:1)   71,000 *

                       0:1  S. Parker (44., Baumgartlinger)
                       1:1  Robben (50., M. Götze)
                       2:1  T. Müller (52., Robben)
                       3:1  Mandzukic (69., M. Götze)
                       4:1  T. Müller (82., penalty, Schweinsteiger)

Werder Bremen	        -   SC Freiburg	         0:0 (0:0)   40,423 *

Eintracht Braunschweig  -   FC Schalke 04	 2:3 (1:1)   23,251

                       1:0  Ademi (20., Henn)
                       1:1  M. Meyer (29., Szalai)
                       2:1  Bellarabi (59., Boland)
                       2:2  Goretzka (65.)
                       2:3  Neustädter (90. + 1, Fuchs)

Eintracht Frankfurt	-   1. FC Nürnberg	 1:1 (0:0)   50,200

                       1:0  Kadlec (50., Meier)
                       1:1  Drmic (86., Mak)
	
Hertha BSC Berlin       -   Bor. Mönchengladbach 1:0 (1:0)   60,000 

                       1:0  Ramos (36., Skjelbred)

Sunday:
Hamburger SV	        -   VfB Stuttgart	 3:3 (1:2)   53,167

                       0:1  Maxim (3., Ibisevic)
                       1:1  Lasogga (22., Arslan)
                       1:2  Gentner (37., Maxim)
                       2:2  Beister (55., Jansen)
                       2:3  Djourou (64., own goal, Traoré)
                       3:3  van der Vaart (67., Beister)

FC Augsburg	        -   VfL Wolfsburg	 1:2 (1:2)   27,554

                       1:0  To. Werner (10., Ostrzolek)
                       1:1  Arnold (35., Diego)
                       1:2  Luiz Gustavo (42., Rodriguez)
	


 1  Bayern München (M, P)	9    7 	2  0 	  19:4 	 +15 	  23 
 2  Borussia Dortmund	  	9    7 	1  1 	  22:7 	 +15 	  22 
 3  Bayer 04 Leverkusen	  	9    7 	1  1 	  20:9 	 +11 	  22
 4  Hertha BSC Berlin (N)	9    4 	3  2 	  15:9 	 +6 	  15
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 5  FC Schalke 04	  	9    4 	2  3 	  17:19  -2 	  14 
 6  Bor. Mönchengladbach	9    4 	1  4 	  19:14  +5 	  13
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 7  Hannover 96	  	        9    4 	1  4 	  11:12  -1 	  13 
 8  VfB Stuttgart	  	9    3 	3  3 	  19:13  +6 	  12 
 9  VfL Wolfsburg	  	9    4 	0  5 	  11:12  -1 	  12 
10  Werder Bremen	  	9    3 	3  3 	   9:12  -3 	  12 
11  1899 Hoffenheim	  	9    2 	4  3 	  21:22  -1 	  10 
12  Eintracht Frankfurt	  	9    2 	4  3 	  12:14  -2 	  10 
13  FC Augsburg	  	        9    3 	1  5 	  10:17  -7 	  10 
14  1. FSV Mainz 05	  	9    3 	1  5 	  13:21  -8 	  10 
15  Hamburger SV	  	9    2 	3  4 	  20:22  -2 	  9
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16  1. FC Nürnberg	  	9    0 	6  3 	  10:18  -8 	  6
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17  SC Freiburg	  	        9    0 	5  4 	   9:18  -9 	  5 
18  Eintracht Braunschweig (N)	9    1 	1  7 	   7:21  -14 	  4


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

A good round for leaders Heidenheim, as they won a tough match at Erfurt by just being a little better. But this win also gives them a little bit of breathing room at the top.

Halle had a poor start to the season, but have been playing well since, and they gave further demonstration as they knocked off suprising Darmstadt, dopping the Lilies back into 3rd.

Leipzig had a suprisingly hard time against Regensburg, and indeed the guests looked the btter team early. A somewhat unlucky goal before half however threw Jahn out of balance, and the RedBulls were able to glide to a victory that puts them in promotion.

Wehen has been floundering since a good start, and despite dominating against Unterhaching most of the match, they ended up with egg on their faces. The guest absorbed the pressure and then cold-bloodedly countered, kicking their hosts in the balls.

Duisburg continues to struggle, and despite having this game won, ended up dropping points against last-place Saarbrücken. Both teams are somewhat of an enigma this season, well below expectations.

Preußen Münster finally got going, as they swamped Dortmund reserves. But it wasn’t that impressive, as they got a penalty and a man-advantage after only 9 minutes, but it took over an hour to really seal the win.

In a battle of strugglers, Stuttgarter Kickers got an important win against sinking Rostock, who seem shell-shocked. Hansa should be a contender, and instead they’re slowly sinking. Everyone knew that staying up would be a challenge for Kickers, but at least they appear to be trying.

Burghausen has improved, and even lifted themselves from the bottom with a win over Chemnitz, who had just fired their coach a week ago..
Total attendance 58,940 (avg 5,894)

MSV Duisburg	     -   1. FC Saarbrücken	3:3 (2:0)   12,764 
Hallescher FC	     -   SV Darmstadt 98	1:0 (1:0)    7,012
Stuttgarter Kickers  -   Hansa Rostock	        2:0 (1:0)    4,610
SV Elversberg	     -   VfB Stuttgart II	0:2 (0:0)    1,220
Holstein Kiel	     -   VfL Osnabrück	        1:1 (1:1)    6,037
SV Wehen Wiesbaden   -   SpVgg Unterhaching	0:2 (0:2)    2,813
Rot-Weiß Erfurt	     -   1. FC Heidenheim	1:2 (1:1)    6,359
RB Leipzig	     -   Jahn Regensburg	2:0 (1:0)    8,742
Wacker Burghausen    -   Chemnitzer FC	        1:0 (0:0)    2,100
Preußen Münster	     -   Borussia Dortmund II	4:0 (1:0)    7,283



 1  1. FC Heidenheim	  	13   9 	2  2 	  23:11  +12 	  29 
 2  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N)	13   7 	3  3 	  23:14  +9 	  24
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 3  SV Darmstadt 98	  	13   6 	4  3 	  20:10  +10 	  22
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  VfL Osnabrück	  	13   6 	4  3 	  20:14  +6 	  22 
 5  SpVgg Unterhaching	  	13   6 	4  3 	  22:20  +2 	  22 
 6  VfB Stuttgart II	  	13   6 	3  4 	  21:14  +7 	  21 
 7  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  	13   6 	3  4 	  18:16  +2 	  21 
 8  Rot-Weiß Erfurt	  	13   6 	2  5 	  22:17  +5 	  20 
 9  Hallescher FC	  	13   6 	1  6 	  14:16  -2 	  19 
10  MSV Duisburg (A)	  	13   5 	3  5 	  16:17  -1 	  18 
11  SV Elversberg (N)	  	13   5 	3  5 	  12:14  -2 	  18 
12  Holstein Kiel (N)	  	13   4 	5  4 	  18:14  +4 	  17 
13  Borussia Dortmund II	13   5 	2  6 	  16:22  -6 	  17 
14  Preußen Münster	  	13   3 	6  4 	  24:20  +4 	  15 
15  Hansa Rostock	  	13   4 	3  6 	  13:21  -8 	  15 
16  Chemnitzer FC	  	13   3 	5  5 	  14:20  -6 	  14 
17  Jahn Regensburg (A)	  	13   3 	4  6 	  17:24  -7 	  13
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18  Stuttgarter Kickers	  	13   3 	3  7 	  14:18  -4 	  12 
19  Wacker Burghausen	  	13   2 	3  8 	  12:26  -14 	  9
20  1. FC Saarbrücken	  	13   1 	5  7 	  12:23  -11 	  8


A = Absteiger just relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

1st line: Promotion to 2.Liga
2nd line: Promotion Playoff with 2.Liga 16th place
3rd line: Relegation to Regionalliga

Wuppertal is still struggling from bankruptcy, and the new squad hasn’t really grown together yet. At least they don’t totally suck, having moved up the table into semi-respectable status. (To be fully respectable, they would have to have about 33 points and be in 1st). Instead, they trail SV Hönnepel-Niedermörmter, whose only claim to fame is it’s perhaps the longest name in German football. Oh yes, and they have a couple failed nuclear reactors or something like that. (WSV lost the match 0-1 away, which they should have won, but wasted their chances like wussies). Aside from WSV, the only known club is Schwarz-Weiss Essen, who have groveled in obscurity for decades after their shining moment in 1959, when they beat Borussia Neunkirchen (another club that’s emblem should be on the side of a milk carton for having “disappeared”) for the DFB Cup.

There are some signs that WSV is at least doing well in the financial reorganization. And usually they bring around 500-800 fans to away matches, which is usually way more than the home sides are used to seeing.

 1  SV Hönnepel-Niedermörmter	12   9 	3  0 	  20:7 	 +13 	  30
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 2  Wuppertaler SV (A)	  	12   7 	4  1 	  23:11  +12 	  25 
 3  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen II	12   7 	1  4 	  29:21  +8 	  22 
 4  MSV Duisburg II (A)	  	12   6 	2  4 	  26:18  +8 	  20 
 5  FC Kray (A)	  	        12   5 	5  2 	  26:19  +7 	  20 
 6  Ratinger SV	  	        12   5 	5  2 	  19:12  +7 	  20 
 7  TV Jahn Hiesfeld	  	12   5 	5  2 	  19:14  +5 	  20 
 8  VfB Homberg	  	        12   6 	1  5 	  21:22  -1 	  19 
 9  TuS Bösinghoven	  	12   4 	6  2 	  24:19  +5 	  18 
10  SV Sonsbeck	  	        12   4 	5  3 	  22:20  +2 	  17 
11  Schwarz-Weiß Essen	  	12   4 	4  4 	  16:13  +3 	  16 
12  SC Kapellen-Erft	  	12   3 	6  3 	  21:14  +7 	  15 
13  TuRU Düsseldorf	  	12   4 	3  5 	  20:25  -5 	  15 
14  Sportfreunde Baumberg	12   3 	4  5 	  19:21  -2 	  13 
15  VfB Hilden (N)	  	12   4 	1  7 	  20:24  -4 	  13 
16  Rot-Weiss Essen II (N)	12   3 	4  5 	  18:25  -7 	  13
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  VfB Speldorf	  	12   2 	3  7 	  13:23  -10 	  9 
18  VfL Rhede	  	        12   2 	2  8 	  18:29  -11 	  8 
19  SV Uedesheim	  	12   2 	1  9 	   8:26  -18 	  7 
20  PSV Wesel-Lackhausen (N)	12   2 	1  9 	  11:30  -19 	  7

With the main leagues pausing for the World Cup qualifiers, perhaps it’s a good time to take a peek on what’s going on in the 4th division. The Regionalliga are back strong with a somewhat logical organization, which should not only reduce travel costs, but make for some interesting true regional matchups. The main drawback is that it is difficult to get promoted, as the qualifying clubs actually go into a promotion playoff with the qualifiers from the other Regionalligen. Attendance is usually low, although it’s likely to get a few thousand for some of the “traditional” matchups.

REGIONALLIGA NORD

Last year’s champion Holstein Kiel moved up. This year, it looks like the VW-B team will be hard to beat, as they’ve been been slapping the opposition (look at their goal difference). Hard to compete with full pros. (Although oddly enough HSV-II sucks, maybe because their cupboard is bare). A couple of “traditionals”, Oldenburg and Meppen, are doing well. Most of the other clubs aren’t well known.

 1  VfL Wolfsburg II	  	11   8 	1  2 	  35:8 	 +27 	  25
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 2  Goslarer SC 08	  	11   6 	3  2 	  20:11  +9 	  21 
 3  VfB Oldenburg	  	10   6 	2  2 	  24:15  +9 	  20 
 4  SV Meppen	  	        11   6 	2  3 	  20:13  +7 	  20 
 5  ETSV Weiche Flensburg	11   5 	3  3 	  17:10  +7 	  18 
 6  Werder Bremen II	  	11   5 	3  3 	  23:18  +5 	  18 
 7  BSV SW Rehden	  	11   4 	6  1 	  18:13  +5 	  18 
 8  SV Eichede (N)	  	11   5 	1  5 	  18:22  -4 	  16 
 9  TSV Havelse	  	        11   4 	3  4 	  19:20  -1 	  15 
10  Eintracht Norderstedt (N)	11   3 	4  4 	  13:17  -4 	  13 
11  FC St. Pauli II	  	11   4 	1  6 	  17:23  -6 	  13 
12  SV Wilhelmshaven	  	11   2 	6  3 	  12:13  -1 	  12 
13  VfR Neumünster	  	11   3 	3  5 	  12:22  -10 	  12 
14  Hannover 96 II	  	11   2 	5  4 	  14:18  -4 	  11 
15  BV Cloppenburg	  	11   2 	4  5 	  18:25  -7 	  10
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Hamburger SV II	  	10   2 	3  5 	  14:18  -4 	  9 
17  Eintr. Braunschweig II (N)	11   1 	4  6 	  8:20 	 -12 	  7 
18  Victoria Hamburg	  	11   1 	4  6 	  9:25 	 -16 	  7

REGIONALLIGA NORDOST

Here you’ll find ghosts of the old DDR-Oberliga, with legendary names such as Carl Zeiss Jena, Magdeburg, Zwickau and Lok Leipzig. All are on hard times, although perhpas for the first two, they can at least see some light. “AK47” as I like to call them is a relative newcomer to competing in anything but lower divisions of Berlin leagues, but here they are topping the early table. generally this league has a good amount of fan interest because of the well known names and nostalgia.

Also interesting is Viktoria Berlin, fanous during the Kaiser days, but not since. They appeared in the German Finals in 1907, 1908, 1909, winning the title in 1908.

 1  Berliner AK 07	  	9   7 	2  0 	  23:5 	 +18 	  23
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 2  TSG Neustrelitz	  	9   7 	1  1 	  18:6 	 +12 	  22 
 3  Carl Zeiss Jena	       10   5 	4  1 	  18:10  +8 	  19 
 4  1. FC Union Berlin II	9   5 	3  1 	  22:13  +9 	  18 
 5  1. FC Magdeburg	  	9   5 	1  3 	  19:12  +7 	  16 
 6  Germania Halberstadt	9   5 	1  3 	  15:17  -2 	  16 
 7  SV Babelsberg 03 (A)	9   4 	1  4 	  13:12  +1 	  13 
 8  FSV Zwickau	  	       10   4 	1  5 	  16:21  -5 	  13  
 9  VFC Plauen	  	        9   3 	3  3 	  14:19  -5 	  12 
10  Optik Rathenow	  	9   3 	2  4 	   9:12  -3 	  11 
11  Viktoria 1889 Berlin (N)	9   1 	6  2 	   8:10  -2 	  9 
12  VfB Auerbach	  	9   2 	3  4 	   9:17  -8 	  9 
13  Wacker Nordhausen (N)	9   2 	1  6 	  10:14  -4 	  7 
14  ZFC Meuselwitz	  	9   2 	0  7 	   7:16  -9 	  6
--------------------------------------------------------------------
15  Hertha BSC II	  	9   1 	2  6 	   8:17  -9 	  5 
16  1. FC Lok Leipzig	  	9   1 	1  7 	   8:16  -8 	  4

REGIONALLIGA WEST

The West is alwauys one of the more interesting leagues, and shows the fierce competitive nature of the German leagues. Just look at the ex-Bundesliga clubs: Fortuna Köln, Oberhausen, Essen, Aachen, Wattenscheid and Uerdingen!! Actually, there would have been another, but Wuppertal went into administration and was forcibly relegated before the season started, hence only 19 teams.

The class of the league is Lotte, basically because they’ve got some good sponsorship money, but it a good sign is the return to life of clubs like the Köln sides, and the many attractive matchups.

 1  Sportfreunde Lotte (M)	12   8 	4  0 	  27:6 	 +21 	  28
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 2  Fortuna Köln	  	11   8 	1  2 	  28:11  +17 	  25 
 3  FC Viktoria Köln	  	11   6 	5  0 	  19:8 	 +11 	  23 
 4  FC Schalke 04 II	  	11   6 	4  1 	  18:6 	 +12 	  22 
 5  Sportfreunde Siegen	  	11   6 	3  2 	  21:10  +11 	  21 
 6  Bor. Mönchengladbach II	12   5 	4  3 	  17:11  +6 	  19 
 7  Fortuna Düsseldorf II	11   5 	3  3 	  22:15  +7 	  18 
 8  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen	  	12   5 	3  4 	  12:15  -3 	  18 
 9  1. FC Köln II	  	12   5 	2  5 	  18:17  +1 	  17 
10  Rot-Weiss Essen	  	12   4 	4  4 	  18:20  -2 	  16 
11  Alemannia Aachen (A)	12   5 	0  7 	  11:19  -8 	  15 
12  SC Verl	  	        11   4 	2  5 	  12:15  -3 	  14 
13  VfL Bochum II	  	11   4 	0  7 	  10:22  -12 	  12 
14  SG Wattenscheid 09 (N)	11   1 	7  3 	  14:15  -1 	  10
--------------------------------------------------------------------
15  SV Lippstadt 08 (N)	  	11   2 	3  6 	  12:19  -7 	  9 
16  Bayer 04 Leverkusen II	10   1 	5  4 	  10:17  -7 	  8 
17  KFC Uerdingen 05 (N)	12   3 	2  7 	  10:30  -20 	  8 
18  SSVg Velbert	  	11   1 	2  8 	   6:18  -12 	  5 
19  SC Wiedenbrück 2000	  	10   0 	2  8 	  11:26  -15 	  2

REGIONALLIGA SüDWEST

This is a big one, combing Baden-Württemberg and Hessen, which are traditionally at least two or even three regional federations. As a result, this Regionalliga gets two spots in the promotion playoffs. There is also a decent Bundesliga pedigree: Homburg, Offenbach, Waldhof and Ulm. Leaders Trier have been a regional powerhouse for quite some time, and pulled off notable upsets in the DFB Cup. Interesting matchups abound, but usually they’re smaller cities than in the West or Northeast. Offenbach clearly doesn’t want to be here, but were forced by DFB since they screwed up financially. Kassel is the defending champion, returning because they failed in the promotion playoffs.

 1  Eintracht Trier	  	12   7 	4  1 	  21:8 	 +13 	  25 
 2  1. FSV Mainz 05 II	  	12   8 	0  4 	  33:19  +14 	  24
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SG Sonnenhof Großaspach	12   7 	2  3 	  23:14  +9 	  23 
 4  SC Freiburg II	  	12   6 	5  1 	  17:10  +7 	  23 
 5  1. FC Kaiserslautern II	12   5 	6  1 	  22:10  +12 	  21 
 6  FC 08 Homburg	  	12   5 	4  3 	  20:14  +6 	  19 
 7  SpVgg Neckarelz (N)	  	11   5 	4  2 	  20:15  +5 	  19 
 8  SVN Zweibrücken (N)	  	12   5 	4  3 	  12:13  -1 	  19 
 9  Hessen Kassel (M)	  	12   4 	5  3 	  18:20  -2 	  17 
10  Kickers Offenbach (A)	12   5 	1  6 	  12:14  -2 	  16 
11  Eintracht Frankfurt II	12   4 	3  5 	  21:21   0 	  15 
12  TuS Koblenz	  	        12   4 	3  5 	  16:16   0 	  15 
13  Waldhof Mannheim	  	12   4 	3  5 	  13:20  -7 	  15
--------------------------------------------------------------------
14  1899 Hoffenheim II	  	12   4 	0  8 	  17:20  -3 	  12 
15  Wormatia Worms	  	12   1 	8  3 	  13:17  -4 	  11 
16  SC Pfullendorf	  	12   2 	1  9 	  14:31  -17 	  7
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17  SSV Ulm 1846 Fußball	11   1 	3  7 	  12:20  -8 	  6 
18  KSV Baunatal (N)	  	12   2 	0  10 	  10:32  -22 	  6

REGIONALLIGA BAYERN

Bavaria is a bit like Texas, everything is bigger, including their heads. But Bayern has enough clubs and geography to get their own division, although it’s probably the least interesting. Most of the teams represent B sides or villages, so you’ve probably never heard of most of them. Only perhaps Bayern Hof has any pedigree, somewhat of a regional powerhouse in the 60s and 70s, with a few attempts at the Bundesliga playoffs. Schweinfurt has also occasionally poked it’s head into the 2nd division. Bayern München II is the strongest side, which is no surprise, given some decent talent that has come out of the giant’s youth teams.

 1  Bayern München II	  	15   13 0  2 	  46:10  +36 	  39
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 2  FV Illertissen	  	18   11 4  3 	  40:19  +21 	  37 
 3  FC Augsburg II	  	16   10 3  3 	  30:13  +17 	  33 
 4  1860 München II (M)	  	17   10 3  4 	  32:21  +11 	  33 
 5  TSV Buchbach	  	16   9 	3  4 	  31:23  +8 	  30 
 6  FC Ingolstadt 04 II	  	17   7 	6  4 	  31:25  +6 	  27 
 7  FC Eintracht Bamberg 2010	16   7 	4  5 	  24:26  -2 	  25 
 8  SpVgg Greuther Fürth II	17   7 	3  7 	  31:22  +9 	  24 
 9  FC Memmingen	  	17   6 	5  6 	  27:25  +2 	  23 
10  SV Seligenporten	  	17   6 	5  6 	  26:30  -4 	  23 
11  1. FC Nürnberg II	  	17   5 	7  5 	  28:27  +1 	  22 
12  Würzburger Kickers	  	16   6 	3  7 	  27:24  +3 	  21 
13  TSV 1860 Rosenheim	  	17   5 	4  8 	  21:24  -3 	  19 
14  SpVgg Bayern Hof	  	17   5 	3  9 	  19:28  -9 	  18
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15  1. FC Schweinfurt 05 (N)    17   4 	5  8 	  24:37  -13 	  17 
16  SV Schalding-Heining (N)	17   4 	4  9 	  24:40  -16 	  16
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17  Viktoria Aschaffenburg	17   3 	4  10 	  19:39  -20 	  13 
18  SV Heimstetten	  	17   2 	6  9 	  19:42  -23 	  12 
19  TSV Rain/Lech	  	17   0 	6  11 	  17:41  -24 	  6

Good away win for Köln, overcoming adversity. Helmes and Risse each shot penlaties against the bar and post, which could have set Köln on the way to an easy win at Karlsruhe. Instead they fell behind, but to their credit, they attacked furiously and were rewarded at the death with Brecko’s winner. Overall, an impressive performance as Köln looks more and more growing into their role as a promotion favorite. KSC put in a good effort, but was clearly the inferior side.

An easy win for Union, as they controlled Sandhausen and banged in a few goals to get the points.

Solid performance by Kaiserslautern, driven by Idrissou. FCK outplayed Bielefeld, who never really got into the match.

St.Pauli laid an egg as they got mugged at home by Paderborn. The Paulistas were hoping to vault into the middle of the promotion race, but this setback hurts. Paderborn needed the points, as they are struggling in the bottom zone.

Dresden got a key home win against Aalen, although it was a bit of a struggle. Despite having the upper hand, Dynamo was in trouble for much of the 2nd half, as Aalen proved to be a tough nut. However a combination of luck and determination allowed them to hold onto the valuable points.

FSV Frankfurt had a relatively easy time against Aue and continue to do well. One has to wonder if they would draw better if they had a bigger stadium, but I doubt it, since they can’t even fill up the one they have. Still, it does seem odd that a city the size of Frankfurt has no room for a second club.

Speaking of second clubs, 1860 kinda sucked again and got nothing against Cottbus. Visiting Energie had no energy, basically having one chance in the whole match. Their GK was sharp however, so when 1860 finally started trying to win in the 2nd half, they were able to ride it out and get a point.

Bochum is in crisis, losing at home to Ingolstadt, who are showing signs of life. The Blues have lost 3 in a row, and coach Peter Neururer may start feeling the heat, despite coming in as a saviour not too long ago. Meanwhile the “Schanzer” have done well in the last couple outings and no longer look totally hopeless. They’re still dead last, but within striking distance.

Monday Night had crisis-torn Düsseldorf hosting contender Greuther Fürth. Fortuna needed a result badly, but the favored guests from the south were controlling the match and looked to be well on the way to victory. But in the 2nd period, Düsseldorf came out flying and turned things around with a double from Dutch forward Charlison Benschop.

Total attendance 170,796 (avg 18,977)

1. FC Union Berlin   -   SV Sandhausen	        3:0 (1:0)   18,756

                    1:0  Mattuschka (25., Köhler)
                    2:0  Terodde (47., Mattuschka)
                    3:0  Brandy (66., Terodde)

FC St. Pauli	     -   SC Paderborn 07	1:2 (0:0)   28,022

                    0:1  Saglik (49., Vrancic)
                    1:1  Nöthe (66., Rzatkowski)
                    1:2  Wurtz (78., ten Voorde)

Arminia Bielefeld    -   1. FC Kaiserslautern	0:3 (0:2)   18,274

                    0:1  Occean (9., Idrissou)
                    0:2  Idrissou (45., Gaus)
                    0:3  Idrissou (79., penalty, Matmour)

Dynamo Dresden	     -   VfR Aalen	        2:0 (2:0)   21,709

                    1:0  Aoudia (28.)
                    2:0  M. Hartmann (35., Dedic)

Karlsruher SC	     -   1. FC Köln	        1:2 (0:0)   20,233
	
                    1:0  van der Biezen (52., Nazarov)
                    1:1  Helmes (59., Peszko)
                    1:2  Brecko (90.)
 	
FSV Frankfurt	     -   Erzgebirge Aue	        3:1 (3:0)    3,455

                    1:0  Oumari (5., Epstein)
                    2:0  Kapllani (15., M. Görlitz)
                    3:0  Kapllani (30., Epstein)
                    3:1  König (74., Benatelli)

1860 München	     -   Energie Cottbus	0:0 (0:0)   16,100

VfL Bochum	     -   FC Ingolstadt 04	0:1 (0:0)   14,465

                    0:1  P. Groß (78., direct freekick)

Monday:

Fortuna Düsseldorf   -   SpVgg Greuther Fürth	2:1 (0:1)   30,412

                    0:1  Trinks (15., direct freekick)
                    1:1  Benschop (52., Bellinghausen)
                    2:1  Benschop (55., Schmidtgal)
 	



 1  1. FC Köln	  	        10   5 	5  0 	  16:5 	 +11 	  20 
 2  SpVgg Greuther Fürth (A)	10   6 	2  2 	  18:9 	 +9 	  20
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 3  1. FC Union Berlin	  	10   6 	2  2 	  20:12  +8 	  20
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 4  1. FC Kaiserslautern	10   5 	2  3 	  15:11  +4 	  17 
 5  FSV Frankfurt	  	10   4 	3  3 	  15:9 	 +6 	  15 
 6  FC St. Pauli	  	10   4 	3  3 	  13:12  +1 	  15 
 7  Arminia Bielefeld (N)	10   4 	2  4 	  17:19  -2 	  14 
 8  1860 München	  	10   4 	2  4 	   8:10  -2 	  14 
 9  Fortuna Düsseldorf (A)	10   3 	4  3 	  11:12  -1 	  13
10  Energie Cottbus	  	10   3 	3  4 	  18:16  +2 	  12 
11  Karlsruher SC (N)	  	10   3 	3  4 	   9:10  -1 	  12 
12  VfR Aalen	  	        10   3 	3  4 	   9:12  -3 	  12 
13  SV Sandhausen	  	10   3 	3  4 	   8:11  -3 	  12 
14  Erzgebirge Aue	  	10   4 	0  6 	  12:17  -5 	  12 
15  SC Paderborn 07	  	10   3 	3  4 	  12:19  -7 	  12 
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16  VfL Bochum	  	        10   3 	2  5 	  12:12   0 	  11
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17  Dynamo Dresden	  	10   1 	5  4 	  10:18  -8 	  8 
18  FC Ingolstadt 04	  	10   2 	1  7 	   9:18  -9 	  7



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

The 3.Liga is looking more like the Tour de France – not because of drugs, but where the breakaway group eventually gets chased down by the pelaton and everybody is humming along in a group. Heidenehim gaced Leipzig in the match of the season, and got dumped. A win would have given them complete command. A nice crowd saw an intense game, and the RedBullers were just a little more clever when it counted.

Osnabrück got back into the race by dumping Wehen, who have been on a slow burn after a hot start. The hosts largely dominated the match against Wehen, who tried to catenaccio a point. It didn’t work and they got their just desserts.

Coming out of nowhere is Darmstadt, who have quietly got their act together and climbed into 2nd place. Certainly not expected based on last season’s debacle, but it just goes to show that the difference between success and failure is pretty small in the third division. That being said, teh 98ers struggled against Stuttgarter Kickers, who have their own problems. A solitary goal by Dominik Stroh-Engel was enough to get the win, and I’m sure they’ll take it.

Elversberg looked like an early relegation candidate, but they’ve started playing quite well, and they dumped Duisburg to continue their upswing.

Rostock dominated against Saarbrücken, but visitor GK Timo Ochs was in good form, so Hansa once again doesn’t get a win. Riots anyone? hansa looks pretty listless, they need something…

On Sunday, Preußen Münster finally got their act together as they destroyed a desolate Chemnitz on the road. Münster has been struggling horribly all season, when they expected to challenge. Perhaps this will get them back on track; the promotion train has already left the station, but they are “too good” to get relegated, and should cause problems for other teams along the way,

Total attendance 46,727 (avg 4,672)

VfB Stuttgart II     -   Holstein Kiel	        1:1 (1:0)      680
Hansa Rostock	     -   1. FC Saarbrücken	0:0 (0:0)    9,700
SpVgg Unterhaching   -   Rot-Weiß Erfurt	2:1 (1:1)    1,450
VfL Osnabrück	     -   SV Wehen Wiesbaden	1:0 (0:0)    6,901
SV Elversberg	     -   MSV Duisburg	        1:0 (0:0)    2,800
SV Darmstadt 98	     -   Stuttgarter Kickers	1:0 (1:0)    5,400
Borussia Dortmund II -   Hallescher FC	        4:0 (1:0)      809
Jahn Regensburg	     -   Wacker Burghausen	1:1 (0:0)    4,100
1. FC Heidenheim     -   RasenBallsport Leipzig	0:2 (0:0)   10,200
Chemnitzer FC	     -   Preußen Münster	0:4 (0:4)    4,687 


 1  1. FC Heidenheim	  	12    8  2  2 	  21:10  +11 	  26 
 2  SV Darmstadt 98	  	12    6  4  2 	  20:9 	 +11 	  22
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 3  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N)	12    6  3  3 	  21:14  +7 	  21
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 4  VfL Osnabrück	  	12    6  3  3 	  19:13  +6 	  21 
 5  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  	12    6  3  3 	  18:14  +4 	  21 
 6  Rot-Weiß Erfurt	  	12    6  2  4 	  21:15  +6 	  20 
 7  SpVgg Unterhaching	  	12    5  4  3 	  20:20   0 	  19 
 8  VfB Stuttgart II	  	12    5  3  4 	  19:14  +5 	  18 
 9  SV Elversberg (N)	  	12    5  3  4 	  12:12   0 	  18 
10  MSV Duisburg (A)	  	12    5  2  5 	  13:14  -1 	  17 
11  Borussia Dortmund II	12    5  2  5 	  16:18  -2 	  17 
12  Holstein Kiel (N)	  	12    4  4  4 	  17:13  +4 	  16 
13  Hallescher FC	  	12    5  1  6 	  13:16  -3 	  16 
14  Hansa Rostock	  	12    4  3  5 	  13:19  -6 	  15 
15  Chemnitzer FC	  	12    3  5  4 	  14:19  -5 	  14 
16  Jahn Regensburg (A)	  	12    3  4  5 	  17:22  -5 	  13 
17  Preußen Münster	  	12    2  6  4 	  20:20   0 	  12
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18  Stuttgarter Kickers	  	12    2  3  7 	  12:18  -6 	  9 
19  1. FC Saarbrücken	  	12    1  4  7 	   9:20  -11 	  7 
20  Wacker Burghausen	  	12    1  3  8 	  11:26  -15 	  6
	
A = Absteiger just relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

1st line: Promotion to 2.Liga
2nd line: Promotion Playoff with 2.Liga 16th place
3rd line: Relegation to Regionalliga