3. Liga, Round 18

Heidenheim pushes relentlessly at the top, and Leipzig has got a bit of breathing space as well. The leaders dispatched Osnabrück, and it looks like they would have to totally collapse in order not to gain promotion.

Saarbrücken is desperate, and gave Leipzig a tough challenge, but in the end the Red Bulls prevailed. Coupled with some of the other teams dropping points, Leipzig has opened up a 4 point edge on 3rd. Saarbrücken had support from a rare large crowd and pressed the stronger side the whole match, and were a bit unfortunate not to get a point. But as a result, they remain deep down in the rough relegation struggle.

A blitz goal in the first minute, then a rather lame performance, but it was enough for Rostock to down Erfurt in an eastern derby. Hansa has quietly moved up the table and is now a legit contender.

Darmstadt and Wehen battled to a draw in an entertaining Hessenderby, but neither side has impressed over the past few rounds, and have damaged promising positions. Nothing that can’t be fixed with a couple of wins, but they may only be battling for the playoff spot, rather than oe of the two auto-promotions.

Duisburg finally put things together and dominated Unterhaching, who had been playing well and moved into a challenging position.

A critical relegation battle in Stuttgart, and the Kickers did kncok off Burghausen. This leaves Wacker in a precarious situation, losing contact with the rest of the struggling teams. 7 points from safety is a pretty big hurdle…Kickers on the other hand remain close.

Chemnitz got a huge boost by defeating Elversberg and climbing out of the relegation zone.

Total attendance 61,180 (avg 6,118)

 	
MSV Duisburg	     -   SpVgg Unterhaching   3:0 (0:0)    9,066
Hallescher FC	     -   Preußen Münster      0:0 (0:0)    6,083
Stuttgarter Kickers  -   Wacker Burghausen    3:1 (1:0)    3,103
1. FC Saarbrücken    -   RB Leipzig	      2:3 (1:1)   11,194 
Hansa Rostock	     -   Rot-Weiß Erfurt      1:0 (1:0)   13,000
SV Darmstadt 98	     -   SV Wehen Wiesbaden   2:2 (1:0)    4,800
Borussia Dortmund II -   Holstein Kiel	      1:1 (0:1)      852
Jahn Regensburg	     -   VfB Stuttgart II     2:0 (1:0)    2,526
1. FC Heidenheim     -   VfL Osnabrück	      2:0 (1:0)    7,200
Chemnitzer FC	     -   SV Elversberg	      2:0 (0:0)    3,356



 1  1. FC Heidenheim	  	18   13  3  2 	  30:11  +19 	  42 
 2  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N)	18   10  3  5 	  30:21  +9 	  33
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  Rot-Weiß Erfurt	  	18    9  2  7 	  30:21  +9 	  29
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  	18    7  7  4 	  24:21  +3 	  28 
 5  Hansa Rostock	  	18    8  4  6 	  21:25  -4 	  28 
 6  SpVgg Unterhaching	  	18    7  6  5 	  28:27  +1 	  27
 7  SV Darmstadt 98	  	18    7  5  6 	  27:18  +9 	  26 
 8  MSV Duisburg (A)	  	18    7  5  6 	  23:22  +1 	  26 
 9  VfL Osnabrück	  	18    7  4  7 	  24:21  +3 	  25 
10  VfB Stuttgart II	  	18    7  4  7 	  24:25  -1 	  25 
11  SV Elversberg (N)	  	18    7  4  7 	  17:19  -2 	  25 
12  Hallescher FC	  	18    7  3  8 	  19:21  -2 	  24 
13  Jahn Regensburg (A)	  	18    6  5  7 	  25:29  -4 	  23 
14  Borussia Dortmund II	18    6  4  8 	  21:29  -8 	  22 
15  Chemnitzer FC	  	18    5  6  7 	  21:25  -4	  21 
16  Holstein Kiel (N)	  	18    4  8  6 	  20:18  +2 	  20 
17  Preußen Münster	  	18    4  8  6 	  28:28   0 	  20 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
18  Stuttgarter Kickers	  	18    5  4  9 	  21:24  -3 	  19
19  1. FC Saarbrücken	  	18    3  7  8 	  22:32  -10 	  16 
20  Wacker Burghausen	  	18    3  4 11 	  18:36  -18 	  13


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

BUNDESLIGA, Round 14

Bayern München evidently decided to take the afternoon off against Braunschweig. The rampaging Arjen Robben got them off with a blitz start, and then the champions basically dicked around aimlessly. Braunschweig was obviously overmatched at all positions, but to their credit they tried hard in the 2nd half, and with some luck, could have been rewarded with a goal. Of course if Bayern were hungry, they probably scored at least a half-dozen, but they couldn’t be bothered.

After their absolutely disgraceful 0-5 Champions League farce at home to Manchester United, one could be forgiven for demanding the DFB hand out a forcible relegation to Leverkusen for damaging the reputation of German football. (BTW, I remember the Aspirins giving up something like seven goals at Barcelona a while back too.) However, I guess that it unlikely to happen. Meanwhile, the Bayer board promised greater effort, although it wasn’t really eveident for the first 30 minutes against a crap Nürnberg side. However, it’s Nürnberg, and “crap” is appropriate, so eventually the Aspirins decided to get serious and kicked their ass. Very troubling season for “der Club” fans, as they still wait for the first victory.

Mainz can feel a bit hard done by, as they battled Dortmund to a standstill. But a wild end spurt gave the match to the Neons, as Mainz’ Soto prevented a Neon goal into an empty net via a deliberate handball. That pretty much ended the hosts hope for a second comeback, and eventually Dortmund finished off the game in injury time. A pretty good match, and BVB seems to have recovered from their face slap from Bayern a week ago.

The northern derby between Wolfsburg and Hamburg was hard fought, and overall the splitting of points is the fair outcome. Perhaps a slight edge for the VWs in the 1st half, but not enough to gain an advantage.

A somewhat surprisingly dominant perforamnce by Schalke against Stuttgart. Usually you expect teh Blues to dick around and hope to get lucky, but they pressured their opponents from the start. Stuttgart tried, but really were without ideas, and were lucky that Schalke wasn’t greedy, or things could have got ugly. The Blues remain unpredictable, but seem on course for a Euro spot.

Crazy match in Hoffenheim, as the hosts and Bremen had a wild shootout. It was similar to that carnival game “Whack-a-mole”, where you have a hammer and try and club the moles that keep popping up out of holes. It proves to be a futile exercise. The Hoppers kept scoring goals, but Werder kept popping up and coming back. Hoffenheim should be somewhat upset that they essentially “won” the game twice, but their defense was crap and couldn’t hold the match. Werder coach Robin Dutt benched his GK Mielitz, but seeing how his replacement gave up four, it’s not clear who gets the laugh here.

Coach Jos Luhukay was the architect of Augsburg’s fight-till-you-drop mantra that has saved them in the Bundesliga, to just about everybody’s surprise. But he took a “demotion” to bring Hertha back from the 2.Liga. Now his Berlin side attacked furiously against the Fuggers, but FCA built a veritable wall in front of goal and held out. In fact Augsburg didn’t even generate a single chance on goal. Hertha might be highly frustrated, but can’t complain. Augsburg’s highlight, aside from a point, is that Halil Altintop played his 250th Bundesliga match, a record for a Turkish player. (Although both he and his twin Hamit were born in Gelsenkirchen, both opted to play for Turkey.)

Hannover won the battle of crisis teams as they largely dominated Frankfurt and end up with a solid win. The 96ers stop the rot and leapt well above the relegation zone. Meanwhile Eintracht remains a mess, and coach Armin Veh couldn’t handle it, so he got himself red-carded so he wouldn’t have to watch it. Most pundits think that won’t be much of a problem, as he’ll probably get canned soon.

Gladbach has quietly become one of the hottest teams. They struggled against a determined Freiburg, but the home side eventually broke through with their 7th home win. It also establishes them as the solid holder of the 4th spot for Champions League. Freiburg tried hard and were dangerous at times, and missed a huge chance to take the lead. But they end up with nothing and remain in the relegation playoff spot. However, they seem more focused than Frankfurt these days, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they soon passed them. With Nürnberg stinking and Braunschweig not good enough, it’s beginning to look like only the playoff spot is the worry point.

Total attendance 378,075 (avg 42,008), sellouts in München, Mainz and Gelsenkirchen.

 	
VfL Wolfsburg	      -   Hamburger SV	        1:1 (1:1)   28,648

                     0:1  Calhanoglu (19., direct freekick)
                     1:1  Rodriguez (31., penalty, D. Caligiuri)
 
Bayern München	      -   Eintr. Braunschweig	2:0 (2:0)   71,000 *

                     1:0  Robben (2., M. Götze)
                     2:0  Robben (30., T. Kroos)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen   -   1. FC Nürnberg	3:0 (1:0)   27,395

                     1:0  Son (36., Castro)
                     2:0  Kießling (47., Hegeler)
                     3:0  Son (76., Castro)

1899 Hoffenheim	      -   Werder Bremen	        4:4 (2:2)   25,608

                     1:0  Salihovic (12., penalty, Volland)
                     2:0  Salihovic (18., penalty, Polanski)
                     2:1  Hunt (45., handball penalty)
                     2:2  Elia (45. + 1, Hunt)
                     3:2  Volland (49., Salihovic)
                     4:2  Herdling (53.)
                     4:3  Petersen (59., LFritz)
                     4:4  Bargfrede (90. + 1, Petersen)

1. FSV Mainz 05	      -   Borussia Dortmund	1:3 (0:0)   34,000 *

                     0:1  Aubameyang (70., direct freekick)
                     1:1  Choupo-Moting (74., penalty, Malli)
                     1:2  Lewandowski (79., handball penalty)
                     1:3  Lewandowski (90. + 4, penalty, Durm)

Hertha BSC	      -   FC Augsburg	        0:0 (0:0)   38,667

FC Schalke 04	      -   VfB Stuttgart	        3:0 (1:0)   61,973 *

                     1:0  Farfan (34., Draxler)
                     2:0  Farfan (47., penalty, Draxler)
                     3:0  J. Jones (79., Neustädter)


Sunday:
Hannover 96	      -   Eintracht Frankfurt	2:0 (1:0)   40,700

                     1:0  M. Diouf (24., Prib)
                     2:0  Huszti (68., direct freekick)

Bor. Mönchengladbach  -   SC Freiburg	        1:0 (0:0)   50,084

                     1:0  Raffael (63., Wendt)
	


 1  Bayern München (M, P)	14   12  2  0 	  32:7 	 +25 	  38 
 2  Bayer 04 Leverkusen	  	14   11  1  2 	  31:14  +17 	  34 
 3  Borussia Dortmund	  	14   10  1  3 	  35:15  +20 	  31
 4  Bor. Mönchengladbach	14    9  1  4 	  31:16  +15 	  28
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  FC Schalke 04	  	14    7  3  4 	  29:26  +3 	  24 
 6  VfL Wolfsburg	  	14    7  2  5 	  20:16  +4 	  23
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 7  Hertha BSC Berlin  (N)	14    5  4  5 	  20:17  +3 	  19 
 8  1. FSV Mainz 05	  	14    6  1  7 	  21:28  -7 	  19 
 9  Hannover 96	  	        14    5  2  7 	  17:22  -5 	  17 
10  FC Augsburg	  	        14    5  2  7 	  15:23  -8 	  17 
11  Hamburger SV	  	14    4  4  6 	  30:31  -1 	  16 
12  VfB Stuttgart	  	14    4  4  6 	  24:26  -2 	  16 
13  Werder Bremen	  	14    4  4  6 	  19:27  -8 	  16 
14  1899 Hoffenheim	  	14    3  5  6 	  32:34  -2 	  14 
15  Eintracht Frankfurt	  	14    2  5  7 	  17:26  -9 	  11
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  SC Freiburg	  	        14    2  5  7 	  14:25  -11 	  11
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  1. FC Nürnberg	  	14    0  8  6 	  13:29  -16 	  8 
18  Eintracht Braunschweig (N)	14    2  2  10 	   8:26  -18 	  8


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

Löw’s challenge

Now that the teams are all qualified for the World Cup 2014, perhaps it’s a good time to comment on the state of the national squad before the groups are drawn in Brazil.

Joggi Löw certainly has a fine squad, and a lot of players to choose from, but this time the expectations are going to very high. If Germany doesn’t at least make the finals – perhaps even win it all – it will be considered a failure. Löw built a young squad that came of age in South Africa 2010, but the Euro 2012 already saw some criticism when Germany failed against their Angstgegner Italy. Then in the qualifiers – which Germany again dominated, there were whispers when the squad gave up a 4-0 lead against Sweden to suffer a draw. Then even the rematch in Sweden, they had to bludgeon their hosts to administer the beat down, but it was rough. Criticism is beginning to get leveled at Löw and his coaching staff for being unable to adjust when a match begins to change. Some opinion pols already are stating that Löw isn’t the man to lead Germany. That seems a bit silly, but typically the Germans tend to look at everything pessimistically.

The last couple of outings really weren’t terrible: a 1-1 away draw to Italy, and a 1-0 win at Wembley with a largely B squad, but the main outcome of these is the grave injury to Sami Khedira, who now is in danger of missing the World Cup. Khedira has been an outstanding player in Löw’s national team, and although Germany has equally talented players, it will be interesting to see what Löw does to blend them in. The other major area of doubt is in the striker role. Klose is old and injury prone, and Gomez looks like he will be battling injuries from now on in his career too. Perhaps Germnay’s best out-and-out striker is Leverkusen’s Stefan Kiessling, but he’s in Löw’s doghouse, and Kiessling feels insulted and has stated he’ll never play for Löw. While typically Kiessling has in fact sucked in his opportunities, in the last couple of seasons he’s become a more complete striker, and would be a decent option. Germany does have quite a few attacking midfielders that could play “false strikers” (like Reus, Götze, Thomas Müller or even Podolski or Schürrle), but Germany has never really operated well with that type of system. The midfield is clearly Germany’s strength, and we haven’t even mentioned Kroos, Schweinsteiger, özil and Gündogan. Here Löw’s main problem is getting them all playing time.

On defense, the main problem seems to be the inconsistency and injury proneness of Hummels, although Mertesacker has slowly played himself into decent form. Captain Philip Lahm of course is still world class, and he tends to get filled in wherever Löw sees a weakness. Boateng seems on the verge of nailing down a spot although he has had some problems in high profile matches.

Goalkeeping isn’t an issue, although obviously löw should bitch-slap Neuer once in a while to keep him from going all Higuita.

As for teams that surprised in qualifying, I don’t know that there are too many. Zlatan Ibrahimovic states that’s it’s an outrage that he won’t be present, but he needs to shut up. First, he was outplayed by Cristiano Ronaldo (as much as I hate to admit it, the pretty boy scored all four of Portugal’s goals and qualified Portugal single handledly.) Second, Sweden is really no good, you gave up nine goals against Germany, so you wouldn’t be doing much in Brazil except drinking caipirinhas anyway. France got lucky against Ukraine, once again a faulty call helps them out. Of course, FIFA and everybody else would rather see Les Bleus than Ukraine, but perhaps we’ll be treated to another Gallic meltdown as happened in 2010, which could be an entertaining side show. I suppose it’s a bit insulting that Mexico gets in by the backdoor (pronounced “New Zealand”), but the problem there is really that CONCACAF gets too many spots…at least the playoff spot should go to Africa.

2.Liga, Round 15

The Zweite Liga is usually a long drawn out bare knuckle fight. Teams do well, then they suck. Perhaps now it’s Köln’s turn to suck…

Kaiserslautern goes top with a solid win over Union Berlin. The hosts dominated the match, and it was basically over when
Özbek got tossed for his foul on Occean just before half. The Canadian striker then continued to have one of his best performances, scoring and assisting, finally showing what FCK was looking to him. Let’s see if the Devils can now withstand the pressure of being the leaders.

Köln evidently can’t. They hosted Ingolstadt, which should have been a clear win. Instead they couldn’t break down a determined Schanzer defense. And of course, the visitors stole a goal and came away with a fine win.

Düsseldorf needs a swift kick in the ass. The relegated Bundesligist is falling apart and got ripped in Aue. I suppose that qualifies as a kick in the ass, but obviously not the type they need.

Cottbus is truly in crisis, as they got reamed at home by FSV Frankfurt, who have been struggling. Energie props up the table, not what was expected – I keep thinking they’ll snap out and slowly move up.

Energie Cottbus	      -   FSV Frankfurt	        1:4 (0:1)    7,384

                     0:1  Epstein (35., Heitmeier)
                     1:1  Affane (61., direct freekick
                     1:2  Teixeira (75.)
                     1:3  Epstein (77., Heitmeier)
                     1:4  Kapllani (90. + 2, penalty, Kapllani)

SV Sandhausen	      -   SC Paderborn 07	3:2 (1:1)    3,000

                     0:1  Kachunga (12., Wemmer)
                     1:1  Jovanovic (25., D. Schulz)
                     1:2  Meha (48., direct freekick)
                     2:2  Ulm (72., penalty, Stiefler)
                     3:2  Adler (74., Schauerte)

Arminia Bielefeld     -   VfL Bochum	        0:2 (0:1)   16,731

                     0:1  Ilsö (12., Jungwirth)
                     0:2  Tasaka (54., Maltritz)

1. FC Kaiserslautern  -   1. FC Union Berlin	3:0 (0:0)   33,284

                     1:0  Occean (54., Matmour)
                     2:0  Dick (79., Occean)
                     3:0  Alushi (87., Dick)

1. FC Köln	      -   FC Ingolstadt 04	0:1 (0:0)   47,000

                     0:1  Mo. Hartmann (48.)

VfR Aalen	      -   FC St. Pauli	        0:1 (0:1)   10,480

                     0:1  Nöthe (29., Schachten)

Erzgebirge Aue	      -   Fortuna Düsseldorf	3:0 (2:0)    8,300

                     1:0  M. Fink (18., Kocer)
                     2:0  Janjic (37., penalty, Fa. Müller)
                     3:0  Kocer (52., Janjic)

Karlsruher SC	      -   Dynamo Dresden	3:0 (2:0)   16,520

                     1:0  Hennings (8., Klingmann)
                     2:0  van der Biezen (20., Torres)
                     3:0  Nazarov (72., Klingmann)


Monday
1860 München	      -   SpVgg Greuther Fürth	1:0 (0:0)   15,500

                     1:0  D. Stahl (56.,  Lauth)



 1  1. FC Kaiserslautern	15   8 	4  3 	  28:14  +14 	  28 
 2  1. FC Köln	  	        15   7 	6  2 	  21:7 	 +14 	  27
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SpVgg Greuther Fürth (A)	15   8 	2  5 	  29:17  +12 	  26
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  FC St. Pauli	  	15   7 	4  4 	  22:18  +4 	  25 
 5  1. FC Union Berlin	  	15   7 	4  4 	  21:19  +2 	  25 
 6  Karlsruher SC (N)	  	15   6 	5  4 	  19:14  +5 	  23 
 7  VfL Bochum	  	        15   6 	3  6 	  17:14  +3 	  21 
 8  1860 München	  	15   6 	3  6 	  12:15  -3 	  21 
 9  SV Sandhausen	  	15   5 	5  5 	  13:14  -1 	  20 
10  FSV Frankfurt	  	15   5 	4  6 	  21:20  +1 	  19 
11  VfR Aalen	  	        15   5 	4  6 	  13:15  -2 	  19 
12  SC Paderborn 07	  	15   5 	4  6 	  25:29  -4 	  19 
13  Erzgebirge Aue	  	15   6 	1  8 	  20:26  -6 	  19 
14  Fortuna Düsseldorf (A)	15   5 	4  6 	  15:23  -8 	  19 
15  FC Ingolstadt 04	  	15   5 	2  8 	  15:21  -6 	  17
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Dynamo Dresden	  	15   3 	7  5 	  15:23  -8 	  16
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Arminia Bielefeld (N)	15   4 	2  9 	  18:29  -11 	  14 
18  Energie Cottbus	  	15   3 	4  8 	  19:25  -6 	  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

3.Liga, Round 17

Heidenheim is threatening to run away with the title. The ambitious Badeners easily kicked Stuttgart’s ass and have opened up a big lead at the top.

A wild 6 minutes at the end of the match saw Erfurt bang in 3 goals against Darmstadt, and lifts RWE into the coveted 3rd place. The match looked like a scoreless tussle, but the finish means that the eastern club needs to be taken very seriously.

A 3/Liga season high crowd of over 23,000 were on hand for an eastern clash between traditional GDR side Hansa and upstart RedBull/Rasenballsport. Rostock didn’t look at all like the failing side and went to work, perhaps encouraged by their large support. Hansa gets a deserved win and looks to be out of trouble. In this form, they could mount a threat, so they should be watched closely. Obviously for Leipzig, they will continue to challenge, but I’d bet most easterners enjoyed the result.

Pascal Testroet scored a hat-trick and showed that Osnabrück perhaps still has some life. Haching had been flying high, but were well beaten.

Halle outplayed Duisburg at the Zebra’s home, and come away with a solid win.

Elversberg got an important win, thanks to a hat-trick by Italian striker Angelo Vaccaro.

huge road win for Saarbrücken in a relegation clash with Burghausen, while a late goal by American Matt Taylor gave struggling Münster just enough to keep their head above water. Loser Kickers Stuttgart miss a chance to climb out of the well.

Total Attendance was 66,742 (avg 6,674)

 	
Rot-Weiß Erfurt	        -   SV Darmstadt 98	 3:0 (0:0)    6,457 
MSV Duisburg	        -   Hallescher FC	 1:3 (1:3)   10,700
VfL Osnabrück	        -   SpVgg Unterhaching	 3:1 (3:1)    7,247
VfB Stuttgart II        -   1. FC Heidenheim	 0:3 (0:1)    1,530
SV Elversberg	        -   Jahn Regensburg	 3:1 (1:0)      680
Holstein Kiel	        -   Chemnitzer FC	 1:1 (0:0)    4,309
SV Wehen Wiesbaden      -   Borussia Dortmund II 1:1 (0:0)    2,703
RasenBallsport Leipzig  -   Hansa Rostock	 1:2 (0:1)   23,421
Wacker Burghausen       -   1. FC Saarbrücken	 1:2 (1:1)    3,000
Preußen Münster	        -   Stuttgarter Kickers	 1:0 (0:0)    6,695


 1  1. FC Heidenheim	  17  12  3  2 	  28:11  +17 	  39 
 2  RB Leipzig (N)	  17   9  3  5 	  27:19  +8 	  30
------------------------------------------------------------
 3  Rot-Weiß Erfurt	  17   9  2  6 	  30:20  +10 	  29
------------------------------------------------------------
 4  SpVgg Unterhaching	  17   7  6  4 	  28:24  +4 	  27 
 5  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  17   7  6  4 	  22:19  +3 	  27 
 6  SV Darmstadt 98	  17   7  4  6 	  25:16  +9 	  25 
 7  VfL Osnabrück	  17   7  4  6 	  24:19  +5 	  25 
 8  VfB Stuttgart II	  17   7  4  6 	  24:23  +1 	  25 
 9  SV Elversberg (N)	  17   7  4  6 	  17:17   0 	  25 
10  Hansa Rostock	  17   7  4  6 	  20:25  -5 	  25 
11  MSV Duisburg (A)	  17   6  5  6 	  20:22  -2 	  23 
12  Hallescher FC	  17   7  2  8 	  19:21  -2 	  23 
13  Borussia Dortmund II  17   6  3  8 	  20:28  -8 	  21 
14  Jahn Regensburg (A)	  17   5  5  7 	  23:29  -6 	  20 
15  Holstein Kiel (N)	  17   4  7  6 	  19:17  +2 	  19 
16  Preußen Münster	  17   4  7  6 	  28:28   0 	  19 
17  Chemnitzer FC	  17   4  6  7 	  19:25  -6 	  18
------------------------------------------------------------
18  Stuttgarter Kickers	  17   4  4  9 	  18:23  -5 	  16 
19  1. FC Saarbrücken	  17   3  7  7 	  20:29  -9 	  16 
20  Wacker Burghausen	  17   3  4  10   17:33  -16 	  13

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

BUNDESLIGA, Round 13

Is it over? Bayern wins the super clash at Dortmund and looks unstoppable.

Dortmund was in trouble before the match, as coach Jürgen Klopp was forced to build a makeshift backline, as Hummels, Subotic and Schmelzer were all injured. Also missing is playmaker Gündogan, so clearly the Neons were at a disadvantage. Bayern was missing Ribery, but otherwise was pretty much at full strength. As expected the vistors controlled the ball, but Dortmund remained dangerous on counters. Not surprisingly, it was Mario Götze who made the difference. The ex-Dortmunder came on in the 2nd period who massive whitsling (boos), but 10 minutes later opened the scoring with a hard toe poke from top of the box. The Neons reacted with furious attacks, and came close to equalizing. However, they were then exposed at the back and Bayern ruthlessly kicked them in the balls. The result was clearly too high, but there you have it. Dortmund certainly can’t challenge any more this season, and with although the Leverkusen remains in striking distance, I don’t think anyone expects the Aspirins to mount a serious threat to Bayern.

Good win for Gladbach on the road, and it looks like they’re playing themselves into form. Stuttgart was just too disorganized, and despite some pressure, Gladbach was easily able to slip out and wreak havoc, getting a deserved road win.

Wolfsburg dominated at Nürnberg, but wasted chance upon chance to finish off the match. Der Club managed to get a point they probably didn’t deserve, and although they’re still waiting for a win, they’ll take it.

Solid performance by Augsburg and a deserved win over Hoffenheim, who never really got going. FCA is always mentioned as a relegation candidate, but so far this season they’ve been pretty solid, and of course others are playing crap, so it doesn’t look likely that the Fuggers are going to get into trouble.

Poor match in Braunschweig, and Freiburg comes up happy. Neither side showed much, but the SCF win gives them a boost out of the bottom. Braunschweig fights hard, but when you can’t score, you’re not going to be around too long.

Two disappointing clubs in Frankfurt and Schalke, and both lived up (and down) to expectations. Schalke jumped out early and seemed to have it under control. But they usually manage to suck, and Eintracht launched an impressive comeboack to grab the lead. But they couldn’t hold it as the visitors launched a desperate end spurt that salvaged a point. Entertaining game no doubt, but I can’t imagine either coach will be very satisfied.

Leverkusen won on a suspect offsides goal by Kiessling (well, at least f\if you’re a Berliner, looked borderline to me), otherwise there wasn’t much of a difference between Hertha and the visitors.

Hamburg wasn’t overly impressive, but they didn’t need to be against Hannover. The 96ers haven’t won away in this northern derby in about 10 years, so no suprise here. HSV did enough to get the win and stabilize their ship, whereas Hannover should start looking nervously over their shoulder.

Mainz caught Bremen napping and get a needed away win. Werder was truly sleeping and let the visitors do whatever they wanted. Mainz took advantage and built a solid lead. Bremen did wake up and assulat the Mainz goal, but it turned out to be too late to salavage anything.

Total attendance 404,987 (avg 44,998), sold out in Frankfurt and Dortmund

VfB Stuttgart	        -   Bor. Mönchengladbach  0:2 (0:1)   49,560

                       0:1  Raffael (37., Herrmann)
                       0:2  Wendt (73., Herrmann)

1. FC Nürnberg	        -   VfL Wolfsburg	  1:1 (0:1)   35,678

                       0:1  Arnold (39., Diego)
                       1:1  Ginczek (72.)

FC Augsburg	        -   1899 Hoffenheim	  2:0 (2:0)   27,855

                       1:0  Halil Altintop (17., Ostrzolek)
                       2:0  Halil Altintop (23., Verhaegh)

Eintracht Braunschweig  -   SC Freiburg	          0:1 (0:0)   21,810

                       0:1  Fernandes (52., Sorg)

Eintracht Frankfurt	-   FC Schalke 04	  3:3 (0:2)   51,500 *

                       0:1  Flum (14., own goal, Uchida)
                       0:2  Matip (18., Aogo)
                       1:2  Flum (56.)
                       2:2  Joselu (61., S. Jung)
                       3:2  Joselu (68., Barnetta)
                       3:3  Höwedes (86.)

Hertha BSC	        -   Bayer 04 Leverkusen	  0:1 (0:1)   47,419

                       0:1  Kießling (29., Hegeler)

Borussia Dortmund       -   Bayern München	  0:3 (0:0)   80,645 *

                       0:1  M. Götze (66., T. Müller)
                       0:2  Robben (85., Thiago)
                       0:3  T. Müller (87., Lahm)


Sunday:
Hamburger SV	        -   Hannover 96	          3:1 (1:1)   52,091

                       0:1  Huszti (28.)
                       1:1  Badelj (31.)
                       2:1  Beister (46., Westermann)
                       3:1  Calhanoglu (84., Beister)

Werder Bremen	        -   1. FSV Mainz 05	  2:3 (0:2)   38,429

                       0:1  N. Müller (7., Polter)
                       0:2  Okazaki (17., Pospech)
                       0:3  Okazaki (70., Bell)
                       1:3  Elia (85., di Santo)
                       2:3  di Santo (90., Elia)



 1  Bayern München (M, P)	13   11  2  0 	  30:7 	 +23 	  35 
 2  Bayer 04 Leverkusen	  	13   10  1  2 	  28:14  +14 	  31 
 3  Borussia Dortmund	  	13    9  1  3 	  32:14  +18 	  28
 4  Bor. Mönchengladbach	13    8  1  4 	  30:16  +14 	  25
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  VfL Wolfsburg	  	13    7  1  5 	  19:15  +4 	  22 
 6  FC Schalke 04	  	13    6  3  4 	  26:26   0 	  21
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 7  1. FSV Mainz 05	  	13    6  1  6 	  20:25  -5 	  19 
 8  Hertha BSC Berlin (N)	13    5  3  5 	  20:17  +3 	  18 
 9  VfB Stuttgart	  	13    4  4  5 	  24:23  +1 	  16 
10  FC Augsburg	  	        13    5  1  7 	  15:23  -8 	  16 
11  Hamburger SV	  	13    4  3  6 	  29:30  -1 	  15 
12  Werder Bremen	  	13    4  3  6 	  15:23  -8 	  15 
13  Hannover 96	  	        13    4  2  7 	  15:22  -7 	  14 
14  1899 Hoffenheim	  	13    3  4  6 	  28:30  -2 	  13 
15  Eintracht Frankfurt	  	13    2  5  6 	  17:24  -7 	  11
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  SC Freiburg	  	        13    2  5  6 	  14:24  -10 	  11
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  1. FC Nürnberg	  	13    0  8  5 	  13:26  -13 	  8 
18  Eintracht Braunschweig (N)	13    2  2  9 	   8:24  -16 	  8


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 14

Greuther Fürth rolled Paderborn, but it wasn’t easy. In the first half the hosts were dominate, and pushed a clear lead. Paderborn stormed back in the 2nd half, but wasted chances. Then they self destructed as Vrancic got tossed for a dirty foul, and Bertels insulted the ref. game, set, match, as the Greuther took advantage to finish it off.

FSV Frankfurt got their asses kicked by Kaiserslautern, but have nobody to blame but themselves. After quickly falling behind, Schlicke had a chance to equalize from a penalty, but blew it. From there on, the Bornheimers had no clue what they were doing, and FCK didn’t really have to do much except sit back and wait for their hosts to self-destruct.

Köln looked crappy as they went down to struggling Bochum. The leaders looked the better team, but only in spurts. Bochum showed no respect and eventually pounced on an opportunity. The most interesting fact is that it was a decent crowd, probably equal to what might have shown up when both were playing in the Bundesliga.

Düsseldorf continues to reek, but at least they got the points against Sandhausen.

Disaster in an eastern derby in Dresden. Dynamo was a man up against Aue, dominating, had the lead, and getting several clear opportunities to finish off the match 2-0. Then in injury time defender Mravec gave a hospital pass to a stunned Klingbeil, and the unmarked Erzgebirger equalized. A sold out Glücksgas-Stadion (formerly Rudolf-Harbig) sat in stunned disbelief, Dynamo had thrown away two points in a direct relegation battle.

Total attendance 172,548 (avg 19,172), sellout in Dresden.


SpVgg Greuther Fürth  -   SC Paderborn 07	3:0 (2:0)    8,890
 
                     1:0  Stieber (30., Mudrinski)
                     2:0  Mudrinski (34., Trinks)
                     3:0  Stieber (83., Sparv)

FSV Frankfurt	      -   1. FC Kaiserslautern  0:4 (0:3)   10,012

                     0:1  Idrissou (4., penalty, Matmour)
                     0:2  Löwe (40., direct freekick, Zoller)
                     0:3  Matmour (45. + 2, Hand penalty)
                     0:4  Zoller (60.,Idrissou)

FC Ingolstadt 04      -   VfR Aalen	        2:0 (1:0)    5,011

                     1:0  Caiuby (20., Danilo)
                     2:0  Eigler (52., Danilo)

1. FC Union Berlin    -   Karlsruher SC	        0:0 (0:0)   20,757

Arminia Bielefeld     -   1860 München	        0:1 (0:0)   14,309

                     0:1  D. Stahl (57.)

 	
Fortuna Düsseldorf    -   SV Sandhausen	        1:0 (0:0)   28,489

                     1:0  Bancé (60., Ramirez)

VfL Bochum	      -   1. FC Köln	        1:0 (0:0)   27,555

                     1:0  Sukuta-Pasu (65., Acquistapace)

Dynamo Dresden	      -   Erzgebirge Aue	1:1 (0:0)   30,084 *

                     1:0  T. Schulz (71.)
                     1:1  Klingbeil (90. + 1)


Monday
FC St. Pauli	      -   Energie Cottbus	3:0 (1:0)   27,441

                     1:0  Bartels (35., Nöthe)
                     2:0  Schachten (70., Rzatkowski)
                     3:0  Thorandt (73., Rzatkowski)
 			 



 1  1. FC Köln	  	        14    7  6  1 	  21:6 	 +15 	  27 
 2  SpVgg Greuther Fürth (A)	14    8  2  4 	  29:16  +13 	  26
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  1. FC Kaiserslautern	14    7  4  3 	  25:14  +11 	  25
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  1. FC Union Berlin	  	14    7  4  3 	  21:16  +5 	  25 
 5  FC St. Pauli	  	14    6  4  4 	  21:18  +3 	  22 
 6  Karlsruher SC (N)	  	14    5  5  4 	  16:14  +2 	  20 
 7  VfR Aalen	  	        14    5  4  5 	  13:14  -1 	  19 
 8  SC Paderborn 07	  	14    5  4  5 	  23:26  -3 	  19 
 9  Fortuna Düsseldorf (A)	14    5  4  5 	  15:20  -5 	  19 
10  VfL Bochum	  	        14    5  3  6 	  15:14  +1 	  18 
11  1860 München	  	14    5  3  6 	  11:15  -4 	  18 
12  SV Sandhausen	  	14    4  5  5 	  10:12  -2 	  17 
13  FSV Frankfurt	  	14    4  4  6 	  17:19  -2 	  16 
14  Dynamo Dresden	  	14    3  7  4 	  15:20  -5 	  16 
15  Erzgebirge Aue	  	14    5  1  8 	  17:26  -9 	  16
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  FC Ingolstadt 04	  	14    4  2  8 	  14:21  -7 	  14
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Arminia Bielefeld (N)	14    4  2  8 	  18:27  -9 	  14 
18  Energie Cottbus	  	14    3  4  7 	  18:21  -3 	  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

3.Liga, Round 16

The big battle was in Darmstadt, and Leipzig came away with a lucky win due to a Sonntagschuss from over 25 meters by Dominik Kaiser. The hosts dominated the match, but could not break through the RedBulls. The main beneficiary of this, aside from Leipzig obviously, is Unterhaching. The mini-Münch(en)kins have quietly improved and are now contending.

Leaders Heidenheim dominated against Elversberg, but SVE defended well. The leadres eventually got their deserved win, but the promoted side has adjusted well to the 3rd division after a slow start.

A (relatively) big crowd from a relegation battle between two storied clubs, ex-Bundesligists, Saarbrücken and Münster. Both had ambitions of promotions, but now are barely hanging on. Both needed a win, and the tense battle ended in a draw, helping neither.

On Sunday, Duisburg seems to have straightened their ship, getting an away win at sinking Osnabrück.
Total attendance 55,303 (avg 5,530)


SpVgg Unterhaching    -   VfB Stuttgart II	4:0 (1:0)    1,410
Stuttgarter Kickers   -   Hallescher FC	        1:0 (0:0)    4,150
1. FC Saarbrücken     -   Preußen Münster	2:2 (0:1)    7,028
Hansa Rostock	      -   Wacker Burghausen	1:1 (1:1)    8,600
SV Darmstadt 98	      -   RB Leipzig	        0:1 (0:0)    7,200
Borussia Dortmund II  -   Rot-Weiß Erfurt	0:3 (0:1)      850
Chemnitzer FC	      -   SV Wehen Wiesbaden	1:2 (1:0)    4,226
Jahn Regensburg	      -   Holstein Kiel	        1:0 (0:0)    3,315
1. FC Heidenheim      -   SV Elversberg	        1:0 (0:0)    7,400
VfL Osnabrück	      -   MSV Duisburg	        0:1 (0:0)   11,124


 1  1. FC Heidenheim	  	16   11  3  2 	  25:11  +14 	  36 
 2  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N)	16    9  3  4 	  26:17  +9 	  30
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SpVgg Unterhaching	  	16    7  6  3 	  27:21  +6 	  27
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  Rot-Weiß Erfurt	  	16    8  2  6 	  27:20  +7 	  26 
 5  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  	16    7  5  4 	  21:18  +3 	  26 
 6  SV Darmstadt 98	  	16    7  4  5 	  25:13  +12 	  25 
 7  VfB Stuttgart II	  	16    7  4  5 	  24:20  +4 	  25 
 8  MSV Duisburg (A)	  	16    6  5  5 	  19:19   0 	  23 
 9  VfL Osnabrück	  	16    6  4  6 	  21:18  +3 	  22 
10  SV Elversberg (N)	  	16    6  4  6 	  14:16  -2 	  22 
11  Hansa Rostock	  	16    6  4  6 	  18:24  -6 	  22 
12  Jahn Regensburg (A)	  	16    5  5  6 	  22:26  -4 	  20 
13  Hallescher FC	  	16    6  2  8 	  16:20  -4 	  20 
14  Borussia Dortmund II	16    6  2  8 	  19:27  -8 	  20 
15  Holstein Kiel (N)	  	16    4  6  6 	  18:16  +2 	  18 
16  Chemnitzer FC	  	16    4  5  7 	  18:24  -6 	  17 
17  Preußen Münster	  	16    3  7  6 	  27:28  -1 	  16
--------------------------------------------------------------------
18  Stuttgarter Kickers	  	16    4  4  8 	  18:22  -4 	  16 
19  1. FC Saarbrücken	  	16    2  7  7 	  18:28  -10 	  13 
20  Wacker Burghausen	  	16    3  4  9 	  16:31  -15 	  13


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

BUNDESLIGA, Round 12

Bayern München has seized control of the Bundesliga again. Not only did they set a new record, with their 37th straight unbeaten match, but Dortmund went down in Kraftdurchfreudestadt, giving the champs a cushion at the top. Bayern really had an easy time against Augsburg, who were mainly concerned with keeping the score respectable. I suppose in that sense both sides got what they wanted in this Bavarian clash.

Disaster for Dortmund in Wolfsburg. The Neons still had a hangover over not beating Arsenal midweek, and they seem to have carried that constipation in front of goal forward. The VWS were overmatched in the 1st half, but came back furiously and went for the throat, as they realized that Dortmund was vulnerable. Overall, a good win for the home side, who continue their improvement. This means that Dortmund will have to beat Bayern when they meet, if they are to have any traction for the title.

Wild shootout in Leverkusen, as the Aspirins withstood a furious Hamburg comeback. Ironically, it was ex-HSV man Heung-Min Son who did the damage, with a hat-trick and an assist. To their credit, HSV didn’t give up and pegged the match back, so it wasn’t until the closing seconds that Leverkusen could finally assure the points.

Schalke has been struggling, getting shown their limits by Chelski in the Champions League. And the Blues once again looked shaky, despite facing Bremen, who generally screw up. This time Werder looked confident, and the home side soon found themselves behind. Bremen had a couple of chances to really add to the hole, but they sucked when iit counted. As a result, Schalke was able to get their act together and win in a powerful end spurt.

The first Niedersacshenderby with Braunschweig in Hannover since 1976, and the 96ers could not score, despite having control for most of the match. Intensely fought, the home side could not breakdown Braunscweig’s disciplined defense and missed an opportunity to move up. This was the 1,000th scoreless draw in the Bundesliga.

Hertha exhobited cleverness in winning on the road at Hoffenheim. They jumped out to a lead and defended well. Hoffenheim attacked furiously, and to their credit, they came all the way back. But perhaps they had expended too much energy in the chase, and at the end Berlin counter attacked and grabbed the win. Good result for Hertha, Hoffenheim will be put out that they end up with nothing.

Nürnberg is probably getting relegated, as they are without luck. Der Club played well at Gladbach, scoring and then defending well. The homeside desperately pressureed and tried to get back, leaving themselves vulnerable at the back. Nürnberg had sufficient opportunities to increase their lead and essentially deleiver the knockout. Instead, Gladbach broke through and in a furious stretch run, blasted FCN to yet another loss.

A hard fought derby in Mainz gave the home side a late win, and furthers Frankfurt coach Armin Veh’s crisis, as Eintracht continues to slip. They’re barely hanging on, and it could be another “we’re too good to get relegated – but here we are” type season. Mainz needed the win to stabilize the ship.

Stuttgart also got straight with a win at desperate Freiburg. VfB immediately jumped on the Breisgauer, and totally dominated the first period. They let up in the 2nd half, and SCF threw everything up front. They managed to get back in the match, but Stuttgart was merely waiting, and pounced and finished off their hosts.

Total attendance 376,193 (avg 41,799), sellouts in Hannover, Glesenkirchen (Schalke), München, Wolfsburg and Mainz.

 	
Hannover 96	      -   Eintr Braunschweig	0:0 (0:0)   47,200 *

Bayern München	      -   FC Augsburg	        3:0 (2:0)   71,000 *

                     1:0  J. Boateng (4., Dante)
                     2:0  Ribery (42., direct freekick)
                     3:0  T. Müller (90. + 5)

FC Schalke 04	      -   Werder Bremen	        3:1 (0:1)   61,973 *

                     0:1  F. Kroos (22.)
                     1:1  K.-P. Boateng (64., Draxler)
                     2:1  K.-P. Boateng (85., Fuchs)
                     3:1  Farfan (90. + 1, Draxler)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen   -   Hamburger SV	        5:3 (2:1)   30,007

                     1:0  Son (9., Castro)
                     2:0  Son (16., Sam)
                     2:1  Beister (23., Calhanoglu)
                     2:2  Lasogga (49.)
                     3:2  Son (55., Kießling)
                     4:2  Kießling (72., Son)
                     4:3  Lasogga (74., van der Vaart)
                     5:3  Castro (89., Boenisch)

VfL Wolfsburg	      -   Borussia Dortmund	2:1 (0:1)   30,000 *

                     0:1  Reus (45. + 2, direct freekick)
                     1:1  Rodriguez (56., direct freekick)
                     2:1  Olic (69., D. Caligiuri)

1899 Hoffenheim	      -   Hertha BSC	        2:3 (0:1)   25,078

                     0:1  Ben-Hatira (13., Ramos)
                     0:2  Ramos (53., penalty, Ramos)
                     1:2  Salihovic (70., penalty, Schipplock)
                     2:2  Salihovic (81., direct freekick)
                     2:3  Ramos (84., Pekarik)

Bor. Mönchengladbach  -   1. FC Nürnberg	3:1 (0:1)   53,235

                     0:1  Drmic (21., Kiyotake)
                     1:1  Arango (72., Raffael)
                     2:1  Stark (75., own goal, Arango)
                     3:1  Herrmann (87., Kramer)

1. FSV Mainz 05	      -   Eintracht Frankfurt	1:0 (0:0)   34,000 *

                     1:0  Choupo-Moting (88., Pospech)

SC Freiburg	      -   VfB Stuttgart	        1:3 (0:2)   23,700

                     0:1  Ibisevic (9., Gentner)
                     0:2  Ti. Werner (10.)
                     1:2  Hanke (78., Höfler)
                     1:3  Ti. Werner (82.)



 1  Bayern München (M, P)	12   10  2  0 	  27:7 	 +20 	  32 
 2  Borussia Dortmund	  	12    9  1  2 	  32:11  +21 	  28 
 3  Bayer 04 Leverkusen	  	12    9  1  2 	  27:14  +13 	  28
 4  Bor. Mönchengladbach	12    7  1  4 	  28:16  +12 	  22
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  VfL Wolfsburg	  	12    7  0  5 	  18:14  +4 	  21 
 6  FC Schalke 04	  	12    6  2  4 	  23:23   0 	  20
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 7  Hertha BSC Berlin (N)	12    5  3  4 	  20:16  +4 	  18 
 8  VfB Stuttgart	  	12    4  4  4 	  24:21  +3 	  16 
 9  1. FSV Mainz 05	  	12    5  1  6 	  17:23  -6 	  16 
10  Werder Bremen	  	12    4  3  5 	  13:20  -7 	  15 
11  Hannover 96	  	        12    4  2  6 	  14:19  -5 	  14 
12  1899 Hoffenheim	  	12    3  4  5 	  28:28   0 	  13 
13  FC Augsburg	  	        12    4  1  7 	  13:23  -10 	  13 
14  Hamburger SV	  	12    3  3  6 	  26:29  -3 	  12 
15  Eintracht Frankfurt	  	12    2  4  6 	  14:21  -7 	  10
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  SC Freiburg	  	        12    1  5  6 	  13:24  -11 	  8
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Eintracht Braunschweig (N)	12    2  2  8 	   8:23  -15 	  8 
18  1. FC Nürnberg	  	12    0  7  5 	  12:25  -13 	  7

	
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

3.Liga, Round 15

Heidenheim was the big winner, as they increased their lead at the top. They defeated Holstein Kiel on the road, who have been struggling after their good start. The hosts played hard, but FCH showed why they are the leaders. Overall, the bottom clubs did fairly well this round. None better than tail-end Burghausen, which upended Darmstadt, despite being a man down. This gives Wacker some hope, as they are now in striking distance. Leipzig moved into 2nd with the win over Dortmund B.

Preußen Münster was the biggest loser, as they lost at home to Hansa Rostock in a battle of struggling teams. The win gives Rostock some stability now, whereas Münster is still in crisis mode. It was a pretty even match, with the home side having somewhat of an edge, but not knowing what to do with it. Hansa was well prepared and delivered a good match and gets the points.

Marc Kienle debuted as coach for Wehen, but it was same-old-same-old as the Weheners sucked against Regensburg.

Total attendance 59,784 (avg 5,978)

VfB Stuttgart II     -   VfL Osnabrück	        2:1 (0:0)      710
Preußen Münster	     -   Hansa Rostock	        1:2 (0:1)   11,194
MSV Duisburg	     -   Stuttgarter Kickers	1:1 (0:0)   12,019
Hallescher FC	     -   1. FC Saarbrücken	1:1 (1:0)    7,007
SV Elversberg	     -   SpVgg Unterhaching	1:1 (1:0)      800
Holstein Kiel	     -   1. FC Heidenheim	0:1 (0:0)    4,991
SV Wehen Wiesbaden   -   Jahn Regensburg	1:1 (1:1)    2,613
Rot-Weiß Erfurt	     -   Chemnitzer FC	        1:0 (1:0)    6,943
RB Leipzig	     -   Borussia Dortmund II	1:0 (1:0)   11,477
Wacker Burghausen    -   SV Darmstadt 98	2:1 (1:1)    2,030


 1  1. FC Heidenheim	  	15   10  3  2 	  24:11  +13 	  33 
 2  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N)	15    8  3  4 	  25:17  +8 	  27
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SV Darmstadt 98	  	15    7  4  4 	  25:12  +13 	  25
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  VfB Stuttgart II	  	15    7  4  4 	  24:16  +8 	  25 
 5  SpVgg Unterhaching	  	15    6  6  3 	  23:21  +2 	  24 
 6  Rot-Weiß Erfurt	  	15    7  2  6 	  24:20  +4 	  23 
 7  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  	15    6  5  4 	  19:17  +2 	  23 
 8  VfL Osnabrück	  	15    6  4  5 	  21:17  +4 	  22 
 9  SV Elversberg (N)           15    6  4  5 	  14:15  -1 	  22 
10  Hansa Rostock	  	15    6  3  6 	  17:23  -6 	  21 
11  MSV Duisburg (A)	  	15    5  5  5 	  18:19  -1 	  20 
12  Hallescher FC	  	15    6  2  7 	  16:19  -3 	  20 
13  Borussia Dortmund II	15    6  2  7 	  19:24  -5 	  20 
14  Holstein Kiel (N)	  	15    4  6  5 	  18:15  +3 	  18 
15  Jahn Regensburg (A)	  	15    4  5  6 	  21:26  -5 	  17 
16  Chemnitzer FC	  	15    4  5  6 	  17:22  -5 	  17 
17  Preußen Münster	  	15    3  6  6 	  25:26  -1 	  15
--------------------------------------------------------------------
18  Stuttgarter Kickers	  	15    3  4  8 	  17:22  -5 	  13 
19  1. FC Saarbrücken	  	15    2  6  7 	  16:26  -10 	  12 
20  Wacker Burghausen	  	15    3  3  9 	  15:30  -15 	  12


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