I’m kidding, at least sort of…

Well, it has all come crashing down on Bayern München as they flopped to a disgraceful defeat at home to Real Madrid. Losing itself isn’t a disgrace, it’s the manner in which they did it. They got their asses ripped and played without soul, and were deserved losers. The tiki-taka import is been revealed to be an emperor without clothes. Perhaps Pep Guardiola was a Spanish plant to get La Liga back to the top, mission accomplished

I jest of course, as Real was clearly better, and Atletico is the surprise of the year. So it’s not shocking that Spain grabs both spots in the final, which matches last year’s German faceoff.

I think that the differences between Heynckes squad of last year and Guardiola’s version are pretty obvious. Heynckes opted for a traditional German pressing and aggressive style, with fast breaks and assaults. Pretty much the strengths of German football. Guardiola pretty much imposed a “pass the ball around aimlessly until the opponent falls asleep” style. It was fairly successful if you look just at the Bundesliga, and the Euro campaign wasn’t horrible. But other sides are figuring out the tiki-taka and it’s just plain boring, and it seems to put Bayern asleep just as much as the opponent. And once the Bayern players lost some of their focus, things started going south. You could see it in some of their recent Bundesliga matches, especially getting ripped by Dortmund at home. Certainly part of it was that the title was already wrapped up, but the lack of focus seemed to permeate a lot of their recent play.

It will be interesting to see if there is any fall-out. Obviously Bayern will be under pressure to win the German Cup against Dortmund. Then a double and a semi-final in Champions League, doesn’t seem too bad. But the Bayern bosses undoubtedly had at least the CL final penciled in, and certainly not getting embarrassed at home. It would be hard to say that Guardiola is i trouble, although Bayern have been known to be ruthless when they don’t reach expectations. But since his signing was such a big deal, I doubt that there would be any movement for replacement. However a loss to Dortmund would certainly have some folks getting second thoughts and increase grumbling.

It does probably mean that Bayern need to probably win the CL next season (along with the Bundesliga title, obviously). That’s an interesting position for the coach…

The relegation battle seems almost over, with only the playoff really left to play for. Stuttgart now has 5 points on 16th, and almost a seem safe. They played a rather dull game at Hannover, and actually looked the better team, but ultimately were probably statisfied with another point. The 96ers are officially out of trouble, so no worries there.

The battle for 16th is still on – even though all three contenders lost. Braunschweig might have thought they had a chance at Berlin, since Hertha has been terrible since winterbreak. But they showed nothing and the home side eventually built up enough pressure to break through and win. Nürnberg was pretty much done by halftime at Mainz. Der Club had nothing in the tank, and never looked threatening. Mainz is now serious about Europe. Since Dortmund and Bayern are both going Champions League – but also in the DFB Cup final – the Cup Europe spot will go to the 7th placed team. Mainz is in the driver seat. Hamburg also did squat, and in fact were even worse, as they were getting routed by Augsburg. HSV tightened up, or perhaps the Fuggers loosened up a bit, but the result didn’t change. So the “race” for the relegation playoff is still hot. HSV has a point edge and a goal-difference advantage, but they really haven’t shown much to merit holding on. Of course, neither Nürnberg nor Braunschweig have given indications that they could grab the win that would leapfrog into 16th…

In other matches, perhaps the most significant was Gladbach getting the win at Schalke and opening up a slight chance at Champions League. The visitors simply played better than a disappointing Schalke side. The Blues had some advantage in possesion, but mostly dicked around aimlessly. Gladbach created a few good chances, and at least capitalized on one.

Leverkusen and Dortmund battled in a fierce match that petered out to a draw. The first half was quite exciting, but both teams settled back into a more relaxed mode and were basically satisfied in the 2nd period.

Wolfsburg could only draw against Freiburg, but they missed a chance to leapfrog Leverkusen. The VWs were the stronger side and wasted early chances. Freiburg managed to regroup and fight their way back, and in the end deserved the draw that lets them celebrate ending relegation worries. All things considered, a nice turnaround for the Breisgauers.

Hoffenheim and Frankfurt fought a regional derby that the Hoppers probably should have won (Firmino missed a deciding penalty). But the home side really didn’t have too much to play for, and Frankfurt’s point also ends any relegation worries they may have had.

werder Bremen played a good 45 minutes against Bayern München, but then got rolled. Ex-Werder man Claudio Pizarro did the damage against his old club, and Bayern eventually overpowered the resistance.

Total attendance 386,708 (avg 42,968) sellouts in Hannover, München, Hoffenheim, Leverkusen, Augsburg and Schalke.

Hannover 96	    -  	VfB Stuttgart	        0:0 (0:0)   49,000 *

Bayern München	    -  	Werder Bremen	        5:2 (1:2)   71,000 *

                   0:1  Gebre Selassie (10., Makiadi)
                   1:1  Ribery (20., Pizarro)
                   1:2  Hunt (36., di Santo)
                   2:2  Pizarro (53., T. Müller)
                   3:2  Pizarro (57., Alaba)
                   4:2  Schweinsteiger (61., Lahm)
                   5:2  Robben (74.)

VfL Wolfsburg	    -  	SC Freiburg	        2:2 (1:0)   28,255

                   1:0  Perisic (3., Rodriguez)
                   1:1  Mehmedi (61., Darida)
                   2:1  Perisic (70., Träsch)
                   2:2  Terrazzino (83., C. Günter)

1899 Hoffenheim	    -  	Eintracht Frankfurt	0:0 (0:0)   30,150 *

1. FSV Mainz 05	    -  	1. FC Nürnberg	        2:0 (2:0)   33,507

                   1:0  Okazaki (30., Geis)
                   2:0  Moritz (44.)

Hertha BSC	    -  	Eintracht Braunschweig	2:0 (0:0)   51,953

                   1:0  Brooks (61., Baumjohann)
                   2:0  Allagui (77., Ramos)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen -  	Borussia Dortmund	2:2 (2:2)   30,210 *

                   1:0  L. Bender (7., Kießling)
                   1:1  Kirch (29., Reus)
                   2:1  Castro (35., Brandt)
                   2:2  Reus (39., Hand penalty)


Sunday:
FC Augsburg	    -  	Hamburger SV	        3:1 (3:1)   30,660 *

                   1:0  Halil Altintop (6., Verhaegh)
                   2:0  Halil Altintop (32., Hahn)
                   3:0  Hahn (42.)
                   3:1  Westermann (44., Calhanoglu)

FC Schalke 04	    -   Bor. Mönchengladbach	0:1 (0:1)   61,973 *

                   0:1  Herrmann (35., Raffael)
	



 1  Bayern München (M, P)	32   27  3  2 	  89:22  +67 	  84 
 2  Borussia Dortmund	  	32   20  5  7 	  73:36  +37 	  65 
 3  FC Schalke 04	  	32   17  7  8 	  57:42  +15 	  58
 4  Bayer 04 Leverkusen	  	32   17  4  11 	  56:40  +16 	  55
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  VfL Wolfsburg	  	32   16  6  10 	  58:48  +10 	  54 
 6  Bor. Mönchengladbach	32   15  7  10 	  55:39  +16 	  52
 7  1. FSV Mainz 05	  	32   15  5  12 	  48:49  -1 	  50
-------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 8  FC Augsburg	  	        32   13  7  12 	  44:46  -2 	  46 
 9  1899 Hoffenheim	  	32   10  11 11 	  67:66  +1 	  41 
10  Hertha BSC Berlin (N)	32   11  8  13 	  40:42  -2 	  41 
11  Eintracht Frankfurt	  	32    9  9  14 	  39:53  -14 	  36 
12  SC Freiburg	  	        32    9  9  14 	  41:56  -15 	  36 
13  Hannover 96	  	        32   10  6  16 	  41:57  -16 	  36 
14  Werder Bremen	  	32    9  9  14 	  39:64  -25 	  36 
15  VfB Stuttgart	  	32    8  8  16 	  48:59  -11 	  32
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Hamburger SV	  	32    7  6  19 	  48:68  -20 	  27
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  1. FC Nürnberg	  	32    5  11 16 	  36:64  -28 	  26 
18  Eintracht Braunschweig (N)	32    6  7  19 	  28:56  -28 	  25


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

Well, last week it looked like Greuther Fürth had taken the huge step in returning to the Bundesliga. This week they turn around a wail away like a limp noodle and are in trouble…They basically sucked in the Bavarian derby with 1860, and got punished in injury time. Paderborn took full advantage to vault over them. SCP overcame stiff resistance from Sandhausen to get the win. SVS was bunkered down to fend off the host attacks, but when captain Kulovits was ousted on a double yellow, it took only a few minutes for the damn to spring a leak. After that, there was no way back, and indeed Paderborn continued to press for the finisher.

Kaiserslautern missed this golden chance to get back in things, but they were held to a draw in a hard fought battle at Union Berlin. Union has already announced that coach Uwe Neuhaus is finished, but that didn’t seem to effect the team, as they came out strong.

St.Pauli ended their tiny promotion hopes with a stinker at home to Aalen. They had no idea what they were doing, so Aalen kicked their ass.

Dresden is still in hot water because they can’t win. They were always on the back foot against Karlsruhe, and once again settle for a draw. A league leading 17th! But problem is, it’s a 3-1-0 world, not the old 2-1-0. In the old world, they’d actually be tied with Bochum and FSV Frankfurt. But today, they’d better look back as well, since Bielefeld is making a last gasp effort for the playoff spot. Karlsruhe continues a decent return to the 2.Liga, and even has a mathematical chance for promotion.

Arminia was all over a horrible Bochum side and got an impressive win on the road. The visitors jumped all over Bochum from the start and kicked them mercilessly. This was clearly one of their better performances all season – or perhaps it was equally one of Bochum’s worst. But it keeps hope alive that they can still catch Dresden and then save themselves in the playoff against (most likely) Darmstadt.

FSV Frankfurt officially sent Cottbus down, and helped themselves, placing one leg in the safety zone. FSV continues to hang on in the 2.Liga, which is pretty impressive considering they’re pretty much ignored in Frankfurt, have a tiny budget and basically have to rebuild every season.

Ingolstadt might have had a famous win against Köln, as they were the better side, but wasted chances. Köln acted like a champion and struck when they saw the opportunity to salvage a point when they were still hung over from the promotion celebrations last week. For the Schanzer, perhaps a consolation that they are assured from relegation worries.

 	
SpVgg Greuther Fürth  -   1860 München	        1:2 (1:1)   16,140

                     0:1  Osako (15.)
                     1:1  Azemi (21., Sparv)
                     1:2  Bülow (90. + 3, Stoppelkamp)

FC Ingolstadt 04      -   1. FC Köln	        1:1 (1:0)   11,120

                     1:0  Mo. Hartmann (34., Mijatovic)
                     1:1  Ujah (61., M. Lehmann)

VfL Bochum	      -   Arminia Bielefeld	1:4 (0:3)   19,166

                     0:1  Sahar (14., C. Müller)
                     0:2  Sahar (31., Klos)
                     0:3  Klos (39., Schönfeld)
                     1:3  Butscher (72., Kreyer)
                     1:4  C. Müller (86.)

Fortuna Düsseldorf    -   Erzgebirge Aue	4:0 (2:0)   28,731

                     1:0  Hoffer (35., Liendl)
                     2:0  Hoffer (45. + 1, Liendl)
                     3:0  Bolly (71.)
                     4:0  Halloran (89., Kenia)

FSV Frankfurt	      -   Energie Cottbus	3:1 (2:0)    4,527

                     1:0  Wooten (32., Leckie)
                     2:0  Wooten (34., penalty, Roshi)
                     2:1  Röwer (67., M. Schulze)
                     3:1  M. Görlitz (82., Konrad)


Sunday:

FC St. Pauli	      -   VfR Aalen	        0:3 (0:1)   27,497

                     0:1  Lechleiter (3., Klauß)
                     0:2  Leandro (58., penalty, Mössmer)
                     0:3  Junglas (68., Daghfous)

SC Paderborn 07	      -   SV Sandhausen	        2:0 (0:0)   14,718

                     1:0  Koc (66., Vucinovic)
                     2:0  Saglik (83., penalty, Vrancic)
 
Dynamo Dresden	      -   Karlsruher SC   	2:2 (1:1)   28,963

                     0:1  Hennings (6., hand penalty)
                     1:1  Bregerie (41., penalty, Poté)
                     1:2  Mauersberger (55., Alibaz)
                     2:2  Dedic (75.)


Monday:
1. FC Union Berlin    -   1. FC Kaiserslautern	1:1 (1:1)   19,185 	

                     1:0  Brandy (9., Köhler)
                     1:1  Lakic (40., Zoller)


 1  1. FC Köln	  	        32   18  11  3 	  49:18  +31 	  65 
 2  SC Paderborn 07	  	32   16  8   8 	  59:47  +12 	  56
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SpVgg Greuther Fürth (A)	32   15  9   8 	  56:38  +18 	  54
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  1. FC Kaiserslautern	32   14  9   9 	  49:35  +14 	  51 
 5  Karlsruher SC (N)	  	32   12  13  7 	  45:31  +14 	  49 
 6  FC St. Pauli	  	32   13  8  11 	  42:43  -1 	  47 
 7  Fortuna Düsseldorf (A)	32   12  10 10 	  39:40  -1 	  46 
 8  SV Sandhausen	  	32   12  8  12 	  29:31  -2 	  44 
 9  1860 München	  	32   12  8  12 	  35:40  -5 	  44 
10  1. FC Union Berlin	  	32   11  10 11 	  47:43  +4 	  43 
11  VfR Aalen	  	        32   10  11 11 	  32:37  -5 	  41 
12  Erzgebirge Aue	  	32   11  7  14 	  40:50  -10 	  40 
13  FC Ingolstadt 04	  	32    9  11 12 	  30:33  -3 	  38 
14  FSV Frankfurt	  	32   10  7  15 	  44:51  -7 	  37 
15  VfL Bochum	  	        32   10  7  15 	  29:41  -12 	  37
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Dynamo Dresden	  	32    5  17 10 	  34:46  -12 	  32
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Arminia Bielefeld (N)       32    8  7  17 	  37:56  -19 	  31 
18  Energie Cottbus	  	32    6  7  19 	  35:51  -16 	  25


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

Darmstadt had a tough win, but it is probably for naught. The 98ers were struggling in a tie match against Erfurt, and then were down a man after 50 minutes. But credit the 98ers for an attitude adjustment, because they willed their way to a win, and you-know-who (Storh-Engel) grabbed a winner near the end. This kept the pressure on Leipzig, but the Redballsportlers were up to the task, winning at Rostock and almost assuring their promotion.

Unterhaching was a huge winner in the relegation battle. They left it late, but scored three times down the stretch against a totally lame Osnabrück. This win allows them to vault out of the relegation zone.

Elversberg had a rough time, but desperately held onto a point at Regensburg. This is huge, as they had lost 10 straight on the road. Although they are in the relegation zone, they’re only a win away, so they can still hope.

Saarbrücken and Burghausen showed why they were crap all season and played a lame draw, which means that both clubs are officially relegated.

Kiel had the game under control at Chemnitz, but then lost their thread and the game as well. This could come back to haunt them, as they’re not out of the woods yet.

Wehen took advantage of others stubbing their toes and had an impressive 2nd half to control the important 4th place (DFB-Cup qualifier). The villagers were getting outplayed, but Dortmund-B was unorganized after the half, and Wehen was rampant, one of their more impressive performances all season.

Heidenheim was stunned at home by Stuttgart-II, who have essnetially avoided any relegation chances. FCH intended to celebrate the championship, but they dicked around and were punished. Now theoretically they could actually get caught by Leipzig…

Total attendance 64,929 (avg 6,493)

 	
SpVgg Unterhaching    -   VfL Osnabrück	        3:0 (0:0)    2,815
Borussia Dortmund II  -   SV Wehen Wiesbaden	1:4 (1:0)    3,290
SV Darmstadt 98	      -   Rot Weiß Erfurt	2:1 (1:1)   12,100
Hallescher FC	      -   MSV Duisburg	        1:1 (0:1)    6,904
1. FC Heidenheim      -   VfB Stuttgart II	0:1 (0:0)   11,500
Jahn Regensburg	      -   SV Elversberg	        0:0 (0:0)    2,859
Chemnitzer FC	      -   Holstein Kiel	        2:1 (0:1)    4,505
Hansa Rostock	      -   RasenBull Leipzig	0:1 (0:1)   14,200
1. FC Saarbrücken     -   Wacker Burghausen	1:1 (0:1)    2,846
Stuttgarter Kickers   -   Preußen Münster	1:1 (0:1)    3,910

 		
 1  1. FC Heidenheim	  	36   22  10  4 	  57:24  +33 	  76 
 2  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N)	36   22  7   7 	  57:32  +25 	  73
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SV Darmstadt 98	  	36   20  9   7 	  56:26  +30 	  69
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  	36   15  10  11   42:42   0 	  55 
 5  MSV Duisburg (A)	  	36   13  13  10   42:38  +4 	  52 
 6  VfL Osnabrück	  	36   14  9   13   49:39  +10 	  51 
 7  Stuttgarter Kickers	  	36   13  12  11   44:41  +3 	  51 
 8  Preußen Münster	  	36   12  14  10   52:47  +5 	  50 
 9  Hallescher FC	  	36   13  9   14   45:49  -4 	  48 
10  Jahn Regensburg (A)	  	36   12  11  13   50:50   0 	  47 
11  Chemnitzer FC	  	36   12  11  13   42:45  -3 	  47 
12  Hansa Rostock	  	36   13  8   15   43:53  -10 	  47 
13  Rot Weiß Erfurt	  	36   13  7   16   51:48  +3 	  46 
14  VfB Stuttgart II	  	36   12  8   16   44:53  -9 	  44 
15  Borussia Dortmund II	36   11  9   16   44:55  -11 	  42 
16  Holstein Kiel (N)	  	36    9  14  13   39:37  +2 	  41 
17  SpVgg Unterhaching	  	36   10  10  16   46:62  -16 	  40
--------------------------------------------------------------------
18  SV Elversberg (N)	  	36   10  9   17   31:50  -19 	  39 
19  1. FC Saarbrücken	  	36    8  8   20   37:57  -20 	  32 
20  Wacker Burghausen	  	36    7  10  19   33:56  -23 	  31

	
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

Greuther Fürth has the inside tarck on the Bundesliga, as an injury time equalizer allowed them to grab a point in the crucial battle at Paderborn. It as forward Ilir Azemi’s second goal of the match, and it was a bit contraversial, as he looked to have shoved a Paderborn defender in order to create space. The home side argued furiously, but the only result was that their coach got red carded. The match was a tense, hard fought affair, which Paderborn generally had the upper hand and certainly felt they should have won. However now the Greuther can control their destiny, while Paderborn not only needs help, but needs to keep an eye on Kaiserslautern.

FCK had a hard time in beating desperate FSV Frankfurt. The homeside expected an easy win, but instead found themselves in a dogfight as the visitors took the lead and fought for every ball. K’lautern managed to take the lead into the half, but spent most of the second period nervously defending their advantage. They did hold on, and keep their chances for at least the promotion playoff open. FSV might have deserved a point, but remain in grave danger of relegation.

Sandhausen has been tough down the stretch, by playing tough defense and waiting for their chances. But they got a taste of their own medicine, as they got ripped by Düsseldorf. Fortuna had a solid defense throughout the match, but their quick counters at the start basically caught the home side with their pants down.

The eastern derby saw Aue jump out to a quick lead and then sit back and watch Dresden run around aimlessly. This ends the Erzgebirge relegation worries, but leaves Dynamo in bad shape.

Köln’s win on Monday night over Bochum officially means promotion back to the Bundesliga.

Total attendance 156,036 (avg 17,337)

 	
Energie Cottbus	     -   FC St. Pauli	        1:1 (0:0)    9,142

                    0:1  Thy (60., Buchtmann)
                    1:1  Banovic (87., penalty, Michel)

SV Sandhausen	     -   Fortuna Düsseldorf	0:3 (0:2)    5,750

                    0:1  Halloran (3., Rechtsschuss, Hoffer)
                    0:2  Liendl (9., Rechtsschuss, Benschop)
                    0:3  Liendl (50., Linksschuss, Halloran)

Erzgebirge Aue	     -   Dynamo Dresden	        2:0 (2:0)   15,000 *

                    1:0  M. Fink (6., Benatelli)
                    2:0  Löning (19.)

1860 München	     -   Arminia Bielefeld	2:1 (1:1)   15,100

                    1:0  Adlung (4., Y. Stark)
                    1:1  Sahar (30., Salger)
                    2:1  Bülow (72., Stoppelkamp)

Karlsruher SC	     -   1. FC Union Berlin	3:2 (0:0)   15,557

                    1:0  G. Krebs (56., Gordon)
                    1:1  Köhler (62., penalty, Skrzybski)
                    2:1  Schwertfeger (71.
                    3:1  Hennings (76., Torres)
                    3:2  Mattuschka (78., penalty, Terodde)

1. FC Kaiserslautern -   FSV Frankfurt	        3:2 (3:2)   26,065

                    0:1  Leckie (3., Konrad)
                    1:1  Dick (23., Stöger)
                    2:1  Idrissou (37., Handpenalty)
                    2:2  Wooten (38., Roshi)
                    3:2  Karl (45., Dick)

VfR Aalen	     -   FC Ingolstadt 04	0:0 (0:0)    6,029

SC Paderborn 07	     -   SpVgg Greuther Fürth	2:2 (1:0)   14,293

                    1:0  Koc (36., Bakalorz)
                    1:1  Azemi (59.)
                    2:1  Vucinovic (75., Bakalorz)
                    2:2  Azemi (90. + 1, Sukalo)


Monday:
1. FC Köln	     -   VfL Bochum	        3:1 (0:1)   49,100  

                    0:1  Matuschyk (42., own goal, Jungwirth)
                    1:1  Risse (50., Peszko)
                    2:1  Helmes (64.)
                    3:1  Ujah (81., Risse)


 1  1. FC Köln	  	        31   18  10 3 	  48:17  +31 	  64 
 2  SpVgg Greuther Fürth (A)	31   15  9  7 	  55:36  +19 	  54
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SC Paderborn 07	  	31   15  8  8 	  57:47  +10 	  53
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  1. FC Kaiserslautern	31   14  8  9 	  48:34  +14 	  50 
 5  Karlsruher SC (N)	  	31   12  12 7 	  43:29  +14 	  48 
 6  FC St. Pauli	  	31   13  8  10 	  42:40  +2 	  47 
 7  SV Sandhausen	  	31   12  8  11 	  29:29   0 	  44 
 8  Fortuna Düsseldorf (A)	31   11  10 10 	  35:40  -5 	  43 
 9  1. FC Union Berlin	  	31   11  9  11 	  46:42  +4 	  42 
10  1860 München	  	31   11  8  12 	  33:39  -6 	  41 
11  Erzgebirge Aue	  	31   11  7  13 	  40:46  -6 	  40 
12  VfR Aalen	  	        31    9  11 11 	  29:37  -8 	  38 
13  FC Ingolstadt 04	  	31    9  10 12 	  29:32  -3 	  37 
14  VfL Bochum	  	        31   10  7  14 	  28:37  -9 	  37 
15  FSV Frankfurt	  	31    9  7  15 	  41:50  -9 	  34
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Dynamo Dresden	  	31    5  16 10 	  32:44  -12 	  31
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Arminia Bielefeld (N)	31    7  7  17 	  33:55  -22 	  28 
18  Energie Cottbus	  	31    6  7  18 	  34:48  -14 	  25


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

VfB Stuttgart took a huge step in avoiding relegation with a solid win over Schalke. vfB jumped all over the Schalkers, and basically had an unbeatable lead. The visitors did try a comeback, and pressed hard, but didn’t have the necessary luck it would have taken. Stuttgart’s chances of surviving just went up immensely, and Schalke looks like they can’t catch Dortmund for 2nd.

Hamburg is a deep crisis. HSV was totally outplayed by a hungry Wolfsburg side and went down hard. The VWs struck quickly and ruthlessly ripped HSV’s ass. The famous Bundesliga clock in the stadium may be getting stopped, as the original Bundesligist is on the verge of going down. At this point, HSV needs to be concerned about holding the playoff spot, as they have only a precarious hold there (Luckily their rivals suck also). I think that they could perhaps defeat Paderborn, who look to be the likely playoff opponent.

Dortmund and Mainz fought an exciting battle. In general, the Neons had the advantage and controlled the ball for most of the game, but Mainz launched blitz counterattacks that the Dortmunders couldn’t deal with. In the end, a hand ball and red card decided the game as Dortmund finished off the match and strengthened their control on 2nd.

Hannover got a critical win at Frankfurt, who were too disorganized early to come back. This basically ensures that the 96ers are safe.

Bremen also grabbed the needed points to end their worries. Their win over Hoffenheim means that only some unusual occurence could see them could see them going down. (They’d have to lose all three remaining, HSV win all)

Nürnberg is likely going down, and perhaps it’s partially bad luck, but it’s definitely lack of recovery ability. Der Club fell behind early against Leverkusen, but battled back and seized the initiative. But they repeated the pattern in the 2nd half and then collapsed down the stretch. Another loss, and relegation is staring them in the face. Well played by the Aspirins, who basically waited for FCN to fall apart.

Bayern had no problem at Braunschweig, but left it late to break down Eintracht’s stubborn resistance. A good effort by the homeside, but they really had no chance. Still, of all the relegation threatened sides, they at least exhibit 100% fight.

Eintracht Frankfurt   -   Hannover 96	        2:3 (1:3)   48,100

                     0:1  Andreasen (2., Pander)
                     1:1  Lanig (13., Barnetta)
                     1:2  Stindl (20., Pander)
                     1:3  Ya Konan (29., Andreasen)
                     2:3  Meier (68., Aigner)

Borussia Dortmund     -   1. FSV Mainz 05	4:2 (2:1)   80,500 *

                     1:0  Jojic (6.)
                     1:1  Okazaki (14., Malli)
                     2:1  Lewandowski (18., H. Mkhitaryan)
                     2:2  Okazaki (53.)
                     3:2  Piszczek (56., Reus)
                     4:2  Reus (79., Handpenalty)

Werder Bremen	      -   1899 Hoffenheim	3:1 (1:1)   40,100

                     0:1  Volland (3., Roberto Firmino)
                     1:1  Bargfrede (18.)
                     2:1  Garcia (78., Hunt)
                     3:1  Petersen (90. + 2, di Santo)

SC Freiburg	      -   Bor. Mönchengladbach	4:2 (0:1)   24,000 *

                     0:1  Herrmann (9., Arango)
                     1:1  Mehmedi (51., Schmid)
                     2:1  Sorg (71., Darida)
                     3:1  Darida (72., Klaus)
                     4:1  Mehmedi (87.)
                     4:2  Nordtveit (89., direct freekick)

FC Augsburg	      -   Hertha BSC	        0:0 (0:0)   30,059

Eintr. Braunschweig   -   Bayern München	0:2 (0:0)   23,325 *

                     0:1  Pizarro (75., M. Götze)
                     0:2  Mandzukic (86., Raeder)

Hamburger SV	      -   VfL Wolfsburg	        1:3 (0:2)   56,279

                     0:1  Perisic (2., Luiz Gustavo)
                     0:2  de Bruyne (42., Olic)
                     0:3  Olic (49., Naldo)
                     1:3  Ilicevic (58., Tesche)


Sunday:
1. FC Nürnberg	      -   Bayer 04 Leverkusen	1:4 (1:1)   40,514

                     0:1  Spahic (16., Boenisch)
                     1:1  Plattenhardt (26., direct freekick)
                     1:2  Boenisch (48., Toprak)
                     1:3  Spahic (80., Son)
                     1:4  Hilbert (87.)

VfB Stuttgart	      -   FC Schalke 04	        3:1 (1:0)   60,000 *

                     1:0  Harnik (23., Didavi)
                     2:0  Cacau (54., Traoré)
                     3:0  Harnik (59., G. Sakai)
                     3:1  Szalai (69., Goretzka)



 1  Bayern München (M, P)	31   26  3  2 	  84:20  +64 	  81 
 2  Borussia Dortmund	  	31   20  4  7 	  71:34  +37 	  64 
 3  FC Schalke 04	  	31   17  7  7 	  57:41  +16 	  58
 4  Bayer 04 Leverkusen	  	31   17  3  11 	  54:38  +16 	  54 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  VfL Wolfsburg	  	31   16  5  10 	  56:46  +10 	  53
 6  Bor. Mönchengladbach	31   14  7  10 	  54:39  +15 	  49
-------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 7  1. FSV Mainz 05	  	31   14  5  12 	  46:49  -3 	  47
 8  FC Augsburg	  	        31   12  7  12 	  41:45  -4 	  43 
 9  1899 Hoffenheim	  	31   10  10 11 	  67:66  +1 	  40 
10  Hertha BSC Berlin (N)	31   10  8  13 	  38:42  -4 	  38 
11  Werder Bremen	  	31    9  9  13 	  37:59  -22 	  36 
12  Eintracht Frankfurt	  	31    9  8  14 	  39:53  -14 	  35 
13  SC Freiburg	  	        31    9  8  14 	  39:54  -15 	  35 
14  Hannover 96	  	        31   10  5  16 	  41:57  -16 	  35 
15  VfB Stuttgart	  	31    8  7  16 	  48:59  -11 	  31
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Hamburger SV	  	31    7  6  18 	  47:65  -18 	  27
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  1. FC Nürnberg	  	31    5  11 15 	  36:62  -26 	  26 
18  Eintracht Braunschweig (N)	31    6  7  18 	  28:54  -26 	  25


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

The top seems now decided, and one spot in relegation is still “down-for-grabs”…

RedBull money has made it’s mark as the RasenBallsportler have perhaps taken the decisive step to promotion. A large crowd showed up in Leipzig to watch the critical match against Darmstadt. The winner would likely get the auto-promotion spot. The home side actually looked the better team, controlling most of the match. However Darmstadt did make things interesting at the end, as they desperately searched for an equalizer. On the balance, Leipzig deserved the win, and although some may gripe about corporate sponsorship, the players played hard, and the local fans finally have something to cheer about.

Under somewhat quieter circumstances, leaders Heidenheim officially gained promotion with their point and Darmstadt’s loss. It wasn’t easy, as they faced a desperate Elversberg side that is struggling against relegation. SVE not only grabbed a lead, but Heidenheim was down a man at half when veteran Michael Thurk got his ass red carded. But the champions-to-be showed their mettle and managed to come back and salvage a point.

Hardly anyone was watching the match in Stuttgart, but VfB-II took a big step in staying up and dropped Unterhaching back into the zone.

The battle for 4th (and DFB-Cup qualifying) heated up as Duisburg had a somewhat fortunate win over Osnabrück. the Zebras have been strong at hoem recently, and despite some advantages, Osnabrück couldn’t gain anything. Looks like four teams are going down to the wire for this position. Wehen has claimed it for now, with a hard win over Chemnitz. But Duisburg and Kickers Stuttgart are lurking right behind and could seize the opportunity.

Burghausen needed a win, but they were crap against Rostock. That pretty much sends them down.

Kiel got outplayed at home, but managed to hold a draw with Regensburg. Usually the Storks are strong in the Holstein-Stadion, but it was their GK Niklas Jakusch who saved the day with a great performance. Kiel looks pretty safe, becuase their superior goal difference essentially gives them 5 points above relegation.

On Sunday, Münster entered the race for 4th place, and basically condemned Saarbrücken to the drop.

Total attendance 89,143 (avg 8,914), but of course most was in Leipzig. (Otherwise, the avg was around 5,555)

Rot Weiß Erfurt	     -   Borussia Dortmund II	3:1 (0:0)    5,404
VfB Stuttgart II     -   SpVgg Unterhaching	3:2 (0:0)      935
MSV Duisburg	     -   VfL Osnabrück	        1:0 (0:0)   13,102
Hallescher FC        -   Stuttgarter Kickers	1:1 (0:1)   11,108
Wacker Burghausen    -   Hansa Rostock	        0:1 (0:1)    2,300
RedBullsport Leipzig -   SV Darmstadt 98        1:0 (1:0)   39,147 
SV Wehen Wiesbaden   -   Chemnitzer FC	        1:0 (1:0)    2,565
Holstein Kiel	     -   Jahn Regensburg        0:0 (0:0)    5,339
SV Elversberg	     -   1. FC Heidenheim	1:1 (1:0)    1,886
Preußen Münster	     -   1. FC Saarbrücken	2:0 (0:0)    7,357


 1  1. FC Heidenheim	  	35   22  10  3 	   57:23  +34 	  76 
 2  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N)	35   21  7   7 	   56:32  +24 	  70
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SV Darmstadt 98	  	35   19  9   7 	   54:25  +29 	  66
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  	35   14  10  11    38:41  -3 	  52 
 5  VfL Osnabrück	  	35   14  9   12    49:36  +13 	  51 
 6  MSV Duisburg (A)	  	35   13  12  10    41:37  +4 	  51 
 7  Stuttgarter Kickers	  	35   13  11  11    43:40  +3 	  50 
 8  Preußen Münster	  	35   12  13  10    51:46  +5 	  49 
 9  Hallescher FC	  	35   13  8   14    44:48  -4 	  47 
10  Hansa Rostock	  	35   13  8   14    43:52  -9 	  47 
11  Rot Weiß Erfurt	  	35   13  7   15    50:46  +4 	  46 
12  Jahn Regensburg (A)	  	35   12  10  13    50:50   0 	  46 
13  Chemnitzer FC	  	35   11  11  13    40:44  -4 	  44 
14  Borussia Dortmund II	35   11  9   15    43:51  -8 	  42 
15  Holstein Kiel (N)	  	35    9  14  12    38:35  +3 	  41 
16  VfB Stuttgart II	  	35   11  8   16    43:53  -10 	  41 
17  SV Elversberg (N)	  	35   10  8   17    31:50  -19 	  38
--------------------------------------------------------------------
18  SpVgg Unterhaching	  	35    9  10  16    43:62  -19 	  37 
19  1. FC Saarbrücken	  	35    8  7   20    36:56  -20 	  31 
20  Wacker Burghausen	  	35    7  9   19    32:55  -23 	  30


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

The semifinals of the German Cup provided no surprises, and the final that folks want to see is on tap.

Borussia Dortmund defeated Wolfsburg in an exciting encounter. Although the VWs had their chances, they generally were too wasteful, whereas Dortmund was brutally efficient when they needed to be. The Neons were never looking like they would drop this match, despite moments of Wolfie pressure.

Defending Cup winner Bayern München was expected to have an easy time against 2.Liga side 1.FC Kaiserslautern. They did. It was over by halftime. FCK tried their best, but were clearly out of their league. If Bayern had really pressed, it could have turned into a slaughter. Bayern did put out a maximum strength squad., perhaps a reaction to their spanking by Dortmund in their last Bundesliga match. The only theoretical weakpoint was at GK, as youth player Lukas Raeder got the start, as both Manuel Neuer and Tom Starke were out injured. Not that it really mattered.

Both matches were sold out, which is a minor surprise, since Cup attendance is often less than capacity for Bundesliga sides hosting…

Borussia Dortmund   -   VfL Wolfsburg           2:0 (2:0)   80,645 *

                   1:0  H. Mkhitaryan (12., Reus)
                   2:0  Lewandowski (43., Reus)


Bayern München	    - 	1. FC Kaiserslautern    5:1 (3:0)   71,000 *

                   1:0  Schweinsteiger (24., Robben)
                   2:0  T. Kroos (32., Robben)
                   3:0  T. Müller (50., penalty, Robben)
                   3:1  Zoller (60., Dick)
                   4:1  Mandzukic (78., M. Götze)
                   5:1  M. Götze (90. + 1, Ribery)

OK, hardly that dramatic. But Bayern really got owned for the first time in about 2 years, as they crashed at home against Dortmund. It was a typical Bayern match, with them dominating possession, but the Neons weren’t impressed. They played patient defense and launched quick counter strikes. The visitors were confident, even to the point of not starting Robert Lewandowski, who of course is going to Bayern next season. They really didn’t miss him, as they executed their plan perfectly and played to their capabilities, winning in impressive form.

Stuttgart was the only bottom club that helped themselves out, but it should have been more. VfB was the better team at Gladbach, but wasted some good chances to finish off the match. Instead Gladbach got a late goal to salvage a point that they probably didn’t deserve.

Hannover dominated Hamburg in a tense Nordderby. The 96ers should have put the match away early, but instead found themselves faced with a draw. A late surge finally put them over the top and gives them some breathing space. HSV did squat, although young star Calhanoglu did knock in a direct free kick that almost got them a point.

Wolfsburg fell behind at the start against Nürnberg, but really didn’t seem bothered. The VWs stuck to their plan and gradually overran the visitors, who were shaky in defense and no-shows on offense. So it was only a matter of time until the Wolfs kicked their ass all over the field for an easy win.

Freiburg did enough to get a win in a critical relegation matchup against Braunschweig. However they almost turned off the gas too early. They were coasting along but switched to “off” mode after an hour. Eintracht then dominated the remaining time, but didn’t utilize their chances which might have got them a point. But with the win Freiburg looks almost secure from trouble, Braunschweig is still in it, but time is running out.

Bremen self-destructed early at Mainz and it was over. Luckily for Werder, mainz was a gracious host and didn’t press on in the 2nd half, otherwise it would have been an embarrassing rout.

Leverkusen did enough to get the win against Berlin, although it was hardly impressive. Hertha has been dicking around for about 8 matches (without a win), so it wasn’t a huge challenge. But the Aspirins are trying to hold off Wolfsburg, so every point counts.

Hoffenheim put an end to any Euro hopes for Augsburg. The Fuggers “run,run,run” strategy didn’t impress the Hoppers too much, as they used superior technique to control the match and essentially put it away in the first half.

Total attendance 377,387 (avg 41,932), sellouts in Gelsenkirchen (Schalke), Gladbach, Hannover, Freiburg and München

 	
FC Schalke 04	      -   Eintracht Frankfurt	2:0 (0:0)   61,973 *

                     1:0  M. Meyer (59., Huntelaar)
                     2:0  Farfan (90. + 1, direct freekick)

Bor. Mönchengladbach  -   VfB Stuttgart	        1:1 (0:1)   53,560 *

                     0:1  Didavi (12., Werner)
                     1:1  Arango (89., M. Kruse)

Hannover 96	      -   Hamburger SV	        2:1 (1:0)   49,000 *

                     1:0  Stindl (9., Prib)
                     1:1  Calhanoglu (48., direct freekick)
                     2:1  Ya Konan (86., Rudnevs)

VfL Wolfsburg	      -   1. FC Nürnberg	4:1 (2:1)   28,431

                     0:1  Feulner (8., Kiyotake)
                     1:1  Olic (19., de Bruyne)
                     2:1  Perisic (22., de Bruyne)
                     3:1  Junior Malanda (69., Arnold)
                     4:1  Perisic (82., Olic)

SC Freiburg	      -   Eintr. Braunschweig	2:0 (1:0)   24,000 *

                     1:0  Vrancic (8., own goal, Sorg)
                     2:0  Schuster (48.)

1. FSV Mainz 05	      -   Werder Bremen	        3:0 (3:0)   33,597

                     1:0  Petersen (5., own goal, Geis)
                     2:0  Moritz (16.)
                     3:0  Malli (39., Pospech)

Bayern München	      -   Borussia Dortmund	0:3 (0:1)   71,000 *

                     0:1  H. Mkhitaryan (20., Reus)
                     0:2  Reus (49., Aubameyang)
                     0:3  Hofmann (56., Sokratis)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen   -   Hertha BSC	        2:1 (2:1)   29,377

                     1:0  Kießling (1., Donati)
                     2:0  Brandt (24., Son)
                     2:1  Wagner (38., Cigerci)

1899 Hoffenheim	      -   FC Augsburg	        2:0 (2:0)   26,449

                     1:0  Salihovic (19., direct freekick)
                     2:0  Vestergaard (41.)



 1  Bayern München (M, P)	30   25  3  2 	  82:20  +62 	  78 
 2  Borussia Dortmund	  	30   19  4  7 	  67:32  +35 	  61 
 3  FC Schalke 04	  	30   17  7  6 	  56:38  +18 	  58
 4  Bayer 04 Leverkusen	  	30   16  3  11 	  50:37  +13 	  51
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  VfL Wolfsburg	  	30   15  5  10 	  53:45  +8 	  50
 6  Bor. Mönchengladbach	30   14  7  9 	  52:35  +17 	  49 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 7  1. FSV Mainz 05	  	30   14  5  11 	  44:45  -1 	  47 
 8  FC Augsburg	  	        30   12  6  12 	  41:45  -4 	  42 
 9  1899 Hoffenheim	  	30   10  10 10 	  66:63  +3 	  40 
10  Hertha BSC Berlin (N)	30   10  7  13 	  38:42  -4 	  37 
11  Eintracht Frankfurt	  	30    9  8  13 	  37:50  -13 	  35 
12  Werder Bremen	  	30    8  9  13 	  34:58  -24 	  33 
13  Hannover 96	  	        30    9  5  16 	  38:55  -17 	  32 
14  SC Freiburg	  	        30    8  8  14 	  35:52  -17 	  32 
15  VfB Stuttgart	  	30    7  7  16 	  45:58  -13 	  28
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Hamburger SV	  	30    7  6  17 	  46:62  -16 	  27
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  1. FC Nürnberg	  	30    5  11 14 	  35:58  -23 	  26 
18  Eintracht Braunschweig (N)	30    6  7  17 	  28:52  -24 	  25



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

Leaders Köln continue their march to the Bundesliga and mathematically eliminate Union Berlin. Actually, Union had already missed the plane, train and automobile to promotion. They were trying a bicycle, but were down to a unicycle with a flat tire. They’d faded from a promising season several weeks ago. So it was only pride in a sold out Alte Försterei. Union fought hard, and you could say that Köln’s win was somewhat lucky, but the leaders did show the usual solid defense and Patrick Helmes did the rest.

Greuther Fürth managed to hold 2nd in a tough win against Aue. The home side dominated, but were chasing the visitors, who proved a hard nut to crack.

Paderborn took a huge step towards promotion as they defended their spot and won at Ingolstadt, who are very difficult to beat. They actually had their backs against the wall facing the Schanzer, who were pressing to get a win. But the Westfalen showed discipline and will, and got a crucial win. This sets up the massive clash with Greuther Fürth next week, which may decide the assured Bundesliga spot.

Kaiserslautern maintained hope in the promotion race as they won in silly injury time at St.Pauli. It was a wild, hard fought match that probably ended the Hamburgers hopes.

Bielefeld need ed a win against Karlsruhe, but it was a rather lame match with few chances. Things are looking pretty grim for Arminia, with only the playoff as a chance of staying up.

Düsseldorf ended any relegation worries with a solid win over Aalen.

FSV Frankfurt played one of their worst home matches and were shredded by Sandhausen. The visitors were a step quicker and looked like they wanted it, whereas the Bornheimer had no clue. They still are looking nervously over their should, as they could still get caught by one of the bottom three.

Bochum overcame a crap 1st half and pulled out a win over Cottbus. This looks to be just enough to secure their 2.Liga status, and probably drove the final nail in Energie’s coffin.

On Monday, Dresden dumped a lame 1860 squad by blowing them out of the water right at the start. Dynamo did whatever they pleased and 1860 meeked agreed. This is huge for Dynamo, as they are back in range of a safe spot. However it does mean that they’ve pretty much condemned Cottbus to the drop, as even the playoff seems out of reach for the Lausitzer.

 	
1. FC Union Berlin    -   1. FC Köln  	        1:2 (1:1)   21,717 *

                     1:0  Dausch (10., Pfertzel)
                     1:1  Helmes (26., penalty, Peszko)
                     1:2  Helmes (59., direct freekick)

FC St. Pauli	      -   1. FC Kaiserslautern	2:3 (1:1)   29,063 *

                     1:0  Verhoek (15., Rzatkowski)
                     1:1  Lakic (31., direct freekick)
                     1:2  Karl (61., Torrejon)
                     2:2  Kringe (89., Maier)
                     2:3  Jenssen (90. + 7, Karl)

FC Ingolstadt 04      -   SC Paderborn 07	1:2 (1:1)    4,536

                     1:0  Morales (5.)
                     1:1  Bakalorz (36., Krösche)
                     1:2  Kachunga (81.)

SpVgg Greuther Fürth  -   Erzgebirge Aue	2:1 (1:1)   12,310

                     0:1  Luksik (17., direct freekick)
                     1:1  Brosinski (38.)
                     2:1  Azemi (58., Pledl)

Arminia Bielefeld     -   Karlsruher SC	        0:0 (0:0)   14,349

Fortuna Düsseldorf    -   VfR Aalen	        3:1 (1:0)   28,377

                     1:0  Halloran (44.)
                     2:0  Benschop (65., penalty, Bodzek)
                     3:0  Golley (74., Benschop)
                     3:1  Junglas (83., Traut)


FSV Frankfurt	      -   SV Sandhausen	        0:3 (0:2)    6,847

                     0:1  Jovanovic (27., Achenbach)
                     0:2  Adler (44., Achenbach)
                     0:3  Jovanovic (66., Adler)

VfL Bochum	      -   Energie Cottbus	2:1 (0:1)   11,779

                     0:1  Takyi (28., Jendrisek)
                     1:1  Kreyer (61., Fabian)
                     2:1  Sukuta-Pasu (74., penalty)


Monday:
Dynamo Dresden	      -   1860 München	        4:2 (4:1)   27,344

                     1:0  Kempe (5., direct freekick)
                     2:0  Ouali (11., Poté)
                     3:0  Koch (20., Poté)
                     3:1  Losilla (26., own goal, Osako)
                     4:1  Koch (44., Ouali)
                     4:2  Adlung (89., Vallori)
 	


 1  1. FC Köln	  	        30   17  10 3 	  45:16  +29 	  61 
 2  SpVgg Greuther Fürth (A)	30   15  8  7 	  53:34  +19 	  53
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SC Paderborn 07	  	30   15  7  8 	  55:45  +10 	  52
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  1. FC Kaiserslautern	30   13  8  9 	  45:32  +13 	  47 
 5  FC St. Pauli	  	30   13  7  10 	  41:39  +2 	  46 
 6  Karlsruher SC (N)	  	30   11  12 7 	  40:27  +13 	  45 
 7  SV Sandhausen	  	30   12  8  10 	  29:26  +3 	  44 
 8  1. FC Union Berlin	  	30   11  9  10 	  44:39  +5 	  42 
 9  Fortuna Düsseldorf (A)	30   10  10 10 	  32:40  -8 	  40 
10  1860 München	  	30   10  8  12 	  31:38  -7 	  38 
11  VfL Bochum	  	        30   10  7  13 	  27:34  -7 	  37
12  Erzgebirge Aue	  	30   10  7  13 	  38:46  -8 	  37 
13  VfR Aalen	  	        30    9  10 11 	  29:37  -8 	  37 
14  FC Ingolstadt 04	  	30    9  9  12 	  29:32  -3 	  36 
15  FSV Frankfurt	  	30    9  7  14 	  39:47  -8 	  34
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Dynamo Dresden	  	30    5  16 9 	  32:42  -10 	  31
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Arminia Bielefeld (N)	30    7  7  16 	  32:53  -21 	  28 
18  Energie Cottbus	  	30    6  6  18 	  33:47  -14 	  24


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