3.Liga, Round 27: Here come the Storks!

Round 27, Feb 27-28

Schleswig-Holstein is mostly known for their cows, but another animal is getting recognition now. Holstein Kiel, known as die Störche (the storks), have silently climbed the table and suddenly siezed the spotlight. They thumped high-flying Erfurt to seize 2nd place, and with the best defense in the league (by far), they certainly have the capability to hang tight. As you can see, the fight for promotion is a dogfight, with 2-7 only a win away. Even a club like Dresden could sneak back into the hunt. Against Erfurt, Holstein dominated. Even though RWE tied the match briefly after the restart, Kiel wasn’t bothered at all, piled the pressure on, and the visitors cracked.

At the top sits Bielefeld, which has established themselves as the class of the league. Arminia thumped Unterhaching and sit 9 points above. That should be solid enough for a return to the 2.Liga. The visitors were without a chance and lucky that Arminia turned down the heat in the 2nd period. But the Mini-Münchenkins were probably still happy from their big 4-1 away win midweek at Großaspach in a makeup match, calming their relegation fears.

Stuttgarter Kickers were impressive at Fortuna Köln, getting a solid away win without ever being threatened.

Preußen Münster can’t be too happy with their draw at Wehen. They were the better team and had a chance to really take control, but missed a penalty that would have put them 2-0 up. Instead the hosts fought their way back and salvaged a point.

Cottbus blew a chance to join the leaders, as they were held at Großaspach. But actually, the Sonnenhofer were the better team, and only the woodwork saved Energie from an embarassing loss.

Rostock got a huge away win at Halle and more critical points in the relegation battle. Hansa isn’t out of the woods yet, but at least they have some breathing room.

Regensburg’s mini-revival may be over already. Jahn was beaten at home by Dresden, who desperately needed a result to stop their slide. They were off to a good start as Justin Eilers nailed a hat-trick and Dynamo could seemingly phone the rest in. Bad idea, as Jahn came back and pressed for a draw, but luckily Dresden held on.

Total attendance 59,872 (avg 5,987)

 	
Holstein Kiel	    -  	Rot-Weiß Erfurt	      4:1 (1:0)    8,006
1. FSV Mainz 05 II  -  	VfB Stuttgart II      0:2 (0:0)      453
Hallescher FC	    -  	Hansa Rostock	      1:2 (1:0)   11,324
Chemnitzer FC	    -  	Borussia Dortmund II  3:1 (1:1)    5,046
Arminia Bielefeld   -  	SpVgg Unterhaching    4:0 (3:0)   12,087
Fortuna Köln	    -  	Stuttgarter Kickers   0:2 (0:2)    1,568
VfL Osnabrück	    -  	MSV Duisburg	      1:1 (1:0)    8,300
SV Wehen Wiesbaden  -  	Preußen Münster       2:2 (0:1)    2,746
Jahn Regensburg	    -  	Dynamo Dresden	      2:3 (0:3)    8,742
SG S-hof Großaspach -  	Energie Cottbus	      2:2 (1:0)    1,600


 1  Arminia Bielefeld (A) 	27   17  4  6 	  56:28  +28 	  55 
 2  Holstein Kiel 	  	27   12  10 5 	  37:19  +18 	  46
 --------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  MSV Duisburg 	  	27   12  10 5 	  40:27  +13 	  46
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  Preußen Münster 	  	27   13  7  7 	  40:31  +9 	  46 
 5  Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	  	27   13  7  7 	  41:35  +6 	  46 
 6  Stuttgarter Kickers 	26   12  9  5 	  41:29  +12 	  45 
 7  Energie Cottbus (A) 	27   12  8  7 	  34:28  +6 	  44 
 8  Dynamo Dresden (A) 	  	27   11  8  8 	  34:31  +3 	  41 
 9  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	  	26   11  5  10 	  41:32  +9 	  38 
10  Fortuna Köln (N) 	  	27   10  6  11 	  31:28  +3 	  36 
11  Chemnitzer FC 	  	27   10  6  11 	  27:26  +1 	  36 
12  VfL Osnabrück 	  	27   10  6  11 	  38:43  -5 	  36 
13  Hallescher FC 	  	26    9  6  11 	  32:36  -4 	  33 
14  VfB Stuttgart II 	  	26    9  6  11 	  35:41  -6 	  33 
15  SpVgg Unterhaching 	  	26    8  6  12 	  38:48  -10 	  30 
16  Hansa Rostock 	  	27    7  7  13 	  37:52  -15 	  28 
17  Borussia Dortmund II 	26    4  12 10 	  26:35  -9 	  24
--------------------------------------------------------------------
18  SG Sonnenhof Großaspach (N) 26    5  8  13 	  27:50  -23 	  23 
19  1. FSV Mainz 05 II (N) 	26    5  7  14 	  27:41  -14 	  22 
20  Jahn Regensburg 	  	27    5  4  18 	  31:53  -22 	  19
	
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

2.Liga, Round 22: Lautern stunned

Round 22, Feb 20-23

Kaiserslautern must realize they’re in a dogfight – you need your A game every match. The Devils showed up in Bornheim to face the mini-Frankfurters FSV…and deservedly lost. Although at the start of both halves FCK had some sustained pressure and looked like they wanted it, after that initial wave, the hosts seized control. FSV came close several times and a beauty of a free kick by Hoffenheim loanee Vicenzo Grifo gave the Bornheimers a deserved lead. They even could afford a silly double yellow by Aoudia. Even with 10 men. they looked determined, and indeed grabbed another goal for an impressive win. Lautern drops to 4th, and perhaps the realization that in the 2.Liga, the field is pretty balanced.

Leaders Ingolstadt had a rough time in Aalen. The hosts desperately need points and played like it. The Schanzer could never get going, as Aalen kept them off balance. A hard fought draw was the fair result.

Karlruhe had a tough time with Bochum. The visitors have improved under new coach Gert Verbeek, and wer ready to play. KSC never had the match under control, and in the end should be happy with the result..they jump into 2nd due to Lautern’s failure.

Darmstadt steals a win at Aue, keeping their promotion hopes alive. The 98ers were in a battle, as Erzgebirge has shown definite improvement in recent weeks. The visitors stole a goal, and then relied on GK Christiam Mathia to hold on for a good road win.

1860 won a huge relegation battle against St.Pauli. Both teams had expected to contend for promotion, but now are fighting for their lives. Torsten Fröhling was in charge for his first game as 1860 coach, and they get a huge win. It wasn’t easy, and especially down the stretch the Lions were barely holding on as the Paulistas tried a desperation comeback.

Two giants met in Düsseldorf, as Nürnberg travelled to meet Fortuna. At stake was the last chance to have any hope of promotion. Der Club is going to be happier with the result, as they efficiently grabbed a win. Fortuna had some advantage in possesion and field position, but FCN was far more clever. A good win for the visitors.

Union Berlin have established themselves in secure mid-table, as they upended Heidenheim. The Berliners had been sliding a bit towards the danger zone, but have recovered and should have no worries. FCH started quickly, but was then outplayed by their hosts.

 	
SpVgg Greuther Fürth -   SV Sandhausen	        0:0 (0:0)    9,135

VfR Aalen	     -   FC Ingolstadt 04	1:1 (0:0)    5,048

                    1:0  J. Gjasula (56., penalty, Ademi)
                    1:1  Leckie (77., P. Groß)

Erzgebirge Aue	     -   SV Darmstadt 98	0:1 (0:0)    9,000

                    0:1  Gondorf (83., König)

Karlsruher SC	     -   VfL Bochum	        0:0 (0:0)   11,989

1860 München	     -   FC St. Pauli	        2:1 (1:0)   25,100

                    1:0  Gonther (10., own goal, Bandowski)
                    2:0  M. Wolf (72., Adlung)
                    2:1  Nöthe (77., Budimir)

Fortuna Düsseldorf   -   1. FC Nürnberg	        1:3 (0:0)   30,213

                    1:0  Pohjanpalo (67., Bruno Soares)
                    1:1  Stark (71., Füllkrug)
                    1:2  D. Blum (77., Sylvestr)
                    1:3  Kerk (88., Füllkrug)

1. FC Union Berlin   -   1. FC Heidenheim	3:1 (2:1)   16,512

                    0:1  Schnatterer (5., Niederlechner)
                    1:1  Kreilach (7., Schönheim)
                    2:1  Brandy (28., Schönheim)
                    3:1  Quiring (56., Schönheim)

FSV Frankfurt	     -   1. FC Kaiserslautern	2:0 (0:0)   10,153

                    1:0  Grifo (71., direct freekick)
                    2:0  Dedic (88., Ballas)

Monday:
Eintr. Braunschweig  -   RasenB. Leipzig	1:1 (1:0)   20,650

                    1:0  Berggreen (45., Pfitzner)
                    1:1  D. Kaiser (84., Poulsen)
 


 1  FC Ingolstadt 04 	  	22   12  8  2 	  35:18  +17 	  44 
 2  Karlsruher SC 	  	22   10  8  4 	  30:17  +13 	  38
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SV Darmstadt 98 (N) 	22    9  11 2 	  27:16  +11 	  38
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  1. FC Kaiserslautern 	22   10  8  4 	  30:21  +9 	  38 
 5  Eintracht Braunschweig (A) 	22   10  4  8 	  31:26  +5 	  34 
 6  1. FC Nürnberg (A) 	  	22   10  3  9 	  28:32  -4 	  33 
 7  Fortuna Düsseldorf 	  	22    8  8  6 	  33:29  +4 	  32 
 8  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N) 	22    7  9  6 	  23:16  +7 	  30 
 9  FSV Frankfurt 	  	22    9  3  10 	  29:34  -5 	  30 
10  1. FC Union Berlin 	  	22    8  6  8 	  28:34  -6 	  30 
11  1. FC Heidenheim (N) 	22    7  7  8 	  31:25  +6 	  28 
12  VfL Bochum 	  	        22    5  12 5 	  32:32   0 	  27 
13  SpVgg Greuther Fürth	22    6  9  7 	  23:24  -1 	  27 
14  SV Sandhausen 	  	22    6  7  9 	  18:26  -8 	  25 
15  1860 München 	  	22    5  6  11 	  28:35  -7 	  21
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Erzgebirge Aue 	  	22    5  5  12 	  21:32  -11 	  20
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  VfR Aalen 	  	        22    4  7  11 	  16:27  -11 	  19 
18  FC St. Pauli 	  	22    4  5  13 	  23:42  -19 	  17



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

A = Absteiger just relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

3.Liga, Round 26: Arminia in control

Round 26, Feb 20-21

Leaders Bielefeld took a huge step towards an immediate bounce-back to the 2.Liga. The Arminen put in a strongeffort at Kickers Stuttgart, and other results went their way. So now they sit on top with a nice cushion in the promotion race. The Kickers were able to hold with their guests for a half, but Bielefeld raised their level in the 2nd period, and the hosts couldn’t respond. A deserved victory for the leaders.

Erfurt essentially ended Osnabrück’s season, dropping the visitors for their 5th straight defeat. More important, RWE has moved into 2nd thanks to Münster’s collapse. The Erfurter are quite strong at home, which will be crucial in the dogfight for the promotion spots.

Duisburg is back in contention as they overpowered Fortuna Köln to claim 3rd place.

The big loser was Preußen Münster, who were well-beaten at home by Hostein Kiel. Not a great upset, as the “Storks” are a strong road team and were well prepared for Preußen. They looked faster and were well organized, and have quietly popped into contention.

Another big loser was Dresden, who disappointed a big crowd again and lost to Wehen. Looks like it’s over for Dresden, they might as well start preparing for next season. Wehen obviously isn’t going anywhere either, but they’ve probably known that for a while, along with all 22 of their fans (player wives and girlfriends).

Cottbus on the other hand is keeping their options open. They’d been crap recently, so the bottom dwellers showing up was just what the doctor ordered. Energie thumped Regensburg and remain within striking distance.

Dortmund-II was lucky to salvage a point, as Halle should have put away the latch earlier. This could be crucial in the relegation battle.

Huge relegation battle win for Rostock against Mainz-II. Hansa was the league’s worst home side, and struggled in this one too. However they managed to get the win, which was absolutely required.

Total attendance 72,733 (avg 7,273)

SpVgg Unterhaching    -   Chemnitzer FC	        0:0 (0:0)    1,750
Borussia Dortmund II  -   Hallescher FC	        1:1 (0:1)      631
Rot-Weiß Erfurt	      -   VfL Osnabrück	        3:1 (1:0)    5,952
Hansa Rostock	      -   1. FSV Mainz 05 II	2:1 (0:0)    7,300
VfB Stuttgart II      -   SG S-hof Großaspach	4:1 (1:0)      950
Energie Cottbus	      -   Jahn Regensburg	4:1 (1:0)    6,390
Dynamo Dresden	      -   SV Wehen Wiesbaden	0:1 (0:0)   20,797
Preußen Münster	      -   Holstein Kiel 	1:3 (1:2)    8,672
MSV Duisburg	      -   Fortuna Köln	        2:0 (1:0)   12,041
Stuttgarter Kickers  -    Arminia Bielefeld	0:2 (0:0)    8,250 	


 1  Arminia Bielefeld (A) 	26   16  4  6 	  52:28  +24 	  52 
 2  Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	  	26   13  7  6 	  40:31  +9 	  46
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  MSV Duisburg 	  	26   12  9  5 	  39:26  +13 	  45
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  Preußen Münster 	  	26   13  6  7 	  38:29  +9 	  45 
 5  Holstein Kiel 	  	26   11  10 5 	  33:18  +15 	  43 
 6  Energie Cottbus (A) 	26   12  7  7 	  32:26  +6 	  43 
 7  Stuttgarter Kickers 	25   11  9  5 	  39:29  +10 	  42 
 8  Dynamo Dresden (A) 	  	26   10  8  8 	  31:29  +2 	  38 
 9  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	  	25   11  4  10 	  39:30  +9 	  37 
10  Fortuna Köln (N) 	  	26   10  6  10 	  31:26  +5 	  36 
11  VfL Osnabrück 	  	26   10  5  11 	  37:42  -5 	  35 
12  Chemnitzer FC 	  	26    9  6  11 	  24:25  -1 	  33 
13  Hallescher FC 	  	25    9  6  10 	  31:34  -3 	  33 
14  VfB Stuttgart II 	  	25    8  6  11 	  33:41  -8 	  30 
15  SpVgg Unterhaching	  	24    7  6  11 	  34:43  -9 	  27 
16  Hansa Rostock 	  	26    6  7  13 	  35:51  -16 	  25 
17  Borussia Dortmund II 	25    4  12 9 	  25:32  -7 	  24
--------------------------------------------------------------------
18  1. FSV Mainz 05 II (N) 	25    5  7  13 	  27:39  -12 	  22 
19  SG Sonnenhof Großaspach (N) 24    5  7  12 	  24:44  -20 	  22 
20  Jahn Regensburg 	  	26    5  4  17 	  29:50  -21 	  19



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 22: Neons back on track?

Round 22, Feb 20-22

A huge relegation match in Stuttgart Friday night, would Dortmund continue their revival? The answer was a resounding yes. The Neons dominated and deservedly got the road win, albeit they made things more difficult than it should have been. They conceded a couple of stupid goals, otherwise they would have sailed easily. VfB showed some engagement, but were clearly inferior. The players apologized to their fans afterwards; in a similar situation Dortmund did just that three weeks ago, and they’ve won all matches since. Perhaps it will have a similar effect on Stuttgart, but it seems unlikely. Everybody knew Dortmund is a sleeping giant, capable of better things. Not so sure in the case of Stuttgart…they haven’t been good for a while.

Bayern München had a cakewalk in Paderborn, although it did take some effort. In the first half SCP defended well, but Bayern was able to break through with a couple of goals. The hosts were concentrated on the back, and had only a couple of chances going forward, but if they had luck, maybe they could have stolen something. Then in the 2nd period, things quickly fell apart and Bayern viciously ripped Paderborn to threads. An early penalty and red card meant that Bayern would basically score as many as they felt like doing before heading to the pub to celebrate.

Wolfsburg expected to win easily against Hertha, but the Berliners defended well despite being dominated. A Hertha counter got an equalizer, and the VWs couldn’t break through. In the end it was in-form Bas Dost who decided the match for the Wolfies, who remain untouchable 2nd behind Bayern. Good effort for Hertha, but they can’t really complain and remain in dire straits.

Werder Bremen worked hard and were rewarded with a late goal at Schalke. It was a deserved point, as the Bremen side arguably played better than the hosts, who were typically uninspired and boring.

Mainz decided the Rhein-Main derby against Frankfurt with a blitz out of the 2nd period. The first half had been pretty even, but FSV came out breathing fire, scored twice, and Eintracht was unable to recover.

Augsburg looked like they were going down due to a late goal by visiting Leverkusen. It would be somewhat bitter, since Bayer were by no means superior. But the Fuggers never give up, and in injury time GK Hitz tuned on a bouncing ball in the crowded Leverkusen box and rescued a point.

Freiburg was needing a win against Hoffenheim to jump from the drop zone. But SCF didn’t play very well, and should be happy they didn’t lose. Especially in the 2nd period the Hoppers had several chances to score, but seemed satisfied with an away point.

Boring match in Köln with Hannover. It started out brightly enough, but fizzled out. The hosts had somewhat of an edge, but they’re incapable of controlling a match and the 96ers couldn’t be bothered.

Hamburg showed massive improvement from last week’s embarassing 0-8 at Bayern. HSV showed some fight and had several chances to put the game away, as Gladbach was surprisingly lame. However, this is HSV, so they would figure out how to ruin it, as they wasted most of their chances, and then were punished in injury time. I suppose a point is always good, but they should have had all of them.

Total attendance 349,252 (avg 38,806), sell-outs in Schalke, Stuttgart and Paderborn

 	
VfB Stuttgart	   -   Borussia Dortmund	2:3 (1:2)   60,000 *

                  0:1  Aubameyang (25., Kagawa)
                  1:1  Klein (32., penalty, Niedermeier)
                  1:2  Gündogan (39., Kagawa)
                  1:3  Reus (89.)
                  2:3  Niedermeier (90. + 1, Ibisevic)

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

                  1:0  M. Meyer (61., Barnetta)
                  1:1  Prödl (90. + 2, Junuzovic)

1. FSV Mainz 05	   -   Eintracht Frankfurt	3:1 (1:1)   33,237

                  0:1  Aigner (35., Seferovic)
                  1:1  Clemens (38., Okazaki)
                  2:1  Geis (47., direct free kick)
                  3:1  Malli (50., de Blasis)

FC Augsburg	   -   Bayer 04 Leverkusen	2:2 (0:1)   28,154
 
                  0:1  Drmic (8., Son)
                  1:1  Caiuby (59., Baier)
                  1:2  Reinartz (84., Hilbert)
                  2:2  Hitz (90. + 4)

SC Freiburg	   -   TSG Hoffenheim	        1:1 (1:1)   23,800

                  1:0  Höhn (25., Schmid)
                  1:1  Volland (39., Modeste)

SC Paderborn 07	   -   Bayern München	        0:6 (0:2)   15,000 *

                  0:1  Lewandowski (24., Robben)
                  0:2  Lewandowski (37., Ribery)
                  0:3  Robben (63., penalty, Robben)
                  0:4  Ribery (72., Robben)
                  0:5  Weiser (78., Rode)
                  0:6  Robben (86., Ribery)
 	 	
1. FC Köln	   -   Hannover 96	        1:1 (1:1)   47,300

                  0:1  Joselu (5., Albornoz)
                  1:1  Ujah (17.)
 
Hamburger SV	   -   Bor. Mönchengladbach	1:1 (0:0)   52,105

                  1:0  Stieber (73., Rudnevs)
                  1:1  Hrgota (90. + 2, M. Kruse)

VfL Wolfsburg	   -   Hertha BSC	        2:1 (1:1)   27,683

                  1:0  Dost (10., Schürrle)
                  1:1  Schieber (30., Stocker)
                  2:1  Dost (74., Luiz Gustavo)
 	


1  Bayern München (M, P) 	22   17  4  1 	  59:9 	 +50 	  55 
2  VfL Wolfsburg 	  	22   14  5  3 	  48:24  +24 	  47 
3  Bor. Mönchengladbach 	22   10  7  5 	  29:18  +11 	  37
4  FC Schalke 04	  	22   10  5  7 	  32:24  +8 	  35
--------------------------------------------------------------------
5  FC Augsburg 	  	        22   11  2  9 	  32:29  +3 	  35 
6  Bayer 04 Leverkusen 	  	22    8  9  5 	  36:29  +7 	  33
--------------------------------------------------------------------
7  TSG Hoffenheim	  	22    8  6  8 	  34:35  -1 	  30 
8  Werder Bremen 	  	22    8  6  8 	  36:44  -8 	  30 
9  Eintracht Frankfurt 	  	22    7  7  8 	  40:44  -4 	  28 
10  Hannover 96 	  	22    7  5  10 	  25:33  -8 	  26 
11  1. FSV Mainz 05 	  	22    5  10 7 	  30:31  -1 	  25 
12  Borussia Dortmund 	  	22    7  4  11 	  28:31  -3 	  25 
13  1. FC Köln (N) 	  	22    6  7  9 	  20:25  -5 	  25 
14  Hamburger SV 	  	22    6  6  10 	  15:31  -16 	  24 
15  SC Paderborn 07 (N) 	22    5  8  9 	  23:41  -18 	  23
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  SC Freiburg 	  	22    4  10 8 	  24:31  -7 	  22
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Hertha BSC Berlin	  	22    6  3  13 	  27:42  -15 	  21 
18  VfB Stuttgart 	  	22    4  6  12 	  23:40  -17 	  18


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

M = Meister, defending Champion
P = Pokalsieger, Cup winner
N = Neuling, just promoted

2.Liga, Round 21: Favorites stumble

Round 21, Feb 13-16

A few of the favored sides had bad outings this round. Leaders Ingolstadt lost for only teh 2nd time, shockingly at home to Sandhausen. But the win was fair, as SVS wante the points badly and played well throughout, whereas the Schanzer seemed listless.

Düsseldorf also found themselves on the wrong end of the stick, as they were stunned at home by relegation threatened Aue. It was the first away win for Erzgebirge, who jump out of the drop zone.

Bochum beat down Braunschweig to slow down Eintracht’s rise and give signs that new coach Gert Verbeek has them on the right path.

Leipzig was another favorite that bit the dust at home. The RedBallers were stunned at home by low budget FSV Frankfurt. The Bornheimers neutralized the hosts in midfield, but in fairness, the RasenBulls created enough chances to at least draw. Still, a fine away result for FSV.

Kaiserslautern won easily against Aalen, primarily because the visitors did squat. FCK should have pushed hard for a few more goals, but I guess they decided an early pub visit was in order.

Karslruhe was ab=nother favorite that helped themselves, a hard fought regional derby at unlucky Heidenheim. FCH pressed hard for a goal, but a combo of luck and poor finishing helped KSC to grab the points.

Total attendance 170,791 (avg 18,977)


Fortuna Düsseldorf   -   Erzgebirge Aue	        2:3 (1:3)   27,257

                    0:1  Wood (15., Mugosa)
                    1:1  Bellinghausen (26., )
                    1:2  Wood (31., Schönfeld)
                    1:3  Mugosa (34., Rankovic)
                    2:3  Liendl (83., penalty, Bellinghausen)

VfL Bochum	     -   Eintracht Braunschweig	3:2 (2:1)   13,778

                    0:1  Boland (3., Kruppke)
                    1:1  Terodde (36., Fabian)
                    2:1  Terrazzino (41., Celozzi)
                    3:1  Terodde (47., penalty, Terrazzino)
                    3:2  Kessel (84., Vrancic)

1. FC Heidenheim     -   Karlsruher SC	        0:1 (0:1)   12,200

                    0:1  Hennings (32.)

1. FC Kaiserslautern -   VfR Aalen	        1:0 (1:0)   23,147

                    1:0  Zimmer (23., Zoller)

FC Ingolstadt 04     -   SV Sandhausen	        1:3 (0:2)    8,023

                    0:1  Wooten (12., Stiefler)
                    0:2  Wooten (19., penalty, Bouhaddouz)
                    1:2  Lex (69., P. Groß)
                    1:3  Adler (84., Paqarada)

1. FC Nürnberg	     -   1. FC Union Berlin	3:1 (1:1)   29,166

                    1:0  Mlapa (4.)
                    1:1  Polter (17., Parensen)
                    2:1  Sylvestr (54., Hand penalty, Rechtsschuss)
                    3:1  Sylvestr (87., Stark)

RasenBall Leipzig    -   FSV Frankfurt	        0:1 (0:0)   18,237

                    0:1  Roshi (58.)

SV Darmstadt 98	     -   1860 München	        1:1 (0:1)   15,600

                    0:1  Bandowski (26., Vallori)
                    1:1  Balogun (83.)

FC St. Pauli	     -   SpVgg Greuther Fürth	0:1 (0:1)   23,383

                    0:1  K. Przybylko (27., Thesker)


 1  FC Ingolstadt 04 	  	21   12  7  2 	  34:17  +17 	  43 
 2  1. FC Kaiserslautern 	21   10  8  3 	  30:19  +11 	  38
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  Karlsruher SC 	  	21   10  7  4 	  30:17  +13 	  37
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  SV Darmstadt 98 (N) 	21    8  11 2 	  26:16  +10 	  35 
 5  Eintracht Braunschweig (A) 	21   10  3  8 	  30:25  +5 	  33 
 6  Fortuna Düsseldorf 	  	21    8  8  5 	  32:26  +6 	  32 
 7  1. FC Nürnberg (A) 	  	21    9  3  9 	  25:31  -6 	  30 
 8  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N) 	21    7  8  6 	  22:15  +7 	  29 
 9  1. FC Heidenheim (N)	21    7  7  7 	  30:22  +8 	  28 
10  FSV Frankfurt	  	21    8  3  10 	  27:34  -7 	  27 
11  1. FC Union Berlin 	  	21    7  6  8 	  25:33  -8 	  27 
12  VfL Bochum 	  	        21    5  11 5 	  32:32   0 	  26 
13  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	21    6  8  7 	  23:24  -1 	  26 
14  SV Sandhausen 	  	21    6  6  9 	  18:26  -8 	  24 
15  Erzgebirge Aue 	  	21    5  5  11 	  21:31  -10 	  20
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  1860 München 	  	21    4  6  11 	  26:34  -8 	  18
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  VfR Aalen 	  	        21    4  6  11 	  15:26  -11 	  18 
18  FC St. Pauli 	  	21    4  5  12 	  22:40  -18 	  17

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

A = Absteiger just relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

3.Liga, Round 25: Bielefeld back

Round 25, Feb 13-15

Bielefeld reclaimed the top spot with an exciting win over Duisburg. The hero was Fabian Klos, who headed in three straight for the Arminia win.

Erfurt has quietly become a major challenger. The Red-Whites upset leaders Münster to climb into serious contention
Osnabrück laid an egg against Fortuna Köln and has dropped out of the promotion race, at least for now.

Regensburg continues their fightback as they thumped STuttgart-II and are almost within striking distance of the non-relegation spots.


1. FSV Mainz 05 II  -  	Borussia Dortmund II   0:0 (0:0)      460
VfL Osnabrück	    -  	Fortuna Köln	       0:1 (0:1)    8,800
Jahn Regensburg	    -  	VfB Stuttgart II       4:1 (1:1)    2,789
SG S.hof Großaspach -  	Hansa Rostock	       1:1 (0:1)    2,259
Hallescher FC	    -  	SpVgg Unterhaching     2:1 (1:0)    5,208
Chemnitzer FC	    -  	Stuttgarter Kickers    1:1 (0:0)    5,095
Rot-Weiß Erfurt	    -  	Preußen Münster	       1:0 (1:0)    6,451
Holstein Kiel	    -  	Dynamo Dresden	       1:0 (0:0)    7,008
SV Wehen Wiesbaden  -  	Energie Cottbus	       1:2 (1:0)    2,576
Arminia Bielefeld   -  	MSV Duisburg	       4:2 (1:2)   18,430 


 1  Arminia Bielefeld (A) 	24   14  4  6 	  46:28  +18 	  46 
 2  Preußen Münster 	  	25   13  6  6 	  37:26  +11 	  45 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	  	25   12  7  6 	  37:30  +7 	  43
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  Stuttgarter Kickers 	24   11  9  4 	  39:27  +12 	  42 
 5  MSV Duisburg 	  	25   11  9  5 	  37:26  +11 	  42 
 6  Holstein Kiel 	  	25   10  10 5 	  30:17  +13 	  40 
 7  Energie Cottbus (A) 	25   11  7  7 	  28:25  +3 	  40 
 8  Dynamo Dresden (A) 	  	25   10  8  7 	  31:28  +3 	  38 
 9  Fortuna Köln (N) 	  	25   10  6  9 	  31:24  +7 	  36 
10  VfL Osnabrück 	  	24   10  5  9 	  36:35  +1 	  35 
11  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  	24   10  4  10 	  38:30  +8 	  34 
12  Chemnitzer FC	  	25    9  5  11 	  24:25  -1 	  32 
13  Hallescher FC 	  	24    9  5  10 	  30:33  -3 	  32 
14  VfB Stuttgart II 	  	24    7  6  11 	  29:40  -11 	  27 
15  SpVgg Unterhaching 	  	23    7  5  11 	  34:43  -9 	  26 
16  Borussia Dortmund II 	24    4  11 9 	  24:31  -7 	  23 
17  1. FSV Mainz 05 II (N)      24    5  7  12 	  26:37  -11 	  22
--------------------------------------------------------------------
18  Hansa Rostock 	  	25    5  7  13 	  33:50  -17 	  22 
19  SG Sonnenhof Großaspach (N) 23    5  7  11 	  23:40  -17 	  22 
20  Jahn Regensburg 	  	25    5  4  16 	  28:46  -18 	  19

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 21

Round 21, Feb 13-15

This started off horiibly for Dortmund against Mainz, as they fell behind in 50 seconds. The Neons reacted with furious attacks, but Mainz sub-GK Stefanos Kapino (filling in for banned Karius) was outstanding. But unlike other games, the Neons didn’t fall apart, they kept coming. n the 2nd half tey quickly grabbed a lead, but even when Mainz equalized, they simply turned on the jets again and finished off the game with a string end spurt. This certainly gives some indication that things might finally be moving in the right direction for BVB. Good news for Dortmund fans was that Marco Reus extended his contract, which although doesn’t guarantee he won’t move, it will certainly raise the price if he does.

Ouch. HSV has been kinda sucky, but shown signs of life. And Bayern München had been phoning it in a bit since the re-start. Pep Guardiola apparently had seen enough and unleashed the wolves and Bayern ripped Hamburg to shreds. Arjen Robben has been in superb form and continued his great run by blasting in another pair. It was total slaughter after the first host goal, Hamburg should be embarassed (although they’ve had a lot to be embarassed about the last couple of years)

A crazy match in Leverkusen against Wolfsburg. The two corporation sides delivered a slug fest and lots of goals. The VWs got off to a fast start and looked to have things wrapped up by half-time. But the Aspririns came back, driven by Korean Heung-min Son, who picked up a hatt-trick. The first goal he tapped through the GKs legs, who couldn’t find the ball. Rather than concentrating on good goal-keeping, Benaglio acted like a wanker in protesting a “foul”, and that seemed to hurt him on the next two Son strikes, when he looked crap. The Asprins amazingly fought back to a draw, but then in injury time Bas Dost stunned the crowd by grabbing the winner. With four goals, this was Dost’ best ever match for the Wolfies, and helps firmly establish them as the Bundesliga’s no.2.

Frankfurt got a win against Schalke that makes sense. Eintracht wanted the win, whereas the Blues were basically relying on their negative anti-football to grind out a result, and perhaps steal all the points. So justice was served as they lost. Frankfurt might be the most entertaining match in the Bundesliga schedule: 80 goals have been scored when they are on the field. (Bayern scores more, but they don’t let their opponent in on the fun. Bremen is next with 78
Gladbach won the Rhein-derby with Köln in injury time. Overall, it was deserved, as the guests basically just hunkered down for the whole match. If Frankfurt is the most exciting team to watch, then Köln is the most boring, as only 43 goals scored in their matches. Only HSV at 44 is equally boring, albeit they got a shot of “excitement” this round by having Bayern rip their ass.)

Bremen continues their great recovery, another win, this time over Augsburg, has them dreaming of Europe. Both teams relied a lot on standards and floating crosses with headers. Werder was a bit better and get the important win.

Hoffenheim and Stuttgart were basicaly in a snoozer. The Hoppers were a bit more adventurous and stole the win in injury-time. They probably deserve it on balance, since Stuttgart was basically crap.

Sunday had huge relegation matches. Berlin hosted Freiburg, but looked crap. The visitors relied on a stout defense and counters. It paid off big time, as Hertha were without ideas, so the Breisgauers grabbed all points.

Paderborn has been in trouble, and you’d figure that Hannover was looking at this home match as a way to improve things in their listless season. Instead the 96ers threw away the match as they simply didn’t do enough. They had a clear edge, but dicked around aimlessly, even after taking the lead. Paderborn realized that a huge result was possible, and went for the win, getting the reward. Whereas the 96ers position hasn’t changed too much, for SCP it’s a massive win, as it stops their free fall and pulls them out of the drop zone.

Total attendance 432,809 (avg 48,090), sellouts in München and Gladbach

 	
Borussia Dortmund     -   1. FSV Mainz 05   4:2 (0:1)   80,200

                     0:1  Soto (1.)
                     1:1  Subotic (50., Schmelzer)
                     2:1  Reus (55., Kampl)
                     2:2  Malli (57., Soto)
                     3:2  Aubameyang (71., Reus)
                     4:2  Sahin (78., Aubameyang)
 
Bayern München	      -   Hamburger SV	    8:0 (3:0)   75,000 *

                     1:0  T. Müller (21., penalty)
                     2:0  M. Götze (23., T. Müller)
                     3:0  Robben (36., T. Müller)
                     4:0  Robben (47., M. Götze)
                     5:0  T. Müller (55., Schweinsteiger)
                     6:0  Lewandowski (56., T. Müller)
                     7:0  Ribery (69., Lewandowski)
                     8:0  M. Götze (88., Pizarro)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen   -   VfL Wolfsburg	    4:5 (0:3)   29,227

                     0:1  Dost (6., Vieirinha)
                     0:2  Naldo (17., direct freekick)
                     0:3  Dost (29., De Bruyne)
                     1:3  Son (57., Bellarabi)
                     2:3  Son (62., K. Papadopoulos)
                     2:4  Dost (63., Rodriguez)
                     3:4  Son (67., Castro)
                     4:4  Bellarabi (72.)
                     4:5  Dost (90. + 3, Vieirinha)
 
Bor. Mönchengladbach  -   1. FC Köln	    1:0 (0:0)   54,010 *

                     1:0  G. Xhaka (90. + 1, Hazard)

TSG Hoffenheim	      -   VfB Stuttgart	    2:1 (1:1)   29,309

                     1:0  Roberto Firmino (30., Abraham)
                     1:1  G. Sakai (39.
                     2:1  Rudy (90. + 3, Volland)

Werder Bremen	      -   FC Augsburg	    3:2 (3:1)   39,746

                     1:0  Lukimya (16., Junuzovic)
                     1:1  Klavan (21., Bobadilla)
                     2:1  di Santo (23., penalty, Selke)
                     3:1  Gebre Selassie (45., Junuzovic)
                     3:2  To. Werner (79., Callsen-Bracker)

Eintracht Frankfurt   -   FC Schalke 04	    1:0 (0:0)   50,400

                     1:0  Piazon (65., Chandler)

Hertha BSC	      -   SC Freiburg	    0:2 (0:1)   36,617

                     0:1  Klaus (14., Guedé)
                     0:2  Philipp (52., Schmid)

Hannover 96	      -   SC Paderborn 07   1:2 (0:0)   38,300

                     1:0  Marcelo (66., Joselu)
                     1:1  Lakic (72., Hartherz)
                     1:2  Meha (79., direct freekick)
 	


 1  Bayern München (M, P) 	21   16  4  1 	  53:9 	 +44 	  52 
 2  VfL Wolfsburg 	  	21   13  5  3 	  46:23  +23 	  44 
 3  Bor. Mönchengladbach 	21   10  6  5 	  28:17  +11 	  36
 4  FC Schalke 04 	  	21   10  4  7 	  31:23  +8 	  34
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  FC Augsburg 	  	21   11  1  9 	  30:27  +3 	  34 
 6  Bayer 04 Leverkusen 	21    8  8  5 	  34:27  +7 	  32
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 7  TSG Hoffenheim 	  	21    8  5  8 	  33:34  -1 	  29 
 8  Werder Bremen 	  	21    8  5  8 	  35:43  -8 	  29 
 9  Eintracht Frankfurt	  	21    7  7  7 	  39:41  -2 	  28 
10  Hannover 96 	  	21    7  4  10 	  24:32  -8 	  25 
11  1. FC Köln (N) 	  	21    6  6  9 	  19:24  -5 	  24 
12  SC Paderborn 07 (N) 	21    5  8  8 	  23:35  -12 	  23
13  Hamburger SV 	  	21    6  5  10 	  14:30  -16 	  23 
14  1. FSV Mainz 05 	  	21    4  10 7 	  27:30  -3 	  22 
15  Borussia Dortmund 	  	21    6  4  11 	  25:29  -4 	  22 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  SC Freiburg 	  	21    4  9  8 	  23:30  -7 	  21 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Hertha BSC Berlin	  	21    6  3  12 	  26:40  -14 	  21
18  VfB Stuttgart 	  	21    4  6  11 	  21:37  -16 	  18

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

M = Meister, defending Champion
P = Pokalsieger, Cup winner
N = Neuling, just promoted

2.Liga, Round 20: Restart

Round 19, Feb 6-9

The 2.Liga restarted after the winterbreak, but several clubs still seem like they want to be on vacation. Greuther Fürth is clearly one of those, as they have forgot how to score. Now roughly 6+ hours without hitting the back of the net. Meanwhile Audi-sponsored leaders Ingolstadt keep marching along, as they did just enough to take all the points from Fürth, and it really looks like a Bundesliga promotion is inevitable.

Erzgebirge Aue however is one club that *was* ready. The “Veilchen” were dead-last, so they needed to do something. Obviously they put the winterbreak to good use. They hosted moneybags Leipzig in a crucial Sachsenderby. The Auer raised their game and pushed the RedBulls around, and came up with a solid win that gives them hope for staying up. The Rasenballers spent all sorts of RedBull money in the break, but were beaten down by a side that wanted it more.

Aalen is battling relegation, but was ready to play against Darmstadt, who might be thinking of sneaking into the top flight. Based on gthis result, maybe they should come back to earth. The favored side perhaps had the better chances, but really didn’t show much, so Aalen was easily able to secure an important point against relegation.

Sandhausen and St.Pauli had a snoozer in a relegation 6-pointer. The visitors started off brightly enough, but then the match tailed off into a tense, but boring, struggle. The Paulistas now prop up the table, almost a Dortmund-nesque situation. The hosts remain in danger, but continue float above the drop.

Despite having a lead, Bochum wasn’t impressive at Berlin. Instead, Union dominated the match and pressed throughout, and were eventually rewarded with a winner late. This should end any relegation worries Union might have had, and although Bochum has a cushion, they shouldn’t get too arrogant.

The big match was in Braunschweig. The hosts celebrated their 500th 2.Liga match, and a promotion spot was at stake against Kaiserslautern. A full house, drama, but that was about it for Eintracht. FCK was clearly superior and deserved the away win, which vaults them into the coveted 2nd spot.

A strong performance by Fortuna Düsseldorf at Karlsruhe. Not only was Fortuna the underdog, but they were down a man for almost an hour and were trailing. And yet through great effort, they fought back and drew the match. KSC has to be disappointed, as they had an opportunity to seize 2nd place, but they were outplayed and shouldn’t complain too loudly.

A poor performance by Nürnberg, and they got dumped by the mini-frankfurters. FCN was outplayed in the first half, but wer fortunate to have a draw. In the 2nd half they began to assert control, but wasted a couple of good chances. They were then stunned as FSV took the lead, and basically couldn’t regroup. Good win for Frankfurt, giving them breathing room against relegation.

 	
SpVgg Greuther Fürth  -   FC Ingolstadt 04      0:1 (0:1)   10,620

                     0:1  P. Groß (30., Lex)

VfR Aalen	      -   SV Darmstadt 98       0:0 (0:0)    5,287

Erzgebirge Aue	      -   RasenB. Leipzig       2:0 (1:0)   13,600

                     1:0  Alibaz (45., Novikovas)
                     2:0  Schönfeld (59., Hand penalty)

1. FC Union Berlin    -   VfL Bochum	        2:1 (0:1)   19,015

                     0:1  Gündüz (32., Cwielong)
                     1:1  Kobylanski (50., Kreilach)
                     2:1  Kreilach (86.)

SV Sandhausen	      -   FC St. Pauli	        0:0 (0:0)    7,364 	
 	
Eintr. Braunschweig   -   1. FC Kaiserslautern	0:2 (0:1)   22,775 *

                     0:1  P. Hofmann (35., Jenssen)
                     0:2  Ring (73., Zoller)

Karlsruher SC	     -    Fortuna Düsseldorf	1:1 (0:0)   15,806

                    1:0  Hennings (55., penalty, Yamada)
                    1:1  O. Fink (60., Liendl)

FSV Frankfurt	     -    1. FC Nürnberg	2:1 (1:1)    9,152

                    1:0  Roshi (21., Kruska)
                    1:1  Hovland (41., Kerk)
                    2:1  Grifo (60., M. Engels)


Monday:
1860 München	 -  	1. FC Heidenheim	1:2 (1:0)   15,100

                1:0  Okotie (29., Hand penalty)
                1:1  Göhlert (54., Schnatterer)
                1:2  Niederlechner (66., Titsch-Rivero)
 	


 1  FC Ingolstadt 04	  	20   12  7  1 	  33:14  +19 	  43 
 2  1. FC Kaiserslautern 	20    9  8  3 	  29:19  +10 	  35
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  Karlsruher SC 	  	20    9  7  4 	  29:17  +12 	  34
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  SV Darmstadt 98 (N) 	20    8  10 2 	  25:15  +10 	  34 
 5  Eintracht Braunschweig (A) 	20   10  3  7 	  28:22  +6 	  33 
 6  Fortuna Düsseldorf 	  	20    8  8  4 	  30:23  +7 	  32 
 7  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N) 	20    7  8  5 	  22:14  +8 	  29 
 8  1. FC Heidenheim (N)	20    7  7  6 	  30:21  +9 	  28 
 9  1. FC Union Berlin 	  	20    7  6  7 	  24:30  -6 	  27 
10  1. FC Nürnberg (A) 	  	20    8  3  9 	  22:30  -8 	  27 
11  FSV Frankfurt	  	20    7  3  10 	  26:34  -8 	  24 
12  VfL Bochum 	  	        20    4  11 5 	  29:30  -1 	  23 
13  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	20    5  8  7 	  22:24  -2 	  23 
14  SV Sandhausen 	  	20    5  6  9 	  15:25  -10 	  21 
15  VfR Aalen 	  	        20    4  6  10 	  15:25  -10 	  18
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  1860 München 	  	20    4  5  11 	  25:33  -8 	  17
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Erzgebirge Aue 	  	20    4  5  11 	  18:29  -11 	  17 
18  FC St. Pauli 	  	20    4  5  11 	  22:39  -17 	  17

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

A = Absteiger just relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

3.Liga, Round 24: Bielefeld gets owned

Round 24, Feb 6-8

Bielefeld is off to a slow restart, having their first game postponed and then getting slapped silly by Fortuna Köln. The erstwhile leaders were dominated by Fortuna, perhaps their worst game of the season. The hosts on the other hand were determined and continue to secure a place in the safety of midtable.

Preußen Münster is the new leader, with a strong performance against Osnabrück in the “Westfalen-but-the-politicians-say-its-Niedersachen” derby :). No matter geography, politics or culture, it was an exciting match, and the sold out stadium gives indication of the regional interest. Osnabrück played hard, but Münster was the better side and deserved the win.

Erfurt got a huge away win in Dresden. Because of poor behaviour of Dynamo fans (from a November match at Rostock), the DFB ordered this match played with empty stands. Dresden was looking for the win, but RWE was too clever and instead stole the match at the end and vault over their eastern rivals in the promotion struggle.

MSV Duisburg looked strong and pushed a hapless Chemnitz side around. The Zebras took their foot off the gas pedal in the 2nd half, otherwise it could have gotten ugly.

Kiel had a strong performance at Cottbus, defeating Energie and leaving the easterners pondering how they get back into the promotion race…

A relegation 6-pointer in Rostock, and Regensburg has to be the happier side. Jahn played well and fully deserved the point, and although they remain dead last, they’ve shown signs of life. Hansa could have used a win to jump out of the drop zone.

Bad weather caused four matches to get canceled.

Preußen Münster	     -   VfL Osnabrück	        2:0 (0:0)   14,300 *
Hansa Rostock	     -   Jahn Regensburg	2:2 (1:2)    8,100
Energie Cottbus	     -   Holstein Kiel	        0:2 (0:1)    5,884
Dynamo Dresden	     -   Rot-Weiß Erfurt	0:1 (0:0)    0
MSV Duisburg	     -   Chemnitzer FC	        3:0 (3:0)   11,260
Fortuna Köln	     -   Arminia Bielefeld	3:0 (1:0)    4,912 	

Stuttgarter Kickers  -   Hallescher FC	        postponed
Borussia Dortmund II -   SG S-hof Großaspach	postponed
SpVgg Unterhaching   -   1. FSV Mainz 05 II     postponed
VfB Stuttgart II     -   SV Wehen Wiesbaden     postponed


 1  Preußen Münster 	  	24   13  6  5 	  37:25  +12 	  45 
 2  Arminia Bielefeld (A) 	23   13  4  6 	  42:26  +16 	  43
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  MSV Duisburg 	  	24   11  9  4 	  35:22  +13 	  42
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  Stuttgarter Kickers 	23   11  8  4 	  38:26  +12 	  41 
 5  Rot-Weiß Erfurt	  	24   11  7  6 	  36:30  +6 	  40 
 6  Dynamo Dresden (A) 	  	24   10  8  6 	  31:27  +4 	  38 
 7  Holstein Kiel	  	24    9  10 5 	  29:17  +12 	  37 
 8  Energie Cottbus (A) 	24   10  7  7 	  26:24  +2 	  37
 9  VfL Osnabrück 	  	23   10  5  8 	  36:34  +2 	  35 
10  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	  	23   10  4  9 	  37:28  +9 	  34 
11  Fortuna Köln (N)	  	24    9  6  9 	  30:24  +6 	  33 
12  Chemnitzer FC 	  	24    9  4  11 	  23:24  -1 	  31 
13  Hallescher FC 	  	23    8  5  10 	  28:32  -4 	  29 
14  VfB Stuttgart II	        23    7  6  10 	  28:36  -8 	  27 
15  SpVgg Unterhaching 	  	22    7  5  10 	  33:41  -8 	  26 
16  Borussia Dortmund II	23    4  10 9 	  24:31  -7 	  22 
17  1. FSV Mainz 05 II (N) 	23    5  6  12 	  26:37  -11 	  21
--------------------------------------------------------------------
18  Hansa Rostock 	  	24    5  6  13 	  32:49  -17 	  21 
19  SG Sonnenhof Großaspach (N) 22    5  6  11 	  22:39  -17 	  21 
20  Jahn Regensburg 	  	24    4  4  16 	  24:45  -21 	  16


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 20: Back to normal

Round 20, Feb 6-8

Are things turning normal in the Bundesliga? A routine win for Bayern, and Dortmund finally showing some backbone, HSV squeaking a win…it’s kinda what was expected.

Bayern had a routine win in Stuttgart. VfB dropped to dead last, but they did put up a great defensive effort. Bayern controlled the ball and eventually broke through, and that was it. Stuttgart had nothing going forward, so GK Neuer was basically taking a nap.

Dortmund also showed signs of returning to form. The Neons might have been quite worried with the relegation 6 pointer at Freiburg, who are battle hardened in relegation battles. However an early brain-fart on defense led to an easy Marco Reus tap-in, and that seemed to relax the Neons. The hosts were very active, indeed had more ball possesion. But Dortmund was much more dangerous, especially Kevin Aubemeyang, who may have given indications that he can be the Lewandowski replacement so desperately needed. The Neon defense was also rock solid, so there wasn’t much Freiburg could do. Indeed, if their GK hadn’t been sharp, it could have turned embarrassing. This doesn’t mean that Dortmund is out of the woods, but they did show that they can put things together, so lets see how they do next week…

Schalke didn’t show much, but Gladbach didn’t do enough to split the points. The Blues took advantage of an early Gladbach mistake, and then made sure they didn’t do anything stupid. The visitors had a few chances to equalize, but wasted them. Overall, a boring derby.

Wolfsburg has apparently figured out that they should use Chelsea as a farm team :). The VWs signed Chelski castoff Andreas Schürrle for 32 million euros, and the World Champion made a fine debut. Their other Chelski purchase, Belgian Kevin de Bruyne, is on fire, a notched another two. The result was an easy win for the VWs over Hoffenheim, and solidifying their current position as no.2 in Germany.

Berlin got a huge boost with an away win at Mainz. Hertha had fired coach Jos Luhukay, and interim Pal Dardai was in charge. Hertha played solid football, but Mainz self destructed as GK Loris Karius got red carded for a foul, and Berlin took full advantage. There was no way back for the home side, so Hertha picks up critical relegation battle points.

Hamburg was a lucky winner in the Nordderby with Hannover. HSV benefitted from a couple of howlers by 96 defender Marcelo, and generally looked fairly nervous. Hannover controlled the ball and applied pressure, but weren’t cold-blooded enough. HSV isn’t going to complain though, as they needed the points, and got them.

Most pundits picked the Köln-Paderborn match as the crap game of the round, and they were right. Each side had one/two chances that they disgracefully blew. Neither side showed squat, so in the absence of both teams (deservedly) losing, a goalless draw is about right.

Bremen’s turnaround under Viktor Skripnik continues, as Werder dumped Leverkusen in a hard fought match. That pretty much ends their relegation worries – at this point they’re closer to Europe than the drop. Bayer was decent, but couldn’t cope with the hosts fighting spirit, so they really can’t complain too much.

Augsburg hosted Frankfurt, and the high-flying Fuggers got off to a great start, and seemed well on their way to strengthening an unbelievable Champions League bid. But Eintracht had other ideas and fought their way back into the match. Indeed, it was the visitors that pressed and pushed Augsburg into defensive mode. They weren’t intimidated by FCA’s physical play, and seized the initiative. In the end, the hosts had to be happy to hold a draw.

Total attendance 367,139 (avg 40,793), sellouts in Gelsenkirchen, Freiburg, Stuttgart


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

                1:0  Barnetta (11., K.-P. Boateng)

VfL Wolfsburg	 -   TSG Hoffenheim	     3:0 (2:0)   26,356

                1:0  Dost (3., Schürrle)
                2:0  De Bruyne (28., Schürrle)
                3:0  De Bruyne (84., Dost)

1. FSV Mainz 05	 -   Hertha BSC	             0:2 (0:2)   26,756

                0:1  Hegeler (35., penalty, Stocker)
                0:2  Beerens (42., Stocker)

SC Freiburg	 -   Borussia Dortmund	     0:3 (0:1)   24,000 *

                0:1  Reus (9., Aubameyang)
                0:2  Aubameyang (56., Gündogan)
                0:3  Aubameyang (72., Kagawa)

VfB Stuttgart	 -   Bayern München	     0:2 (0:1)   60,000 *

                0:1  Robben (41., Weiser)
                0:2  Alaba (50., direct freekick)

1. FC Köln	 -   SC Paderborn 07	     0:0 (0:0)   49,500

Hamburger SV	 -   Hannover 96	     2:1 (1:0)   51,779

                1:0  Marcelo (26., own goal, Stieber)
                2:0  Jansen (50., N. Müller)
                2:1  A. Sobiech (66., Marcelo)
	
Werder Bremen	 -   Bayer 04 Leverkusen     2:1 (2:1)   39,653

                1:0  Selke (17., Bartels)
                2:0  Junuzovic (29., direct freekick)
                2:1  Calhanoglu (43., Wendell)

FC Augsburg	 -   Eintracht Frankfurt     2:2 (2:1)   27,122

                1:0  Klavan (7., Halil Altintop)
                2:0  Bobadilla (37., Callsen-Bracker)
                2:1  Aigner (45. + 2, Meier)
                2:2  Meier (70., Zambrano)



 1  Bayern München (M, P) 	20   15  4  1 	  45:9 	 +36 	  49 
 2  VfL Wolfsburg 	  	20   12  5  3 	  41:19  +22 	  41 
 3  FC Schalke 04 	  	20   10  4  6 	  31:22  +9 	  34
 4  FC Augsburg 	  	20   11  1  8 	  28:24  +4 	  34 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  Bor. Mönchengladbach 	20    9  6  5 	  27:17  +10 	  33
 6  Bayer 04 Leverkusen 	20    8  8  4 	  30:22  +8 	  32
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 7  TSG Hoffenheim	  	20    7  5  8 	  31:33  -2 	  26 
 8  Werder Bremen 	  	20    7  5  8 	  32:41  -9 	  26 
 9  Eintracht Frankfurt 	20    6  7  7 	  38:41  -3 	  25 
10  Hannover 96 	  	20    7  4  9 	  23:30  -7 	  25 
11  1. FC Köln (N)	  	20    6  6  8 	  19:23  -4 	  24 
12  Hamburger SV 	  	20    6  5  9 	  14:22  -8 	  23 
13  1. FSV Mainz 05 	  	20    4  10 6 	  25:26  -1 	  22 
14  Hertha BSC Berlin	  	20    6  3  11 	  26:38  -12 	  21 
15  SC Paderborn 07 (N) 	20    4  8  8 	  21:34  -13 	  20
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Borussia Dortmund 	  	20    5  4  11 	  21:27  -6 	  19
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  SC Freiburg 	  	20    3  9  8 	  21:30  -9 	  18 
18  VfB Stuttgart 	  	20    4  6  10 	  20:35  -15 	  18

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

M = Meister, defending Champion
P = Pokalsieger, Cup winner
N = Neuling, just promoted