Regionalliga

Since this is an “off” weekend, perhaps it’s a good time to review the new 4th division Regionalliga structure. Once again the DFB reorganized the lower divisions, but this one actually makes some sense, with true regionalization. (note: the DFB is the federal boss, but the actual running of each league is left to the regional confederations, which also provide the feeder leagues into the Regionalliga.) Promotion will be difficult, as only the league champions advance – and then into a playoff league. The exception is for the SW, as the runner up will also get a chance.

Regionalliga Nord
Back to the tradional north region: the states of Niedersachsen and Schleswig-Holstein, plus the city states Bremen and Hamburg. There are plenty of traditionals that have 2.Liga experience: Kiel, Oldenburg, Meppen, Lübeck and Wilhelmshaven. Meppen was the original “mini-me” as they managed to stay in 2.Liga despite being a tiny town in the middle of nowhere.
However, as you can see, the league also suffers from strong B sides of the bigger clubs, which should do a good job in killing attendance.

Wilhelmshaven is in dire straights, as they suffered a 5 point deduction due to financial shenanigans.

Regionalliga Nord

 1  Hannover 96 II	  	6    4 	 2   0 	 20:9 	+11 	  14
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 2  Werder Bremen II (A)	4    4 	 0   0 	 13:2 	+11 	  12 
 3  VfR Neumünster (N)	  	6    3 	 2   1 	  6:6 	 0 	  11 
 4  Holstein Kiel	  	5    3 	 1   1 	 14:6 	+8 	  10 
 5  VfL Wolfsburg II	  	6    2 	 3   1 	 11:6 	+5 	  9 
 6  VfB Oldenburg (N)	  	6    2 	 3   1 	  9:6 	+3 	  9 
 7  BV Cloppenburg (N)	  	6    3 	 0   3 	 12:15  -3 	  9 
 8  FC St. Pauli II	  	5    2 	 2   1 	  7:10 	-3 	  8 
 9  Hamburger SV II	  	5    2 	 1   2 	  9:7 	+2 	  7 
10  FC Oberneuland (N)	  	5    2 	 1   2 	  7:8 	-1 	  7 
11  Goslarer SC 08 (N)	  	6    2 	 1   3 	  9:15 	-6 	  7 
12  BSV SW Rehden (N)	  	6    1 	 3   2 	  8:9 	-1 	  6 
13  TSV Havelse	  	        5    1 	 2   2 	  4:4 	 0 	  5 
14  SV Meppen	  	        6    1 	 2   3 	  7:11 	-4 	  5
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15  ETSV Weiche Flensburg (N)	4    1 	 0   3 	  6:11 	-5 	  3
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16  Victoria Hamburg (N)	5    1   0   4 	  5:13 	-8 	  3 
17  VfB Lübeck	  	        5    0 	 2   3 	  2:8 	-6 	  2 
18  SV Wilhelmshaven	  	5    1 	 1   3 	  6:9 	-3 	 -2

Regionalliga Nordost

This is basically a structure around the old DDR-Oberliga. (If you like geography, it’s Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, Sachsen, Thüringen and Berlin.) There are definitely some interesting clubs in this group. All eyes are upon the new money bags, RB Leipzig, which is funded by Red Bull. Although like with Hoffenheim there are a lot of nay-saysers, it has raised interest in the city. RedBull purchased the operating license of village club SSV Markranstädt. Some 25,000 showed up for the recent match with Lok Leipzig and there’s little doubt that they’ll be moving up soon. The afore-mentioned Lok Leipzig is of course a traditional ex-GDR club with a decent following.

1.FC Magdeburg is a famous ex-GDR club that figures to challenge, and FSV Zwickau has bounced around quite a bit in the post-GDR area, actually moving up from the 5th division now. Carl-Zeiss Jena just got bounced from the 3.Liga, and is one of the more famous ex-GDR clubs. VFC Plauen is another club that has seen some better days.

Berliner AK07 (actually AK47) made headlines as they embarassed Hoffenheim 4-0 in the DFB Cup.

Regionalliga Nordost

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

Regionalliga West

This is the tradional grouping based on the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen. This should be pretty interesting. You’ve got some ex-Bundesliga clubs, such as Fortuna Köln, Essen, Oberhausen and the legendary Wuppertaler SV. Ambitious clubs such as Viktoria Köln and Lotte. (Plus ex-Bundesligist KFC Uerdingen waiting one league down, hoping for promotion. They’re the lowest ex-Bundesligist I can think of…)

It promises to be a hard-fought battle at the bottom too. Up to 6 clubs could get relegated, as the league shrinks to 18 clubs.

Regionalliga West

 1  FC Viktoria Köln (N)	6    6 	0  0 	 18:3 	+15 	18
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 2  Fortuna Köln	  	7    6 	0  1 	 15:6 	+9 	18 
 3  FC Schalke 04 II	  	7    5 	1  1 	 15:8 	+7 	16 
 4  Rot-Weiss Essen	  	6    5 	0  1 	 13:9 	+4 	15 
 5  Wuppertaler SV 	  	7    4 	2  1 	 16:7 	+9 	14 
 6  Sportfreunde Lotte	  	7    4 	2  1 	 11:7 	+4 	14 
 7  Sportfreunde Siegen (N)	6    4 	1  1 	  9:2 	+7 	13 
 8  VfL Bochum II	  	6    4 	0  2 	  8:4 	+4 	12 
 9  SC Verl	  	        6    3 	1  2 	 13:8 	+5 	10 
10  FC Kray (N)	  	        6    3 	0  3 	  8:8 	 0 	 9 
11  Rot-Weiß Oberhausen (A)	6    3 	0  3 	 10:13  -3 	 9 
12  Borussia M'gladbach II	6    2 	2  2 	  6:8 	-2 	 8 
13  SV Bergisch Gladbach 09 (N)	6    2 	0  4 	  4:8 	-4 	 6 
14  Bayer Leverkusen II	  	6    1 	1  4 	  8:14 	-6 	 4
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15  MSV Duisburg II (N)	  	7    1 	1  5 	  6:13 	-7 	 4
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16  SC Wiedenbrück 2000	  	6    1 	0  5 	  9:16 	-7 	 3 
17  SSVg Velbert (N)	  	7    0 	3  4 	  3:10 	-7 	 3 
18  1. FC Köln II	  	6    0 	2  4 	  4:14 	-10 	 2 
19  Fortuna Düsseldorf II	6    0 	1  5 	  6:14 	-8 	 1 
20  VfB Hüls (N)	  	6    0 	1  5 	  1:11 	-10 	 1

Regionalliga Südwest

This is interesting because it combines 3 regions that had never really played together. But it actually makes some geogrpahic sense. Rheinland-Pfalz has usually been combined with the West in some fashion, whereas Hessen and Baden Württemburg were usually part of the South. But the clubs are close enough that there are sure to be some good regional rivalries. The number of clubs represented in the regional confederations is the highest, so two playoff spots have been granted to the SW, but it also means that depending on circumstances, up to 6 clubs could get relegated.

The most famous clubs are ex-Bundesliga sides Homburg, Ulm and Waldhof. Trier is known as a giant-killer in several different DFB-Cup seasons. Worms is this season’s SW surprise, and I think it’s where Hagen killed Siegfried. Kassel is most famous for going bankrupt every few years and having to reconstitute the club. Last time, they had to re-start in the 12th division or something, so they’ve certainly climbed back effectively.

Regionalliga Südwest

 1  1899 Hoffenheim II	  	7    5 	2  0 	  22:3 	 +19 	  17 
 2  SV Elversberg	  	7    5 	1  1 	  19:8 	 +11 	  16
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 3  FC 08 Homburg (N)	  	8    5 	1  2 	  16:15  +1 	  16 
 4  Hessen Kassel	  	6    4 	2  0 	   9:3 	 +6 	  14 
 5  Eintracht Trier	  	7    3 	3  1 	  11:7 	 +4 	  12 
 6  SSV Ulm 1846 Fußball (N)	7    4 	0  3 	  10:7 	 +3 	  12 
 7  1. FC Kaiserslautern II	7    3 	2  2 	  10:10   0 	  11 
 8  1. FC Eschborn (N)	  	8    3 	1  4 	  10:11  -1 	  10 
 9  Eintracht Frankfurt II	8    3 	1  4 	  12:16  -4 	  10 
10  Bayern Alzenau	  	7    2 	3  2 	  10:12  -2 	  9 
11  TuS Koblenz	  	        8    2 	3  3 	   9:13  -4 	  9 
12  SC Pfullendorf	  	8    2 	2  4 	  10:13  -3 	  8 
13  Wormatia Worms	  	7    1 	4  2 	  10:12  -2 	  7
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14  SC Freiburg II	  	8    1 	4  3 	   9:11  -2 	  7 
15  SC Idar-Oberstein	  	8    1 	4  3 	   6:8 	 -2 	  7
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16  Waldhof Mannheim	  	8    2 	1  5 	   8:11  -3 	  7 
17  SG Sonnenhof Großaspach	5    1 	3  1 	   4:4 	  0 	  6 
18  1. FSV Mainz 05 II	  	7    1 	2  4 	   8:17  -9 	  5 
19  FSV Frankfurt II	  	7    1 	1  5 	   2:14  -12 	  4

Regionalliga Bayern

Like Nordrhein-Westfalen, the state of Bayern gets it’s own division, but they didn’t want to call it “Süd”. Perhaps what is needed is another Anschluss, and you could integrate Austria into Regionalliga, since that’s about where they seem to belong. Although I suppose like many Germans, you might prefer, um, Abschluss, and kick out Bayern into Austria…

I would say this is the most boring league, in the sense that they’re virtually all village clubs that nobody has ever heard of. Most of the towns in Bavaria that you have heard of already have clubs in divisions 1-3. Plus I’m pissed since Schweinfurt isn’t around. I know nothing about this club, (see my writeup in the club section) but if you are basically calling yourself “Pig-town”, you’ve got to have some balls. (The only better one is if the French town Condom has a club…)

Bayern Hof is probably the only club worth mentioning, and they have sucked since the glory days in the 1970s. And with only 3 goals in 10 matches so far, it looks like they’ll continue in suckitude.

The RL-Bayern is the largest league, so 4 clubs are going down. My guess is that eventually they’ll settle on the German “standard” of 18 clubs.

 1  FV Illertissen (N)	  	11   8 	2  1 	  28:11  +17 	 26
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 2  SV Seligenporten (N)	10   6 	1  3 	  23:15  +8 	 19 
 3  1. FC Nürnberg II	  	10   5 	3  2 	  16:9 	 +7 	 18 
 4  FC Ismaning (N)	  	11   4 	6  1 	  12:6 	 +6 	 18 
 5  Bayern München II	  	11   4 	6  1 	  11:5 	 +6 	 18
 6  TSV Rain/Lech (N)	  	11   6 	0  5 	  16:17  -1 	 18 
 7  TSV 1860 Rosenheim (N)	11   5 	2  4 	  9:13 	 -4 	 17 
 8  1860 München II	  	11   5 	1  5 	  21:16  +5 	 16 
 9  TSV Buchbach (N)	  	11   4 	3  4 	  15:15   0 	 15 
10  FC Memmingen	  	11   3 	5  3 	  12:10  +2 	 14 
11  SC Eltersdorf (N)	  	11   4 	2  5 	  17:16  +1 	 14 
12  SpVgg Greuther Fürth II	10   3 	5  2 	  11:13  -2 	 14 
13  Würzburger Kickers (N)	11   4 	2  5 	  20:24  -4 	 14 
14  SV Heimstetten (N)	  	11   2 	7  2 	  10:10   0 	 13 
15  VfL Frohnlach (N)	  	11   3 	4  4 	  11:16  -5 	 13
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16  Viktoria Aschaffenburg (N)	11   4 	1  6 	  12:21  -9 	 13 
17  FC Ingolstadt 04 II	  	11   3 	3  5 	  19:18  +1 	 12
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18  FC Eintracht Bamberg (N)	11   2 	3  6 	  12:23  -11 	  9 
19  SpVgg Bayern Hof (N)	10   1 	3  6 	   3:11  -8 	  6 
20  FC Augsburg II (N)	  	11   1 	3  7 	  12:21  -9 	  6

8 thoughts on “Regionalliga

  1. Re: West – It must be incredibly depressing for Rot-Weiss Essen, a club that had players like Helmut Rahn and Mesut Oezil in its ranks, to be in the same league with FC Kray 09. (Kray is a grim neighborhood in Essen, itself not the brightest of cities of the industrial Ruhrgebiet… you have to have seen it to know what I mean.)

    Re: Bayern – I really enjoyed that first paragraph. (I actually think that a league of village teams is a pretty charming thing. I’d love to travel the German countryside, watching Regionalliga games… not in this life, I guess.

    • As a Wuppertal fan, I’ve been to Essen a couple of times, and as far as we were concerned, the whole city was grim :) RWE has struggled, and I’m not sure why. Too much competition and then incompetant management I guess…the same story that could be said for quite a few teams in the West.

      I have nothing against village teams; indeed Vestenbergsgreuth must forever live as the greatest village team ever (remember that Bayern?). It’s just that from fan perspective, few of those teams have a pedigree, assuming you’ve even heard of them. I’m somewhat biased of course, since I didn’t spend too much time in Bayern; I’m more familiar with Nordrhein-Westfalen and Rheinland-Pfalz/Saarland…

      • A little more research yielded that: 1) FC Kray beat aforementioned KFC Uerdingen in the relegation games to reach the Regionalliga; 2) just as I remembered, the club only had the notorious “Ascheplatz” (a field covered with some sort of industrial clay/gravel, as a playing surface) until this summer, when they seem to have built an Astroturf-covered field (!); 3) they are playing Wuppertal next Saturday.

        • You’ve also missed that SG Wattensheid 09 are also playing in the Westfalenliga below the regionalliga at the same level as Uerdingen.

          With regards to FC Kray, what must SW Essen feel?
          (And I do agree, outside of the city centre, Essen is a bit grim…)

          • You “Nordies” need to get down south more where the hills are alive with the sound of Badisch. I haven’t spent much time in the Ruhrgebiet but did travel there a bit as a kid, but one Autobahn Ausfahrt looks pretty much like the rest. As for SW Regionaliga wtf is happening with Waldhof Mannheim. This is a town that prides itself on football and had a few years in the Bundesliga in the 80’s.

          • Yeah, I did forget Wattenscheid. Of course, so did Wattenscheid, since they’re not even a town anymore, getting swallowed up by Bochum. And they’re not completely out of it. Afterall, they have a decent team in the Chess Bundesliga…

            I also should make a comment regarding Tasmania 1900 and Blau-Weiss Berlin. Not sure where they are now, but they also made a cameo appearance in the Bundesliga…

          • Schwarz-Weiss Essen is one of the ultimate underachievers. They did at least have a moment of glory, winning the DFB Cup in 1959. But other than that, they’ve been invisible…

        • Oh yes, the “Ascheplatz”!! I played on those!! In fact, we almost never got to play on grass. (Although a couple of times we hopped the fence and played on hockey club’s field, until the groundskeeper got home and chased us away). As for the Ascheplatz, let’s just say that a slide tackle was a pretty unpleasant thing unless the field was wet. Did help your ball control though, because the ball moved real fast…

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