The Zweite Liga started off with hard fought matches that indicate the difference between the top and bottom is pretty small. Overall, the quality was pretty good, and attendance was nice as well. There appear to be several clubs that can gain promotion, but nobody really sticks out as an overwhelming favorite. The ability to grind out points is really going to be key…
Düsseldorf hosted Braunschweig in the opener, and they split the points in a hard fought draw. If this is an indication of the level of play in the 2.Liga this season, then fans are in for a very exciting season. Both clubs are looking to get promoted, and showed flashes of Bundesliga quality, and both figure to have decent attendance throughout the year if they perform. Fortuna had a slight edge, but Braunschweig never gave up and were rewarded with a late goal and the point.
RedBull money has seen Leipzig return to the 2nd division (the last was VfB in 1998, and they don’t even exist anymore – back to “Lok” in the lower divisions). However “Rasenballsport” might find things a little more difficult than their previous marching, as they pressed against Aalen, but the visitors held firm and were able to escape with a point.
St.Pauli hopes to contend, but they’ll need to do better. Ingolstadt was the better team for most of the match, with dangerous counters and a solid defense. The Paulistas fought back and were rewarded late, but it was certainly less than they had hoped.
Another “strength-test” of sort in Bochum. Greuther Fürth figures to challenge for promotion, having only lost out to Hamburg last season on away goals in the promotion playoff that saved HSV’s ass. Bochum was horrible, but are hoping to have improvd so they can threaten as well. Both teams looked decent, but horrible defensive patzers led to the goals. And both teams were hot to get started with the season: five (5) yellow cards were issued in the match.
Heidenheim started their promotion season well, with a hard fought win over FSV Frankfurt. Both teams played hard, but FCH generally held the edge. Obviously a bit nervous, a late goal sealed their first ever win and their highest ranking ever in German football 
Nürnberg started their campaign for immediate return to the top with a decent outing. Der Club dominated against Aue, who retreated back into a defensive shell and tried to hold the point. They managed to hold out for about 70 minutes, but finally broke through to give new coach Valerien Ismael his first win. Obviously FCN has somewhat of a new look after relegation, so we’ll have to see how strong they really are. Erzgebirge showed defensive organization, but were invisible going forward.
Crap match in Karlsruhe, mainly because Union Berlin didn’t want to play. Instead they catenaccio’d their way to a point with a rather destructive display. KSC hit the post a couple of times, but that was the only reward for their efforts, which included constant pressure.
Darmstadt returned after 21 years in the wilderness, but it was a somewhat nerve wracking display against Sandhausen. They had an edge, but their only goal came when Achenbach andled the ball and was tossed…giving Dominik Stroh-Engel the penalty and goal. The Darmstadt goal scorer (27 last season) had been recruited by many clubs in the off season, but has endeared himself to the fans by renewing his contract.
A big match Monday night as Kaiserslautern hosts 1860, two clubs that are looking for promotion…
Fortuna Düsseldorf - Eintracht Braunschweig 2:2 (1:0) 41,667
1:0 Liendl (34., Halloran)
1:1 Reichel (60., Kruppke)
2:1 Benschop (65., Hoffer)
2:2 Nielsen (84.)
RasenBallsport Leipzig - VfR Aalen 0:0 (0:0) 21,354
FC St. Pauli - FC Ingolstadt 04 1:1 (0:1) 26,664
0:1 Morales (42., P. Groß)
1:1 Gonther (78., Thy)
VfL Bochum - SpVgg Greuther Fürth 1:1 (1:1) 18,146
1:0 Terodde (15., Sestak)
1:1 K. Przybylko (18.)
1. FC Heidenheim - FSV Frankfurt 2:1 (1:1) 11,000
0:1 Schlicke (10., Konrad)
1:1 Schnatterer (42., Niederlechner)
2:1 Mayer (84., Grimaldi)
1. FC Nürnberg - Erzgebirge Aue 1:0 (0:0) 37,116
1:0 Sylvestr (69., Mlapa)
Karlsruher SC - 1. FC Union Berlin 0:0 (0:0) 18,489
SV Darmstadt 98 - SV Sandhausen 1:0 (1:0) 13,400
1:0 Stroh-Engel (36., Hand-penalty)
Monday:
1. FC Kaiserslautern - 1860 München -:- (-:-)
1 1. FC Heidenheim (N) 1 1 0 0 2:1 +1 3
2 SV Darmstadt 98 (N) 1 1 0 0 1:0 +1 3
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3 1. FC Nürnberg (A) 1 1 0 0 1:0 +1 3
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4 Eintracht Braunschweig (A) 1 0 1 0 2:2 0 1
5 Fortuna Düsseldorf 1 0 1 0 2:2 0 1
6 VfL Bochum 1 0 1 0 1:1 0 1
7 SpVgg Greuther Fürth 1 0 1 0 1:1 0 1
8 FC Ingolstadt 04 1 0 1 0 1:1 0 1
9 FC St. Pauli 1 0 1 0 1:1 0 1
10 VfR Aalen 1 0 1 0 0:0 0 1
11 1. FC Union Berlin 1 0 1 0 0:0 0 1
12 Karlsruher SC 1 0 1 0 0:0 0 1
13 RasenBallsport Leipzig (N) 1 0 1 0 0:0 0 1
14 1. FC Kaiserslautern 0 0 0 0 0:0 0 0
15 1860 München 0 0 0 0 0:0 0 0
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16 FSV Frankfurt 1 0 0 1 1:2 -1 0
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17 Erzgebirge Aue 1 0 0 1 0:1 -1 0
18 SV Sandhausen 1 0 0 1 0:1 -1 0
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