The 4th division Regionalliga finished up with playoffs to determine who is going up. The unfortunate trend of the U23 sides playing strong roles largely continued, but I suppose you can be conformted by the fact that this adds as feeders of youth talent into the top flight, which of course was the foundation of Germany’s World Cup win.
Things are not quite finished for next season though, as if 1860 München drops from the 3.Liga, then 1860-II will automatically get dumped into the 5th division.
Club home attendance averages are listed in the last column of the final table. Attendance is generally pretty low, with the exception of some “traditionals” that have fallen on hard times.
Regionalliga Nord 1 Werder Bremen II 34 19 10 5 84:39 +45 67 701 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 VfL Wolfsburg II (M) 34 19 7 8 74:40 +34 64 339 3 Hamburger SV II 34 19 5 10 74:41 +33 62 510 4 TSV Havelse 34 16 7 11 49:35 +14 55 594 5 ETSV Weiche Flensburg 34 14 10 10 53:37 +16 52 594 6 Eintracht Norderstedt 34 16 4 14 47:56 -9 52 554 7 VfB Lübeck (N) 34 12 14 8 43:44 -1 50 1,722 8 SV Meppen 34 13 10 11 50:47 +3 49 1,388 9 FC St. Pauli II 34 12 11 11 39:43 -4 47 233 10 VfB Oldenburg 34 12 9 13 39:44 -5 45 1,489 11 BSV SW Rehden 34 10 14 10 46:48 -2 44 453 12 Lüneburger SK Hansa (N) 34 11 10 13 41:55 -14 43 918 13 Eintracht Braunschweig II 34 10 12 12 59:56 +3 42 353 14 Hannover 96 II 34 11 8 15 52:48 +4 41 1,331 15 Goslarer SC 08 34 10 9 15 50:60 -10 39 479 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 BV Cloppenburg 34 10 9 15 44:59 -15 39 504 17 VfR Neumünster 34 8 9 17 37:60 -23 33 525 18 FT Braunschweig (N) 34 2 6 26 22:91 -69 12 334
The Regionalliga Nord was dominated by the U23 sides of the Bundesliga clubs, as none of the “normal” squads had much of a chance. The best known traditionals, such as Lübeck, Meppen and Oldenburg have all had 2.Liga experience, but finished in mediocre mid-table positions.
Attendance: 220,177 in 305 matches, averaging 722
This is the crappiest of all, but a lot of blame has to go to the U23 squads and their puny numbers. The only respectable side is Hannover 96-II. To give some perspective, the Frauen-Bundesliga (Women’s) averages a little over 1,000 per match.
Most interesting club: For me, it’s probably Meppen. This small town lasted in the 2.Liga several seasons. Runner-up would probably be FT Braunschweig, since I’ve never even heard of them.
Most worthless club: Tough choice, but I suppose Werder Bremen II. Dishonrable mention to Wolfsburg-II, maybe it’s the Dasher (or maybe Fox) division of VW.
Regionalliga Nordost 1 1. FC Magdeburg 28 19 3 6 61:22 +39 60 8,577 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 FSV Zwickau 28 16 9 3 45:21 +24 57 1,773 3 Wacker Nordhausen 28 14 6 8 43:38 +5 48 998 4 Carl Zeiss Jena 28 12 9 7 46:38 +8 45 3,600 5 BFC Dynamo Berlin (N) 28 11 12 5 34:26 +8 45 1,702 6 Hertha BSC Berlin II 28 12 6 10 50:41 +9 42 625 7 Berliner AK 07 28 13 3 12 36:35 +1 42 635 8 TSG Neustrelitz (M) 28 11 5 12 46:41 +5 38 935 9 Germania Halberstadt 28 11 4 13 43:44 -1 37 755 10 1. FC Union Berlin II 28 11 3 14 49:49 0 36 1,102 11 SV Babelsberg 03 28 7 10 11 32:34 -2 31 2,314 12 VfB Auerbach 28 9 4 15 28:56 -28 31 729 13 Budissa Bautzen (N) 28 6 9 13 23:40 -17 27 938 14 ZFC Meuselwitz 28 5 7 16 27:52 -25 22 856 15 Viktoria 1889 Berlin 28 4 8 16 25:51 -26 20 655 16 VFC Plauen 0 0 0 0 0:0 0 0 787
The Nordost is basically regionally the same as the old DDR-Oberliga, with the addition of (West) Berlin. Of course the better ex-GDR sides play higher. Neustrelitz was defending champion, having failed in last season’s promotion, but were not a factor. VFC Plauen basically went into insolvency and withdrew from competition. However the league forced them to play their matches as “friendlies”, not really sure about the logic.
Attendance: 404,289 for 240 matches, averaging 1,687 per game.
A couple of interesting facts is that Plauen didn’t too badly, considering their matches were worthless. Also note that in a direct comparision of the Berlin clubs, Union is more popular than Hertha, as both “B” squads played in the 4th division, and Unions attendance was almost double that of Hertha.
Most interesting side: Tough choice between Magdeburg and Jena, two ex-GDR traditionals. Berliner Athletik-Klub 1907 should change their name to Berliner AK-47. Another candidate is Viktoria 1889, which was one of Germany’s powerhouses in Kaiser days (two titles, two runner up and several semi and quarterfinal appearances in the 1900s up to WWI)
Most worthless side: BFC Dynamo, the old ex-GDR cheater. A bit unfair since the DDR collapsed a long time ago and it’s basically a new club. And of course the players themselves were not to blame anyway. But legacy of this club is a stain on German football. To top things off, today they have a reputation of having the highest neo-Nazi fanbase and are enemies of virtually every other eastern club.
Regionalliga West 1 Bor. Mönchengladbach II 34 21 6 7 77:43 +34 69 569 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 Alemannia Aachen 34 19 11 4 56:20 +36 68 10,724 3 FC Viktoria Köln 34 19 9 6 70:29 +41 66 1,068 4 Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 34 15 12 7 54:37 +17 57 2,536 5 Rot-Weiss Essen 34 16 8 10 58:38 +20 56 8,208 6 Sportfreunde Lotte 34 13 15 6 55:34 +21 54 770 7 SC Verl 34 15 9 10 53:32 +21 54 640 8 SV Rödinghausen (N) 34 14 7 13 48:44 +4 49 1,218 9 Fortuna Düsseldorf II 34 14 7 13 39:52 -13 49 481 10 1. FC Köln II 34 11 9 14 38:47 -9 42 724 11 FC Schalke 04 II 34 10 11 13 38:41 -3 41 447 12 SC Wiedenbrück 2000 34 11 7 16 39:54 -15 40 777 13 SG Wattenscheid 09 34 11 6 17 42:58 -16 39 845 14 FC Kray (N) 34 9 12 13 39:61 -22 39 852 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 KFC Uerdingen 05 34 8 10 16 34:63 -29 34 2,182 16 VfL Bochum II 34 8 6 20 46:58 -12 30 480 17 Sportfreunde Siegen 34 7 9 18 33:56 -23 30 1,436 18 FC Hennef 05 (N) 34 3 9 22 26:80 -54 18 603
Five ex-Bundesliga clubs (can you name them?) clearly make the West one of the more interesting divisions. Unfortunately it was a Bundesliga B squad that took the title, but there is definitely interest in this league…at least at some of the traditional clubs.
Attendance: 585,002 in 306 matches, averaging 1,912
Although the league as a whole was the highest of all the 4th division, obviously Aachen and Essen skew the
numbers. Drop those sides, and the average drops below 1,000.
Most interesting club: Lots of contenders. Obviously Aachen and Essen, two traditional “giants”. Uerdingen could be a contender.
Most worthless side: Probably Schalke-II, given their crappy attendance, but any of the B sides qualify. You can see how they drag down overall financical capabilities of the leagues. It’s good for the “quality”, in the sense that the German top sides have excellent pipelines to bring in young domestic talent. But it sucks for the smaller clubs, because fans don’t won’t to pay to watch B sides.
Regionalliga Südwest 1 Kickers Offenbach 34 24 7 3 55:22 +33 79 6,396 2 1. FC Saarbrücken (A) 34 21 6 7 51:27 +24 69 4,400 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 SV Elversberg (A) 34 20 5 9 60:28 +32 65 1,338 4 1. FC Kaiserslautern II 34 18 7 9 57:28 +29 61 533 5 Wormatia Worms 34 18 4 12 59:44 +15 58 1,199 6 FC 08 Homburg 34 16 9 9 48:31 +17 57 1,729 7 SC Freiburg II 34 15 8 11 66:46 +20 53 246 8 FC Astoria Walldorf (N) 34 15 8 11 51:40 +11 53 682 9 TSG Hoffenheim II 34 15 6 13 44:46 -2 51 463 10 Hessen Kassel 34 13 8 13 43:35 +8 47 1,782 11 Eintracht Trier 34 11 11 12 31:33 -2 44 1,532 12 SpVgg Neckarelz 34 13 5 16 47:55 -8 44 457 13 Waldhof Mannheim 34 11 10 13 36:33 +3 43 2,891 14 FK Pirmasens (N) 34 11 9 14 40:44 -4 42 1,284 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 FC Nöttingen (N) 34 11 4 19 50:67 -17 37 806 16 TuS Koblenz 34 6 7 21 24:58 -34 25 1,261 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 KSV Baunatal 34 5 1 28 22:82 -60 16 688 18 SVN Zweibrücken 34 4 3 27 17:82 - 65 15 419
Objectively speaking, the RWS is the toughest division. Made up of three states, Rheinland-Pfalz, Hessen and Baden-Württemburg, it resents more clubs and therefore receives two playoff spots. Ex-Bundeslga sides like Offenbach, Saarbrücken, Homburg and Waldhof along with attractive traditionals such as Worms, Trier, Kassel make for interesting matches. Offenbach powered through the league and easily claimed 1st. Not too surprising, since they were only dropped down two seasons ago due to financial punishment.
Attendance: 477,390 in 305 matches, averaging 1,565
Most interesting club: Just about all of them.
Most worthless club: Hoffenheim-II. SAP already basically funds the Bundesliga side. Maybe they should give some of their money to Walldorf, after all, that’s where SAP HQ is.
Regionalliga Bayern 1 Würzburger Kickers 34 24 8 2 67:15 +52 80 2,482 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 Bayern München II (M) 34 22 6 6 60:28 +32 72 1,450 3 1860 München II 34 19 6 9 60:34 +26 63 1,654 4 TSV Buchbach 34 14 12 8 47:41 +6 54 905 5 FC Ingolstadt 04 II 34 13 11 10 47:39 +8 50 297 6 SpVgg Bayreuth (N) 34 14 8 12 48:47 +1 50 1,164 7 FC Memmingen 34 12 11 11 45:51 -6 47 837 8 1. FC Nürnberg II 34 12 10 12 39:39 0 46 361 9 FV Illertissen 34 12 9 13 56:55 +1 45 513 10 FC Augsburg II 34 11 12 11 41:47 -6 45 296 11 Wacker Burghausen (A) 34 11 9 14 36:43 -7 42 1,367 12 SV Schalding-Heining 34 10 10 14 43:52 -9 40 928 13 1. FC Schweinfurt 05 34 10 9 15 46:55 -9 39 1,671 14 SpVgg Greuther Fürth II 34 10 8 16 47:50 -3 38 243 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 SV Heimstetten 34 8 10 16 40:58 -18 34 458 16 VfR Garching (N) 34 8 9 17 42:64 -22 33 457 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 SV Seligenporten 34 6 10 18 34:61 -27 28 348 18 FC Eintracht Bamberg 2010 34 4 14 16 38:57 -19 26 788
Nobody really cares about the Bayernliga, as most of the teams are villages..unless they are the “B” squads of bigger teams. As a result, attendance numbers tend to be pretty low.
Attendance: 275,866 in 306 matches, averaging 902.
Actually, both the big München clubs did quite well.
Most interesting club: Schweinfurt, because of the great name. Honorable mention to Würzburg and perhaps Bayreuth, who have seen better days.
Most worthless club: Everybody else.
Promotion playoffs
The first match was on Wed 5/27, with return game on Sun 5/31
The winner of each series is promoted into the 3.Liga.
After the first match, there was still all to play for.
Würzburg had a dose of luck, getting a huge away win on a 37th minute goal by Nico Herzig. Saarbrücken will feel hard done by as they had the tying goal disallowed near the end of the match. TV replays showed that Peter Chrappan pushed the ball over the line in the 4th minute of injury time, and it was then cleared away by a defender. No goal-line technology, so too bad for FCS. On the other hand, it also seemed like Chrappan may have been offside, and that was also missed.
The hardest match is probably Magdeburg and Offenbach, and a large crowd watched FCM eek out a win over the Kickers. The replay in Offenbach – the Bieberer Berg was sold out – turned into a scandal. The Kickers equalized the series after 24 minutes, but Magdeburg quickly seized control in the next 10 minutes and scored twice, giving them an almost unbeatable advantage. They wrapped things up early in the 2nd period and near the end, the match turned into a scandal. About 40 Kicker-Hooligans climbed the fences and invaded the pitch with smokebombs and fireworks, causing a 20 minute interruption as the FCM players fled to the locker rooms. The police finally chased down the delinquents and hopefully introduced them to a billy-club. But Offenbach undoubtedly will face some huge fines when the case is reviewed. FCM moves up to the 3.Liga for the first time, a nice improvement for the DDR’s only European success (1974 Euro Cup Winners Cup)
Nobody really cares which Bundesliga-B gets promoted, although more than the usual showed up. Perhaps they had a free beer night. In the rematch, a respectable 10,000+ showed up. Both matches ended scoreless in regulation time. Bremen scored twice in overtime to gain promotion
Promoted sides: Würzburg, Magdeburg, Bremen-II
1. FC Saarbrücken - Würzburger Kickers 0:1 (0:1) 10,247 Würzburger Kickers - 1. FC Saarbrücken 0:1 (0:0) 10,540 Würzburg wins 5-4 on penalties. 1. FC Magdeburg - Kickers Offenbach 1:0 (1:0) 23,139 Kickers Offenbach - 1. FC Magdeburg 1:3 (1:2) 20,500 Werder Bremen II - Bor. M'gladbach II 0:0 (0:0) 3,785 Bor. M'gladbach II - Werder Bremen II 0:0 (0:0) 10,217 Bremen wins 2-0 in overtime