Founded in 1974, the 2. Bundesliga is the second division of professional football in Germany ranked right below the Bundesliga and above the 3. Liga.
Whilst its fan base might not be as big as the international fanbase the Bundesliga commands, the 2. Bundesliga still boasts of a decent amount of supporters mainly made up of local German football fans.
The second division of German football follows a similar format to the Bundesliga as it is made up of 18 teams. Every club in the league is eligible to participate in the DFB-Pokal, Germany’s premier club cup competition.
The System
The league consists of 18 teams, three of which secure promotion into the Bundesliga at the end of every season, and another three succumb to relegation to the third tier of German football, the 3. Liga.
The promotion format is simple but markedly different from what you’d usually see across Europe.
The teams placed first and second at the end of the season both secure automatic qualification into the Bundesliga as opposed to the usual three-team promotion system.
The third placed team plays a promotion play-off game against the Bundesliga’s 16th placed team to determine who deserves to be in the German top-flight amongst the pair.
Should the 3rd-placed 2. Bundesliga team win, they will secure promotion into the Bundesliga while their opponent will get relegated to the 2. Bundesliga.
If, however, the 16th-placed Bundesliga team secures victory in the playoffs, they will avoid relegation while the 3rd-placed 2. Bundesliga side will remain in the second division, thus failing to secure promotion.
Rules
The restriction on the amount of foreign players a 2. Bundesliga team is allowed to have was lifted during the 2006/2007 season, hence, teams are able to sign non-EU players without worrying about adhering to a foreign player rule.
Because of the lack of foreign player restrictions, Bundesliga clubs actively scout players in lower leagues across Europe and beyond hoping to unearth gems capable of leading them to glory.
However, clubs are required to have 8 players in the squad who came up through the youth system of a German football club — 4 of those players must have come from the club’s own youth system.
This rule is to encourage the development of young players in the league in a bid to produce quality players for the German national team.
Financials;
Average Salary
2. Bundesliga players make an average of €400k-per-year, although depending on the club’s financial standing, a player’s experience and abilities the figure could be more, or less.
Value of Teams
The 18 teams in the 2. Bundesliga have a total market value of €337.45m.
Most Valuable Player
Fortuna Düsseldorf’s Kevin Danso is the league’s most valuable player as he’s valued at €5m.
Biggest Transfer
Silas Wamangituka is commanded the league’s biggest transfer fee when he joined newly-relegated side Stuttgart in the summer of the 2019/2020 season. Stuttgart paid a fee of €8m to acquire his services as they look to bounce back into the Bundesliga.
Overview
Country: Germany
Confederation: UEFA
Founded: 1974
Number of teams: 18
Domestic cup: DFB-Pokal
International Cup: UEFA Europa League (via winning DFB-Pokal)
Level on the pyramid: 2
Transfer window: July 1 — September 2, January 2 — January 31
Number of Players: 505
Number of Foreign Players: 154
Percentage of Foreign Players: 30.5%
Most Championships: FC Nurnberg, FC Köln, SC Freiburg and Arminia Bielefeld all have 4 championships.
Average Attendance: 21, 732
Teams:
● 1.FC Heidenheim (http://www.fc-heidenheim.de)
● 1.FC Nürnberg (www.fcn.de)
● Fortuna Düsseldorf (https://www.f95.de/)
● Arminia Bielefeld (http://www.arminia-bielefeld.de)
● Erzgebirge Aue (http://www.fc-erzgebirge.de/)
● FC St.Pauli (http://www.fcstpauli.com)
● Hamburger SV (http://www.hsv.de)
● Hannover 96 (http://www.hannover96.de)
● Holstein Kiel (http://www.holstein-kiel.de)
● Karlsruher SC (http://www.ksc.de)
● SC Paderborn 07 (https://www.scp07.de/)
● SpVgg Greuther Fürth (https://www.greuther-fuerth.de/)
● SSV Jahn Regensburg (http://www.ssv-jahn.de)
● SV Darmstadt 98 (http://www.sv98.de)
● SV Sandhausen (http://www.svs1916.de)
● E. Braunschweig (https://www.eintracht.com/wir-sind-eintracht/)
● Würzburger Kickers (https://www.wuerzburger-kickers.de/)
● VfL Bochum (http://www.vfl-bochum.de)
● VfL Osnabrück (http://www.vfl.de)
Famous Player to have played in the 2 Bundesliga: Iconic German striker, Lukas Podolski played for FC Koln in the 2.Bundesliga during the 2004/05 season, right when he had just begun his career.
Podolski was so good that he became a member of Germany’s international set-up while playing in the 2.Bundesliga.
Fieldoo’s Opinion; The 2. Bundesliga is a difficult league to play in, but the reward of being able to play extremely well in it could mean a move to a top tier side.
