The 2011–12 2. Bundesliga was the 38th season of the 2. Bundesliga, Germany's second tier of its football league system. The season commenced on 15 July 2011, three weeks earlier than the 2011–12 Bundesliga season, and ended with the last games on 6 May 2012. The traditional winter break was to be held between the weekends around 18 December 2011 and 4 February 2012. The league comprises eighteen teams.
Teams At the end of the 2010–11 season, champions Hertha BSC and runners-up FC Augsburg were directly promoted to the 2011–12 Bundesliga. The Berlin side has directly returned to the highest German football league, while Augsburg ended a five-year tenure in the second level of German football. The two teams were replaced by Eintracht Frankfurt and FC St. Pauli, who were directly relegated from the 2010–11 Bundesliga season. Frankfurt returned to the 2. Bundesliga after six years, while St. Pauli made a direct comeback to the league.
On the other end of the table, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen and Arminia Bielefeld were directly relegated to the 2011–12 3. Liga, after finishing the 2010–11 season in the bottom two spots of the table. Oberhausen was dropped to the third level after three years, while Bielefeld will leave the 2. Bundesliga after two seasons. The two relegated teams were replaced by 2010–11 3. Liga champions Eintracht Braunschweig and runners-up Hansa Rostock. Braunschweig returned to the 2. Bundesliga after a total of four seasons at the third tier of the German football pyramid, while Rostock immediately bounced back from their relegation twelve months earlier.
A further two places were given to VfL Bochum as losers of the Bundesliga relegation playoff and Dynamo Dresden as winners of the 2. Bundesliga relegation playoff. Dresden returned to the 2. Bundesliga after a five-year absence after beating VfL Osnabrück 4–2 on aggregate; Osnabrück were thus immediately relegated back to the 3. Liga. In the Bundesliga playoff, Bochum retained its spot in the league after losing 2–1 on aggregate against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Stadiums and locations
Team Location Stadium Stadium capacityAlemannia AachenAachenNew Tivoli32,960BochumrewirPower-Stadion29,448DuisburgSchauinsland-Reisen-Arena31,500Dynamo DresdenDresdenGlücksgas-Stadion32,066Eintracht BraunschweigBraunschweigEintracht-Stadion24,000Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt am MainCommerzbank-Arena51,500 Energie Cottbus Cottbus Stadion der Freundschaft 22,528 Aue Sparkassen-Erzgebirgsstadion 15,700Fortuna DüsseldorfEsprit Arena54,400Frankfurt am MainFrankfurter Volksbank Stadion10,826Trolli Arena15,000Hansa RostockRostockDKB-Arena29,000IngolstadtAudi Sportpark 15,445KarlsruheWildparkstadion29,699MunichAllianz Arena69,000PaderbornEnergieteam Arena15,000FC St. PauliHamburgMillerntor-Stadion24,487Union BerlinBerlinAlte Försterei18,432
Personnel and sponsorships TeamHead coachTeam captainKitmakerShirt sponsor Alemannia Aachen Ralf Außem Benjamin AuerNikeAachenMünchener VfL Bochum Andreas Bergmann Christoph DabrowskiNikeNetto MSV Duisburg Oliver Reck Srđan BaljakNikeRheinpower Dynamo Dresden Ralf Loose Robert KochNikeVeolia Eintracht Braunschweig Torsten Lieberknecht Dennis KruppkePumaVolkswagen Bank Eintracht Frankfurt Armin Veh Pirmin SchweglerJakoFraport Energie Cottbus Rudi Bommer Marc-André KruskaUmbroTropical Islands Erzgebirge Aue Karsten Baumann René KlingbeilPumaSpar mit! Reisen Fortuna Düsseldorf Norbert Meier Andreas LambertzPumaBauhaus FSV Frankfurt Benno Möhlmann Björn SchlickeSallerHyundai SpVgg Greuther Fürth Michael Büskens Thomas KleineJakoErgo Direkt Versicherungen Hansa Rostock Wolfgang Wolf Sebastian PelzerNikeVeolia Umweltservice FC Ingolstadt 04 Tomas Oral Moritz HartmannAdidasAudi Karlsruher SC Markus Kauczinski Alexander IashviliNikeKlaiber Markisen 1860 Munich Reiner Maurer Benjamin LauthUhlsportAston Martin SC Paderborn 07 Roger Schmidt Markus KröschePumaMöbelhaus Finke FC St. Pauli André Schubert Fabio MorenaDo You FootballEin Platz an der Sonne 1. FC Union Berlin Uwe Neuhaus Torsten MattuschkaUhlsportkfzteile24
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced by Date of appointmentEintracht Frankfurt Christoph DaumResigned16 May 2011Off-season Armin Veh1 July 2011SC Paderborn 07 André SchubertSigned by St. Pauli30 June 2011 Roger Schmidt1 July 2011FC St. Pauli Holger StanislawskiEnd of contract30 June 2011 André Schubert1 July 2011Alemannia Aachen Peter HyballaSacked13 September 201118th Friedhelm Funkel19 September 2011VfL Bochum Friedhelm Funkel14 September 201117th Andreas Bergmann15 September 2011MSV Duisburg Milan Šašić28 October 201114th Oliver Reck28 October 2011Karlsruher SC Rainer Scharinger31 October 201117th Jørn Andersen6 November 2011FC Ingolstadt 04 Benno Möhlmann9 November 201118th Tomas Oral10 November 2011Hansa Rostock Peter Vollmann6 December 201117th Wolfgang Wolf7 December 2011Energie Cottbus Claus-Dieter WollitzMutual Consent8 December 20119th Rudi Bommer1 January 2012FSV Frankfurt Hans-Jürgen BoysenSacked17 December 201116th Benno Möhlmann21 December 2011Erzgebirge Aue Rico Schmitt21 February 201214th Karsten Baumann22 February 2012Karlsruher SC Jørn Andersen26 March 201217th Markus Kauczinski26 March 2012Alemannia Aachen Friedhelm Funkel1 April 201217th Ralf Außem1 April 2012
League table
Results
Promotion/relegation play-offs
The 16th-placed team faced the third-placed 2011–12 3. Liga side for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches will earn a spot in the 2012–13 2. Bundesliga.
Dates and times of these matches were determined by the Deutsche Fußball-Liga as following:
The tie ended 3–3 on aggregate; Jahn Regensburg promoted to 2012–13 2. Bundesliga, and Karlsruher SC relegated to 2012–13 3. Liga according to away goals rule 2–1.
Statistics
Top goalscorers Source: Bundesliga.de
17 goals Alexander Meier (Eintracht Frankfurt) Olivier Occean (SpVgg Greuther Fürth) Nick Proschwitz (SC Paderborn 07)
14 goals Mohammadou Idrissou (Eintracht Frankfurt) Kevin Volland (1860 Munich)
13 goals Zlatko Dedič (Dynamo Dresden) Max Kruse (FC St. Pauli) Christopher Nöthe (SpVgg Greuther Fürth) Sascha Rösler (Fortuna Düsseldorf)
12 goals Mickaël Poté (Dynamo Dresden) Dimitar Rangelov (Energie Cottbus)
Top assists Source: Bundesliga.de
12 assists Sercan Sararer (SpVgg Greuther Fürth)
10 assists Benjamin Lauth (1860 Munich) Sebastian Rode (Eintracht Frankfurt)
9 assists Stefan Leitl (FC Ingolstadt 04)
8 assists Benjamin Köhler (Eintracht Frankfurt) Torsten Mattuschka (1. FC Union Berlin) Alban Meha (SC Paderborn 07) Sascha Rösler (Fortuna Düsseldorf)
7 assists Marius Ebbers (FC St. Pauli) Jan Hochscheidt (Erzgebirge Aue) Alexander Iashvili (Karlsruher SC) Stephan Schröck (SpVgg Greuther Fürth)
References
External links Official site Bundesliga on DFB page kicker magazine