The 2011–12 3. Liga was the fourth season of the 3. Liga, Germany's third tier of its football league system. The season commenced on 22 July 2011, two weeks earlier than the 2011–12 Bundesliga season and one week after the 2011–12 2. Bundesliga season, and ended with the last games on 5 May 2012. The traditional winter break was held between the weekends around 18 December 2011 and 22 January 2012.
The league comprises fourteen teams from the 2010–11 season, the last two teams from the 2010–11 2. Bundesliga, the losers of the promotion play-off between the 16th-placed 2. Bundesliga team and the third-placed 3. Liga team as well as the three champions of the three 2010–11 Regionalliga divisions.
Teams Eintracht Braunschweig as 2010–11 champions and runners-up Hansa Rostock were directly promoted to the 2011–12 2. Bundesliga. Braunschweig, who were a member of the league since the inaugural season, will return to the 2. Bundesliga after a total of four seasons in the third tier of the German football pyramid, while Rostock only had a cameo appearance in the league.
The two promoted teams will be replaced by the two worst-placed teams of the 2010–11 2. Bundesliga season, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen and Arminia Bielefeld. Pending license approvals (see below), both clubs will make their debut in the league; Oberhausen will drop to the third level after three years, while Arminia will return to the third tier after sixteen seasons.
On the other end of the table, Bayern Munich II were relegated to their respective 2011–12 Fußball-Regionalliga divisions after finishing the 2010–11 season at the bottom of the table, thus ending a run which saw them being part of a German third-tier league since 1973. Wacker Burghausen and Werder Bremen II, who were originally going to be relegated as well, were eventually spared as Rot Weiss Ahlen and TuS Koblenz would not enter the league for the 2011–12 season. Ahlen were automatically demoted after the club had to file for administration after the completion of the 2010–11 season, while Koblenz voluntarily withdrew their participation following being unable to generate an adequate budget for the season.
The three relegated teams will be replaced by the champions of the three 2010–11 Regionalliga divisions, Chemnitzer FC, SV Darmstadt 98 and SC Preußen Münster. All three clubs will make their debuts in the 3. Liga, but nevertheless have played in a third-tier league before. Both Regionalliga Nord champions Chemnitz and Regionalliga West winners Preußen Münster returned to this level after an absence of five seasons, while Darmstadt 98 completed a four-year tenure at the fourth tier.
A further spot in the league was contested in a two-legged relegation/promotion playoff between the 16th-placed team of the 2010–11 2. Bundesliga, VfL Osnabrück, and the third-placed team of the 2010–11 3. Liga, Dynamo Dresden. Dynamo won 4–2 on aggregate and thus returned to the 2. Bundesliga after a five-year absence, while Osnabrück, 3. Liga champions in 2009–10, immediately returned to the 3. Liga, having lost their second relegation/promotion playoff series in three years. This will be the first time a previous champion has played in the 3. Liga.
Stadia and locations
Team Location Stadium Stadium capacity Aalen Scholz-Arena 11,169 Arminia Bielefeld Bielefeld Schüco-Arena 27,300 Potsdam Karl-Liebknecht-Stadion 10,786 FC Carl Zeiss Jena Jena Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld 12,990 Chemnitzer FC Chemnitz Stadion an der Gellertstraße 18,700 SV Darmstadt 98 Darmstadt Böllenfalltor Stadion 19,600 Heidenheim Voith-Arena 10,000 SSV Jahn Regensburg Regensburg Jahnstadion 10,724 Kickers Offenbach Offenbach Stadion am Bieberer Berg Osnabrück Osnatel-Arena 16,667 SC Preußen Münster Münster Preußenstadion 15,050 FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt Erfurt Steigerwaldstadion 17,500 Rot-Weiß Oberhausen Oberhausen Niederrheinstadion 21,318 Saarbrücken Ludwigspark 35,303 Sandhausen Hardtwald 10,231 Stuttgart GAZi-Stadion auf der Waldau 10,100 Unterhaching Stadion am Sportpark 15,053 SV Wacker Burghausen Burghausen Wacker-Arena 10,000 SV Wehen Wiesbaden Wiesbaden BRITA-Arena 12,250 SV Werder Bremen II Bremen Weserstadion Platz 11 5,500 Notes 1 Stadion am Bieberer Berg is being rebuilt during the 2011–12 season, resulting in a significantly reduced capacity during this time.
Personnel and sponsorships TeamHead coachTeam captainKitmakerShirt sponsor VfL Osnabrück Claus-Dieter Wollitz Claus CostaPumaSparkasse Osnabrück Rot-Weiß Oberhausen Mario Basler Dimitrios PappasUhlsportVatro Arminia Bielefeld Stefan Krämer Markus SchulerSallerVacant SV Wehen Wiesbaden Peter Vollmann Marco ChristNikeno shirt sponsor FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt Stefan Emmerling Rudolf ZediJakoE.ON Thüringen 1. FC Saarbrücken Jürgen Luginger Stephan SiegerNikeVictor's Residenz-Hotels Kickers Offenbach Arie van Lent Elton da CostaNikeEVO (Energieversorgung Offenbach) SSV Jahn Regensburg Markus Weinzierl Tobias SchweinsteigerJakoFG.de 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 Frank Schmidt Martin KlarerNikeHartmann Gruppe VfB Stuttgart II Jürgen Kramny Tobias RathgebPumaGAZI SV Sandhausen Gerd Dais Frank LöningPumaNippon SV Babelsberg 03 Dietmar Demuth Marian UngerUmbroEWP (Energie und Wasser Potsdam) SpVgg Unterhaching Heiko Herrlich Stefan RiedererAdidasVacant FC Carl Zeiss Jena Petrik Sander Alexander MaulAdidasReiCo Logistikgruppe VfR Aalen Ralph Hasenhüttl Benjamin BargAdidasImtech SV Wacker Burghausen Reinhard Stumpf Youssef MokhtariHummelOMV SV Werder Bremen II Thomas Wolter Sandro StallbaumNikeTargobank SV Darmstadt 98 Kosta Runjaić Jan ZimmermannNikeSoftware AG Chemnitzer FC Gerd Schädlich Carsten SträßerSalleraetka Communication Center SC Preußen Münster Pavel Dochev Stefan KühneNikeTuja Zeitarbeit
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced by Date of appointmentKickers Offenbach Thomas GerstnerSacked30 April 2011Off-season Arie van Lent10 May 2011VfB Stuttgart II Jürgen SeebergerSacked15 May 2011 Jürgen Kramny1 July 2011VfL Osnabrück Heiko FlottmannEnd of tenure as caretaker31 May 2011 Uwe Fuchs31 May 2011SpVgg Unterhaching Klaus AugenthalerResigned3 June 2011 Heiko Herrlich16 June 2011Arminia Bielefeld Ewald LienenMutual consent30 June 2011 Markus von Ahlen1 July 2011Arminia Bielefeld Markus von AhlenSacked20 September 201119th Stefan Krämer20 September 2011Rot-Weiss Oberhausen Theo SchneiderSacked4 October 201117th Mario Basler24 October 2011FC Carl Zeiss Jena Heiko WeberSacked30 October 201120th Petrik Sander7 November 2011VfL Osnabrück Uwe FuchsSacked8 December 201112th Claus-Dieter Wollitz15 December 2011SV Wacker Burghausen Rudi BommerSigned by Energie Cottbus31 December 20119th Reinhard Stumpf5 January 2012SC Preußen Münster Marc FascherSacked23 January 201214th Pavel Dochev24 January 2012SV Wehen Wiesbaden Gino LettieriSacked15 February 201213th Peter Vollmann16 February 2012
League table
Results
Top goalscorers Source: kicker (German) Including matches played on 5 May 2012
17 goals Marcel Reichwein (Rot-Weiß Erfurt)
14 goals Robert Lechleiter (VfR Aalen) Tobias Schweinsteiger (Jahn Regensburg)
13 goals Sebastian Glasner (Wacker Burghausen) Frank Löning (SV Sandhausen) Dominik Stroh-Engel (SV Babelsberg 03)
12 goals Zlatko Janjić (SV Wehen Wiesbaden) Markus Müller (SV Babelsberg 03)
11 goals Marius Laux (1. FC Saarbrücken) Marc Schnatterer (1. FC Heidenheim) Mijo Tunjić (SpVgg Unterhaching) Marcel Ziemer (1. FC Saarbrücken)
Player awards The following players were named as player of the month throughout the season. Fabian Klos won the player of the year award after a poll.
August: Tobias Schweinsteiger (SpVgg Unterhaching) September: Tobias Schweinsteiger (SpVgg Unterhaching) October: Niclas Füllkrug (Werder Bremen II) November: Johannes Rahn (Arminia Bielefeld) December: Fabian Klos (Arminia Bielefeld) February: Anton Fink (Chemnitzer FC) March: Marcel Reichwein (Rot-Weiss Erfurt) April: Marc Schnatterer (1. FC Heidenheim)
References
External links 3rd Liga on DFB page