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2. Bundesliga

2. Bundesliga Overview

VAR-Sabotage

📽️ | Angry fan unplugs VAR monitor to stop penalty review

In one of the most surreal moments witnessed in European football this season, a German second-division clash between Preussen Munster and Hertha Berlin descended into chaos. As referee Felix Bickel was summoned to the pitch-side monitor to review a potential penalty incident at the end of the first half, he was met with a completely blank screen because a supporter had physically intervened to stop the technology from working.

Kennet Eichhorn NXGN GFX

Why Man Utd & more want Hertha's teenage Kroos regen

Hertha Berlin fans haven't had much to cheer about in recent years. Their decade-long stay in the Bundesliga ended after the team slumped to an 18th-placed finish in the 2022-23 season, just four years on from Lars Windhorst's €224 million minority takeover that came with the billionaire's promise to build a "true ‘big-city club’, like those in London or Madrid."

Fortuna DĂźsseldorf v FC Schalke 04 - 2. Bundesliga

Ex-Liverpool star Karius 'belongs in top league' amid Schalke heroics

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius has been told he is simply too good for the second division, with Schalke sporting director Frank Baumann admitting the stopper "belongs in the top league." However, the German giants are desperate to extend his stay at the Veltins-Arena, confirming plans to sit down for contract talks while acknowledging that the player's family situation and the club's promotion battle will ultimately decide his future.

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Standings

PosTeamPWDLFA+/-PTSForm
1Schalke 04 crestSchalke 0425155535211450
W
D
W
W
D
2Darmstadt crestDarmstadt25139347281948
W
L
W
D
W
3Elversberg crestElversberg25146544261848
W
D
W
W
L
4Paderborn crestPaderborn25145641281347
D
W
W
D
W
5Hannover 96 crestHannover 9625136643321145
L
W
D
W
W
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Frequently asked questions

Koln, Arminia Bielefeld, and Bochum hold the record of winning the 2. Bundesliga titles the most number of times with four each to their name. FC St. Pauli won the 2. Bundesliga at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, their first title in Germany's second division.

Currently, there are 18 teams contesting in the 2. Bundesliga. Since its inception in 1974 till 1994, there were two divisions of 20 clubs, with 10 clubs in each division. However, since 1994-95, 18 teams contest for the 2. Bundesliga title in the traditional league format.

Willi Landgraf, a former German defender, holds the record for making the most 2. Bundesliga appearances. Landgraf appeared in 508 games in the league and played for Rot-Weiss Essen, Homburg, Gutersloh, and Alemannia Aachen.

Simon Terodde, who recently played for Schalke, is the leading goalscorer of all-time in 2. Bundesliga. The lanky German striker scored 177 goals in 311 games and represented Bochum, Schalke, Stuttgart, Hamburger, Union Berlin, and Duisburg.

Former German goalkeeper Peter Eich is the oldest player to feature in a 2. Bundesliga game, achieving the feat at the age of 44 years and 330 days in May 2006.

Turkish midfielder Efe-Kaan Sihlaroglu was just 16 years and 142 days old when he made his debut for Karlsruher against Hannover in 2021, thus making him the youngest player ever in the 2. Bundesliga.

Rudi Voller, Simon Terodde, Ottmar Hitzfeld, and Niclas Fullkrug are among the most famous players to have played in 2. Bundesliga.

Friedhelm Funkel, Ralph Hassenhuttl, Ralf Rangnick, and Klaus Augenthaler are among the most renowned managerial names in 2. Bundesliga history.

Berlin's Olympstadion, which is home to Hertha BSC, is the biggest stadium in 2. Bundesliga with a capacity of 74,475. It is Germany's second-biggest football stadium after Borussia Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park.

Davie Selke is the most expensive 2. Bundesliga signing of all-time. Selke was bought for €8 million from Werden Bremen by RB Leipzig in 2015.