| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 18 September 2020 – 22 May 2021 |
| Champions | Dynamo Dresden |
| Promoted | Dynamo Dresden Hansa Rostock FC Ingolstadt |
| Relegated | KFC Uerdingen Bayern Munich II VfB Lübeck SpVgg Unterhaching |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 1,015 (2.67 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Sascha Mölders (22 goals) |
| Biggest home win | 1860 Munich 6–1Halle 1860 Munich 5–0Mannheim 1. FC Saarbrücken 5–0 Mannheim |
| Biggest away win | Uerdingen 0–4Wiesbaden Duisburg 0–4Verl Halle 0–4Bayern Munich II Magdeburg 0–4 Verl Meppen 0–4Dresden Halle 0–4 1860 Munich Meppen 0–4 Uerdingen Bayern Munich II 0–4Saarbrücken |
| Highest scoring | Mannheim 4–4Türkgücü |
| Longest winning run | 5 games Hansa Rostock Wiesbaden |
| Longest unbeaten run | 10 games Viktoria Köln Magdeburg Wiesbaden |
| Longest winless run | 12 games Bayern Munich II Unterhaching |
| Longest losing run | 7 games Unterhaching |
| Attendance | 133,125 (350 per match)[note 1] |
2021–22 → | |
The2020–21 3. Liga was the 13th season of the3. Liga. It began on 18 September 2020 and concluded on 22 May 2021.[1] The season was originally scheduled to begin on 24 July 2020 and conclude on 15 May 2021,[2] though this was delayed due to postponement of theprevious season as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic.
The fixtures were announced on 20 August 2020.[3]
Dynamo Dresden andHansa Rostock got promoted directly, whileFC Ingolstadt won the promotion play-offs. Originally,SV Meppen,Bayern Munich II,VfB Lübeck andSpVgg Unterhaching were relegated; however,KFC Uerdingen was unable to obtain a 3. Liga license for the2021–22 season and was therefore relegated, sparing SV Meppen from relegation.[4]
Unlike other competitions organised by theDFB andDFL, the clubs of the 3. Liga initially voted to allow for only three substitutes during the 2020–21 season. Five substitutions were permitted in the 3. Liga at the end of the previous season to lessen the impact of fixture congestion caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and competition organisers had the option to use the rule until 2021.[5] On 11 January 2021, the DFB Executive Committee approved the use of five substitutions for the second half of the season from 22 January (matchday 20 onward), following a secondary vote by the 20 clubs. However, the number of players permitted on the bench remained at seven. Rescheduled matches from the first half of the season (matchday 19 and earlier) remained limited to three substitutions.[6]
1 Bayern Munich II will play their home match against 1. FC Magdeburg at FC Bayern Campus to take strain off the Grünwalder Stadion, since it is being used by three teams and would have to host four matches in one week otherwise.[7]
2 Türkgücü München will play up to eight of their home matches at the Olympiastadion and the remainder at the Grünwalder Stadion.[8]
3 1. FC Saarbrücken played their home match against VfB Lübeck at the PSD Bank Arena in Frankfurt and their home match against 1860 Munich at the Hermann-Neuberger-Stadion in Völklingen because their regular home stadium was rendered unusable due to snowfall.[9][10]
4 KFC Uerdingen played their first ten home matches at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf while their home stadium, theGrotenburg-Stadion inKrefeld, is being renovated.[11] The club moved to the Stadion am Lotter Kreuz in Lotte for the rest of the season since they could no longer afford to pay the rent for the Merkur Spiel-Arena.[12]
5 SC Verl will play their home matches at the Benteler-Arena since their home stadium, the Sportclub Arena in Verl, did not meet 3. Liga standards.[13] As only a limited number of spectators was permitted, the DFB allowed Verl to play three matches in their home stadium.[14]
| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Exit date | Position in table | Incoming | Incoming date | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced on | Departed on | Announced on | Arrived on | ||||||
| Türkgücü München | End of contract | 1 June 2020 | 31 May 2020 | Pre-season | 26 June 2020 | [15][16] | |||
| SV Meppen | Mutual consent | 19 June 2020 | 4 July 2020 | 14 July 2020 | [17][18] | ||||
| Waldhof Mannheim | End of contract | 1 July 2020 | 20 July 2020 | [19][20] | |||||
| Bayern Munich II | Signed for1899 Hoffenheim | 27 July 2020 | 25 August 2020 | [21][22] | |||||
| SpVgg Unterhaching | Moved to sporting director | 29 July 2020 | 18 August 2020 | [23][24] | |||||
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Sacked | 29 September 2020 | 20th | 2 October 2020 | [25][26] | ||||
| MSV Duisburg | 10 November 2020 | 17th | 11 November 2020 | 15 November 2020 | [27][28] | ||||
| Viktoria Köln | 24 January 2021 | 13th | 24 January 2021 | [29] | |||||
| MSV Duisburg | 27 January 2021 | 19th | 27 January 2021 | [30] | |||||
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 30 January 2021 | 16th | 1 February 2021 | [31][32] | |||||
| MSV Duisburg | End of caretaker spell | 2 February 2021 | 19th | 2 February 2021 | [33] | ||||
| 1. FC Magdeburg | Sacked | 9 February 2021 | 12 February 2021 | [34][35] | |||||
| Türkgücü München | 7th | 9 February 2021 | [34] | ||||||
| Türkgücü München | End of caretaker | 23 February 2021 | 5th | 23 February 2021 | [36] | ||||
| Viktoria Köln | 1 February 2021 | 14th | 1 February 2021 | [37] | |||||
| Bayern Munich II | Moving to campus sporting director | 2 April 2021 | 4 April 2021 | 15th | 2 April 2021 | 4 April 2021 | [38] | ||
| KFC Uerdingen | Sacked | 13 April 2021 | 17h | 13 April 2021 | [39][40] | ||||
| SV Meppen | 14 April 2021 | 15th | 14 April 2021 | [41] | |||||
| End of caretaker spell | 20 April 2021 | 20 April 2021 | [42] | ||||||
| Dynamo Dresden | Sacked | 25 April 2021 | 4th | 26 April 2021 | [43][44] | ||||
| Türkgücü München | Mutual consent | 6 May 2021 | 10th | 6 May 2021 | [45] | ||||
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dynamo Dresden(C, P) | 38 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 61 | 29 | +32 | 75 | Promotion to2. Bundesliga and qualification forDFB-Pokal |
| 2 | Hansa Rostock(P) | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 52 | 33 | +19 | 71 | |
| 3 | FC Ingolstadt(O, P) | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 56 | 40 | +16 | 71 | Qualification forpromotion play-offs andDFB-Pokal |
| 4 | 1860 Munich | 38 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 69 | 35 | +34 | 66 | Qualification forDFB-Pokal |
| 5 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 66 | 51 | +15 | 59 | |
| 6 | Wehen Wiesbaden | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 57 | 53 | +4 | 56 | |
| 7 | SC Verl | 38 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 66 | 55 | +11 | 55 | |
| 8 | Waldhof Mannheim | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 50 | 55 | −5 | 52 | |
| 9 | Hallescher FC | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 51 | 58 | −7 | 52 | |
| 10 | FSV Zwickau | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 51 | |
| 11 | 1. FC Magdeburg | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 42 | 45 | −3 | 51 | |
| 12 | Viktoria Köln | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 52 | 59 | −7 | 51 | |
| 13 | Türkgücü München | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 45 | 55 | −10 | 47 | |
| 14 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 38 | 8 | 19 | 11 | 47 | 52 | −5 | 43 | |
| 15 | MSV Duisburg | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 52 | 67 | −15 | 43 | |
| 16 | KFC Uerdingen[a](R) | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 38 | 50 | −12 | 41 | Relegation toRegionalliga[b] |
| 17 | SV Meppen | 38 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 37 | 61 | −24 | 41 | |
| 18 | Bayern Munich II[c](R) | 38 | 8 | 13 | 17 | 47 | 58 | −11 | 37 | Relegation toRegionalliga |
| 19 | VfB Lübeck(R) | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 41 | 57 | −16 | 35 | |
| 20 | SpVgg Unterhaching(R) | 38 | 9 | 5 | 24 | 40 | 57 | −17 | 32 |
| Home \ Away | DRE | DUI | HAL | ING | KAI | KÖL | LÜB | MAG | MAN | MEP | MUN | MU2 | ROS | SAA | TÜR | UER | UNT | VER | WIE | ZWI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamo Dresden | — | 1–0 | 0–3 | 4–0 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| MSV Duisburg | 0–3 | — | 0–0 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 4–1 | 1–1 |
| Hallescher FC | 1–3 | 1–1 | — | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 |
| FC Ingolstadt | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 3–2 |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Viktoria Köln | 2–4 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | — | 0–2 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| VfB Lübeck | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 |
| 1. FC Magdeburg | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| Waldhof Mannheim | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 5–2 | — | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 4–4 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| SV Meppen | 0–4 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | — | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 |
| 1860 Munich | 1–0 | 0–2 | 6–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 |
| Bayern Munich II | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | — | 0–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 |
| Hansa Rostock | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 4–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| 1. FC Saarbrücken | 2–1 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–2 |
| Türkgücü München | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | — | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| KFC Uerdingen | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 |
| SpVgg Unterhaching | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | — | 3–4 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| SC Verl | 0–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Wehen Wiesbaden | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | 3–1 |
| FSV Zwickau | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | — |