| Season | 2019–20 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 26 July 2019 – 28 June 2020 |
| Champions | Arminia Bielefeld |
| Promoted | Arminia Bielefeld VfB Stuttgart |
| Relegated | Wehen Wiesbaden Dynamo Dresden |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 881 (2.88 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Fabian Klos (21 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Bielefeld 6–0Regensburg |
| Biggest away win | Wiesbaden 0–6Nürnberg Nürnberg 0–6 Stuttgart |
| Highest scoring | Wiesbaden 3–6Kiel |
| Longest winning run | 4 games Hamburg Darmstadt Bielefeld Stuttgart |
| Longest unbeaten run | 16 games Bielefeld |
| Longest winless run | 10 games Osnabrück |
| Longest losing run | 5 games Karlsruhe Dresden |
| Highest attendance | 53,315 Stuttgart v St. Pauli |
| Lowest attendance | 5,025[A] Sandhausen v Osnabrück |
| Attendance | 4,582,378 (14,975 per match)[B] |
2020–21 → | |
The2019–20 2. Bundesliga was the 46th season of the2. Bundesliga. It began on 26 July 2019 and was initially due to conclude on 17 May 2020.[1]
Arminia Bielefeld secured their promotion on 16 June 2020,[2] whileVfB Stuttgart were promoted on the last matchday.[3]
Following an offline test phase in the previous season,[4] thevideo assistant referee system will be used for the first time in the 2. Bundesliga.[5][6] Also, the number of substitutes allowed on the bench was increased from seven to nine for the 2019–20 season.[7]
On 13 March 2020, theDFL suspended theBundesliga and 2. Bundesliga due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Germany.[8] After consultation with the German government, the league resumedbehind closed doors on 16 May 2020.[9] The season then concluded on 28 June.[10]
Arminia Bielefeld was on the way to the top of the table as of the 6th match day. Shortly before the end of the round, they managed to achieve 1st position, and stayed there. Only a few days before the direct promotion and then the2. Bundesliga championship were determined. Last year's relegation teamVfB Stuttgart andHamburger SV competed for second place, but both of them were never able to start longer winning streaks and fell further and further behindArminia Bielefeld. A game day before the end of the season, no decision had been made as to which team would also advance. With the 2–1 victory againstHamburger SV,[11] last year's fifth-placed1. FC Heidenheim finally moved to the relegation place, whileVfB Stuttgart was able to consolidate second place with a 6–0[12] in 1.1. FC Nürnberg andHamburger SV therefore only had a chance to finish third. In addition, onlyVfB Stuttgart had fired its head coach from the top four during the season. On the final day of the match1. FC Heidenheim lost to championArminia Bielefeld,[13] butHamburger SV did not take advantage of this opportunity and got an unexpected 1-5 loss toSV Sandhausen.[14] Therefore,1. FC Heidenheim held onto third place and competed againstSV Werder Bremen in the relegation. After a 0–0 inSV Werder Bremen and a 2–2 in the home game,1. FC Heidenheim missed the promotion due to theaway goals rule.
The newly promotedSV Wehen Wiesbaden was already in the relegation fight as of the 2 match day and could never get beyond the relegation place with the exception of the 20 match day. Nevertheless, the rescue was still possible until shortly before the end of the season, as was the case with the co-leaderKarlsruher SC. In addition to the two,FC St. Pauli,VfL Osnabrück and1. FC Nürnberg were also relegated to the3. Liga;FC St. Pauli andVfL Osnabrück finally saved themselves. On the final day of the match, this meant a four-way match between1. FC Nürnberg,Karlsruher SC andSV Wehen Wiesbaden as well asDynamo Dresden, which had occupied the last place the longest and, after 33 games played, could only push themselves to the relegation rank.Dynamo Dresden played only draws againstVfL Osnabrück and was therefore relegated as the last in the table.SV Wehen Wiesbaden played 5–3 againstFC St. Pauli,[15] but also had to be relegated asKarlsruher SC won and was able to save themselves in 15th place.1. FC Nürnberg also won only one point and would have depended on a home victory of theFrankish rivalSpVgg Greuther Fürth againstKarlsruher SC, so as not to have to play for the class maintenance. Therefore, the"Club" was ranked 16th at the end of the season and had to contest the relegation against the previous year's relegation clubFC Ingolstadt 04. After a 2–0 win in the first leg,[16] the1. FC Nürnberg players lost 1–3 in the return match,[17] but remained in the2. Bundesliga due to theaway goals rule.
Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Germany, on 8 March 2020 theFederal Minister of Health,Jens Spahn recommended cancelling events with more than 1,000 people.[21] The following day, theDFL announced that the 2. Bundesliga season would be completed to ensure planning for the following season, and that any postponements would be to matchdays en bloc. In the following days,Timo Hübers,Jannes Horn (both of Hannover 96),Fabian Nürnberger (1. FC Nürnberg) andStefan Thesker (Holstein Kiel) tested positive forCOVID-19, requiring all first team players of the three clubs to self-quarantine.[22][23][24] Fixtures on matchday 26 (13–15 March) were planned to be played without spectators, when necessary, due to local restrictions on public gatherings,[25] but the round was subsequently postponed on 13 March due to safety issues.[8] On 16 March, the DFL general assembly suspended the league until at least 2 April, and scheduled another meeting for the final week of March to discuss how the competition should proceed.[26] The DFL Executive Committee later recommended that the General Assembly, at their meeting on 31 March, extend the suspension until at least 30 April, which was confirmed after that meeting.[27][28]
The DFL are looking into possible scenarios to finish the season regularly.[29] However, several virologists raised doubts, stating that any professional football matches in Germany, including those behind closed doors, were unrealistic for at least the next 12 months.[30][31]
On 3 April 2020, the DFL reported that the financial situation of most teams was more serious than thought. 13 of the 36 professional football clubs from theBundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, including nine clubs from the 2. Bundesliga, would have to declare bankruptcy by May or June unless league operations resumed by then. Twelve of those clubs had already used the outstanding license fees (which are dependent on the season to be continued) to pay their March debts to creditors.[32][33] At their 31 March meeting, the DFL had decided that clubs that enterinsolvency proceedings this season would not suffer the usual deduction of points, and clubs that enter proceedings next season only lose three instead of the usual nine points.[34] After allowing teams to return to training in a limited fashion, the league returned on 16 May to play following approval from local authorities.[35][36] On 9 May 2020, two players ofDynamo Dresden tested positive for COVID-19, requiring a 14-day quarantine for the entire first team and training staff, therefore preventing their match scheduled on 17 May againstHannover 96 from taking place.[37] On 14 May, after a meeting of all clubs, five substitutions will be permitted, which has been temporarily allowed byIFAB following a proposal byFIFA to lessen the impact of fixture congestion.[38][39][40] The broadcasterSky Sport announced that for the first two weeks after the restart, the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga simulcast ("conference") will be shown onfree-to-air television in Germany, in order to prevent gatherings of people withoutpay TV subscriptions.[41]
| Promoted from2018–19 3. Liga 1. FC Union Berlin | Relegated from2018–19 Bundesliga | Promoted to2019–20 Bundesliga | Relegated to2019–20 3. Liga |
|---|---|---|---|
| VfL Osnabrück Karlsruher SC Wehen Wiesbaden | VfB Stuttgart Hannover 96 1. FC Nürnberg | 1. FC Köln SC Paderborn Union Berlin | FC Ingolstadt 1. FC Magdeburg MSV Duisburg |
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Spectators | per Game | Utilization | Sold out | Seasontickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erzgebirge Aue | Aue-Bad Schlema | Erzgebirgsstadion | 15,711 | 139,700 | 8,218 | 49,80% | 2/17** | 2,300 |
| Arminia Bielefeld | Bielefeld | Schüco-Arena | 27,300 | 254,285 | 14,958 | 56,40% | 1/17** | 8,500 |
| VfL Bochum | Bochum | Vonovia Ruhrstadion | 29,299 | 225,147 | 13,244 | 48,00% | 0/17* | 6,900 |
| Darmstadt 98 | Darmstadt | Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor | 17,000 | 185,724 | 10,925 | 61,00% | 3/17* | 11,000 |
| Dynamo Dresden | Dresden | Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion | 32,066 | 354,016 | 20,824 | 64,90% | 1/17* | 18,000 |
| Greuther Fürth | Fürth | Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer | 18,500 | 120,645 | 7,097 | 42,70% | 1/17** | 4,850 |
| Hamburger SV | Hamburg | Volksparkstadion | 57,000 | 567.804 | 33.400 | 58,60% | 2/17** | 23,800 |
| Hannover 96 | Hanover | HDI-Arena | 49,000 | 359,600 | 21,153 | 43,20% | 1/17* | 19,000 |
| 1. FC Heidenheim | Heidenheim | Voith-Arena | 15,000 | 153,850 | 9,050 | 60,30% | 1/17* | 6,500 |
| Karlsruher SC | Karlsruhe | Wildparkstadion | 29,699 | 156,801 | 9,224 | 60,02% | 1/17** | 6,500 |
| Holstein Kiel | Kiel | Holstein-Stadion | 15,034 | 136,888 | 8,052 | 53,60% | 2/17** | 7,000 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | Nuremberg | Max-Morlock-Stadion | 49,923 | 50,000 | 22,649 | 45,03% | 0/17* | 21,000 |
| VfL Osnabrück | Osnabrück | Stadion an der Bremer Brücke | 16,667 | 191,246 | 11,250 | 69,90% | 4/17* | 7,550 |
| Jahn Regensburg | Regensburg | Arena Regensburg | 15,224 | 137,055 | 8,062 | 53,00% | 2/17** | 4,700 |
| SV Sandhausen | Sandhausen | BWT-Stadion am Hardtwald | 15,414 | 96.935 | 5,702 | 37,00% | 0/17* | 2,750 |
| FC St. Pauli | Hamburg | Millerntor-Stadion | 29,546 | 382,743 | 22,514 | 76,20% | 10/17* | 15,000 |
| VfB Stuttgart | Stuttgart | Mercedes-Benz Arena | 60,449 | 671.546 | 39.503 | 65,30% | 1/17* | 30,000 |
| Wehen Wiesbaden | Wiesbaden | BRITA-Arena | 9,100 | 63,360 | 3,727 | 41,00% | 1/17** | 1,700 |
| Total | 484,014 | 4,528,076 | 14,798 | 54,99% | 33/306 | 197,050 |
| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Exit date | Position in table | Incoming | Incoming date | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced on | Departed on | Announced on | Arrived on | ||||||
| Jahn Regensburg | Signed by1. FC Köln | 13 May 2019 | 30 June 2019 | Pre-season | 31 May 2019 | 1 July 2019 | [42][43] | ||
| 1. FC Nürnberg | End of caretaker spell | 14 May 2019 | 19 May 2019 | [44][45] | |||||
| Hamburger SV | Sacked | 17 May 2019 | 29 May 2019 | [46][47] | |||||
| Holstein Kiel | Signed byVfB Stuttgart | 20 May 2019 | 16 June 2019 | [48][49] | |||||
| VfB Stuttgart | End of caretaker spell | 20 May 2019 | 20 May 2019 | [48] | |||||
| Hannover 96 | Sacked | 28 May 2019 | 28 May 2019 | [50] | |||||
| Erzgebirge Aue | 19 August 2019 | 5th | 20 August 2019 | [51][52] | |||||
| VfL Bochum | 26 August 2019 | 17th | 26 August 2019 | [53][54] | |||||
| Erzgebirge Aue | End of caretaker spell | 26 August 2019 | 5th | 26 August 2019 | [55] | ||||
| VfL Bochum | 6 September 2019 | 17th | 6 September 2019 | [56] | |||||
| Holstein Kiel | Sacked | 15 September 2019 | 15th | 16 September 2019 | [57][58] | ||||
| Hannover 96 | 3 November 2019 | 13th | 4 November 2019 | [59][60] | |||||
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 4 November 2019 | 11th | 4 November 2019 | [61] | |||||
| End of caretaker spell | 12 November 2019 | 14th | 12 November 2019 | [62] | |||||
| Hannover 96 | 14 November 2019 | 15th | 14 November 2019 | [63] | |||||
| Dynamo Dresden | Mutual consent | 2 December 2019 | 18th | 3 December 2019 | [64][65] | ||||
| End of caretaker spell | 10 December 2019 | 18th | 10 December 2019 | [66] | |||||
| VfB Stuttgart | Sacked | 23 December 2019 | 3rd | 30 December 2019 | [67][68] | ||||
| Karlsruher SC | 3 February 2020 | 17th | 3 February 2020 | [69][70] | |||||
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 29 June 2020 | 16th | 29 June 2020 | [71] | |||||
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arminia Bielefeld(C, P) | 34 | 18 | 14 | 2 | 65 | 30 | +35 | 68 | Promotion toBundesliga |
| 2 | VfB Stuttgart(P) | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 62 | 41 | +21 | 58 | |
| 3 | 1. FC Heidenheim | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 45 | 36 | +9 | 55 | Qualification forpromotion play-offs |
| 4 | Hamburger SV | 34 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 62 | 46 | +16 | 54 | |
| 5 | Darmstadt 98 | 34 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 48 | 43 | +5 | 52 | |
| 6 | Hannover 96 | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 54 | 49 | +5 | 48 | |
| 7 | Erzgebirge Aue | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 46 | 48 | −2 | 47 | |
| 8 | VfL Bochum | 34 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 53 | 51 | +2 | 46 | |
| 9 | Greuther Fürth | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 44 | |
| 10 | SV Sandhausen | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 43 | 45 | −2 | 43 | |
| 11 | Holstein Kiel | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 53 | 56 | −3 | 43 | |
| 12 | Jahn Regensburg | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 43 | |
| 13 | VfL Osnabrück | 34 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 46 | 48 | −2 | 40 | |
| 14 | FC St. Pauli | 34 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 41 | 50 | −9 | 39 | |
| 15 | Karlsruher SC | 34 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 45 | 56 | −11 | 37 | |
| 16 | 1. FC Nürnberg(O) | 34 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 45 | 58 | −13 | 37 | Qualification forrelegation play-offs |
| 17 | Wehen Wiesbaden(R) | 34 | 9 | 7 | 18 | 45 | 65 | −20 | 34 | Relegation to3. Liga |
| 18 | Dynamo Dresden(R) | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 32 | 58 | −26 | 32 |
| Home \ Away | AUE | BIE | BOC | DAR | DRE | FÜR | HAM | HAN | HEI | KAR | KIE | NÜR | OSN | REG | SAN | STP | STU | WIE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erzgebirge Aue | — | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 |
| Arminia Bielefeld | 3–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 6–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| VfL Bochum | 2–0 | 3–3 | — | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 4–4 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–3 |
| Darmstadt 98 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Dynamo Dresden | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| Greuther Fürth | 0–2 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | — | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Hamburger SV | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | — | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 6–2 | 3–2 |
| Hannover 96 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| 1. FC Heidenheim | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | — | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| Karlsruher SC | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 1–1 | — | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Holstein Kiel | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 1–1 | 1–5 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–6 | 0–2 |
| VfL Osnabrück | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–6 |
| Jahn Regensburg | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–3 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 |
| SV Sandhausen | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| FC St. Pauli | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| VfB Stuttgart | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–2 |
| Wehen Wiesbaden | 1–0 | 2–5 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–6 | 0–6 | 2–0 | 0–5 | 0–1 | 5–3 | 2–1 | — |
All times areCEST (UTC+2).[73]
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. FC Nürnberg(2B) | 3–3 (a) | FC Ingolstadt(3L) | 2–0 | 1–3 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 2–0 | FC Ingolstadt |
|---|---|---|
| Nürnberger | Report |
3–3 on aggregate. 1. FC Nürnberg won on away goals, and therefore both clubs remained in their respective leagues.