 | |
| Founded | 1963 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1974 (11 seasons) |
| Replaced by | 2. Bundesliga Süd |
| Country | West Germany |
| States | |
| Level on pyramid | Level 2 |
| Promotion to | Bundesliga |
| Relegation to | |
| Last champions | FC Augsburg (1973–74) |
TheRegionalliga Süd was the second-highest level of theGerman football league system. It existed in the south ofWest Germany from 1963 until the formation of the2. Bundesliga in 1974. It covered the three states ofBavaria,Baden-Württemberg andHesse.
The league started out in 1963 with 20 clubs which were reduced for the next season to 19. From 1965 to 1974, there were always 18 teams in the league, except in 1972 when another season of 19 clubs was played.
It was formed from the eleven clubs of theOberliga Süd which did not get admitted to thenew Bundesliga and from the top nine clubs of the2. Oberliga Süd. The Regionalliga Süd was as such a continuation of the Oberliga Süd under a different name and a tier lower.
Along with theRegionalliga Süd went another four Regionalligas, these five formed the second tier of German football until 1974:
The new Regionalligas were formed along the borders of the old post-World War II Oberligas, not after a balanced regional system. Therefore, the Oberligas Berlin and West covered small but populous areas while Nord and Süd covered large areas. Südwest was something of an anachronism, neither large nor populous.
The league contained some big names of German Football, having theFC Bayern Munich,Kickers Offenbach andSpVgg Fürth as its founder members. In later years, clubs likeTSV 1860 Munich,1. FC Nürnberg andKarlsruher SC found themselves relegated to the league. The league posed something of a death trap for the big names of southern German football, as only the FC Bayern Munich and Kickers Offenbach achieved promotion from it. Kickers Offenbach also managed to win theGerman Cup in 1970, while still a Regionalliga side, the only club to do so.
TheFC Schweinfurt 05,SpVgg Fürth,Stuttgarter Kickers,KSV Hessen Kassel,Freiburger FC andFC Bayern Hof all played in the league for the duration of its 11-season existence. Of those six, the Stuttgarter Kickers had the longest unbroken run in the second division, from 1960 to 1988, 28 seasons.
The winners and runners-up of this league were admitted to the promotion play-off to theBundesliga, which was staged in two groups of originally four, later five teams each with the winner of each group going up.
The bottom three, some years four teams were relegated to the Amateurligas. Below the Regionalliga Süd were the following Amateurligas:
The league was dissolved in 1974. According to their performance of the last couple of seasons, 13 clubs of the Regionalliga went to the new2. Bundesliga Süd. The five remaining clubs were relegated to the Amateurligas.
The teams admitted to the 2. Bundesliga Süd were:
The following teams were relegated to the Amateurligas:
From the Regionalliga Süd, 13 clubs qualified for the new 2. Bundesliga Süd, together with seven teams from the Südwest region.
The qualifying modus saw the last five seasons counted, whereby the last placed team in each season received one point, the second-last two points and so on. For a Bundesliga season within this five-year period, a club received 25 points, for an Amateurliga season none.
For the seasons 1969–70 and 70–71, the received points counted single, for the 71–72 and 72–73 season double and for the 73–74 season three times.
To be considered in the points table for the new league, a club had to play either in the Regionalliga Süd in 1973–74 or to have been relegated from the Bundesliga to it for the next season, something which did not apply to the league that year.
The bottom three clubs in the league, nominally the relegated teams in a normal season, were barred from entry to the 2. Bundesliga, regardless of where they stood in the points ranking. This fact saved the FC Augsburg, the last league champion, from relegation, as Hessen Kassel, placed ninth overall but having finished 16th in 1973–74 was barred from promotion, opening the way forFCA.[1]
Points table:
| Rank | Club | Points (1969–1974) | Position in 1973–74 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1860 Munich | 155 | 3 |
| 2 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 138 | 2 |
| 3 | Karlsruher SC | 134 | 8 |
| 4 | Darmstadt 98 | 110 | 4 |
| 5 | FC Bayern Hof | 104 | 9 |
| 6 | Stuttgarter Kickers | 98 | 6 |
| 7 | SpVgg Bayreuth | 90 | 5 |
| 8 | VfR Heilbronn | 90 | 12 |
| 9 | Hessen Kassel1 | 90 | 16 |
| 10 | SpVgg Fürth | 85 | 10 |
| 11 | FC Schweinfurt 05 | 68 | 15 |
| 12 | Freiburger FC1 | 68 | 17 |
| 13 | SV Waldhof Mannheim | 61 | 7 |
| 14 | FC Augsburg | 54 | 1 |
| 15 | Jahn Regensburg1 | 53 | 18 |
| 16 | VfR Mannheim | 28 | 13 |
| 17 | VfR Bürstadt | 27 | 14 |
| 18 | FSV Frankfurt | 26 | 11 |
TheRegionalliga Süd was reformed in 1994, now as the third tier of the German football league system, again covering the three southern German states of Bayern, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen. In something of a repeat of history, the clubs from theOberliga Südwest merged into the league in 2000. The Regionalliga Süd now roughly covered the same area as the 2nd Bundesliga Süd did from 1974 to 1981. In 2008, the Südwest clubs will leave the league again and join the newRegionalliga West and the Regionalliga Süd will revert to its coverage of the three original regions, but now as the fourth tier of the league system, below the new3. Liga.
The winners and runners–up of the league were:[2]
| Season | Winners | Runners–up |
| 1963–64 | Hessen Kassel | Bayern Munich |
| 1964–65 | Bayern Munich | SSV Reutlingen |
| 1965–66 | FC Schweinfurt 05 | Kickers Offenbach |
| 1966–67 | Kickers Offenbach | FC Bayern Hof |
| 1967–68 | FC Bayern Hof | Kickers Offenbach |
| 1968–69 | Karlsruher SC | Freiburger FC |
| 1969–70 | Kickers Offenbach | Karlsruher SC |
| 1970–71 | 1. FC Nürnberg | Karlsruher SC |
| 1971–72 | Kickers Offenbach | FC Bayern Hof |
| 1972–73 | Darmstadt 98 | Karlsruher SC |
| 1973–74 | FC Augsburg | 1. FC Nürnberg |
The league placings from 1963 to 1974:[3]
Source:"Regionalliga Süd". Das deutsche Fussball-Archiv. Retrieved7 January 2008.
| Symbol | Key |
|---|---|
| B | Bundesliga |
| Place | League |
| Blank | Played at a league level below this league |
The league's top scorers:
| Season | Player(s) | Club(s) | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963–64 | Jendrosch | Hessen Kassel | 34 |
| 1964–65 | Rainer Ohlhauser | Bayern Munich | 42 |
| 1965–66 | Mikulasch | ESV Ingolstadt | 29 |
| 1966–67 | Windhausen | SpVgg Fürth | 32 |
| 1967–68 | Breuer | FC Bayern Hof | 27 |
| Schäffner | VfR Mannheim | 27 | |
| 1968–69 | Klier | FC 08 Villingen | 23 |
| 1969–70 | Klier | FC 08 Villingen | 22 |
| 1970–71 | Bründl | Stuttgarter Kickers | 21 |
| 1971–72 | Erwin Kostedde | Kickers Offenbach | 27 |
| 1972–73 | Keller | 1860 Munich | 26 |
| 1973–74 | Obermeier | FC Augsburg | 25 |
Source:100 Jahre Süddeutscher Fussball-Verband. Vindelica Verlag. 1997. p. 172.
The league records:
| Biggest win | 11–0 | Kickers Offenbach11–0VfR Pforzheim (19 September 1965)[4] |
| Most goals in a game | 13 | Freiburger FC2–11Bayern Munich (7 February 1965)[5] |
| Season with most goals | 1,255 (3,67 per game) | 1964–65[6] |
| Round with most goals | 49 (5,44 per game) | Round 19, 1964–65[7] |
The best and worst teams in the all-time table of the league from 1963 to 1974:[8]
| Pos. | Club | Seasons | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Bayern Hof | 11 | 388 | 183 | 81 | 124 | 761 | 554 | 447 |
| 2 | KSV Hessen Kassel | 11 | 388 | 166 | 89 | 133 | 733 | 609 | 421 |
| 3 | Stuttgarter Kickers | 11 | 388 | 164 | 87 | 137 | 709 | 619 | 415 |
| 4–41 | 38 clubs | ||||||||
| 42 | FC Emmendingen | 1 | 36 | 1 | 2 | 33 | 31 | 159 | 4 |
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