Fußball-Bundesliga

250px
Countries	Germany
Confederation	UEFA
Founded	1963
Number of teams	18
Levels on pyramid	1
Relegation to	2. Bundesliga
Domestic cup(s)	DFB-Pokal
International cup(s)	Champions League Europa League
Current champions	Borussia Dortmund (5th BL title) (2011–12)
Most championships	Bayern Munich (21 BL titles)
TV partners	Sky Deutschland ARD ZDF SPORT1 Liga total!
Website	Bundesliga.de
2011–12 Fußball-Bundesliga

The Fußball-Bundesliga (short: Bundesliga, German pronunciation: [ˈbʊndəsˌliːɡa], Federal League) is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga. Seasons run from August to May. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings.

A total of 50 clubs have competed in the Bundesliga since its founding. Since the 1970s, FC Bayern Munich has dominated the championship, winning the title 21 times. However, the Bundesliga has seen other champions with Borussia Dortmund, Hamburger SV, Werder Bremen, Borussia Mönchengladbach and VfB Stuttgart most prominent among them. The Bundesliga is one of the top national leagues, currently ranked 3rd in Europe according to UEFA's league coefficient ranking, based on recent European performances.^[1] It is the number one football league in terms of average attendance and its average of 42,673 fans per game during the 2010–11 season was in fact only beaten by the NFL.^[2]

Unlike other countries, in Germany a unified national football league structure was quite late in developing. The Bundesliga was not formed until 1963 and the structure and organisation of the nation's football leagues have undergone frequent changes right up to the present day. The league was originally founded by the German Football Association, but is now operated by the Deutsche Fußball Liga.

Overview[link]

Borussia Dortmund against rivals Schalke, known as the Revierderby, in 2009

The Bundesliga is composed of two divisions: the 1. Bundesliga (although it is rarely referred to with the First prefix), and, below that, the 2. Bundesliga (Second Bundesliga), which has been the second tier of German football since 1974. The Bundesligen (plural) are professional leagues. Since 2008, the 3. Liga (3rd League) in Germany is also a professional league, but may not be called Bundesliga because the league is run by the German Football Association (DFB) and not, as are the two Bundesligen, by the German Football League (Deutsche Fußball-Liga or DFL).

Below the level of the 3rd league, leagues are generally often subdivided on a regional basis. For example, the Regionalligen are currently made up of Nord (North), Süd (South) and West divisions, and the Oberligen (upper leagues) are composed of nine divisions representing federal states or large urban and geographical areas. The levels below the Oberligen differ between the local areas. The league structure has changed frequently and typically reflects the degree of participation in the sport in various parts of the country. In the early 1990s, changes were driven by the reunification of Germany and the subsequent integration of the national leagues of East and West Germany.

Every team in the two Bundesligen must have a licence to play in the league, or else they are relegated into the regional leagues. To obtain a licence, teams must be financially healthy and meet certain standards of conduct as organisations.

As in other national leagues, there are significant benefits to being in the top division:

• A greater share of television broadcast licence revenues goes to 1. Bundesliga sides.
• 1. Bundesliga teams draw significantly greater levels of fan support. Average attendance in the first league is 42,673 per game — more than twice the average of the 2. Bundesliga.
• Greater exposure through television and higher attendance levels helps 1. Bundesliga teams attract the most lucrative sponsorships.
• 1. Bundesliga teams develop substantial financial muscle through the combination of television and gate revenues, sponsorships and marketing of their team brands. This allows them to attract and retain skilled players from domestic and international sources and to construct first-class stadium facilities.

The 1. Bundesliga is financially strong, and the 2. Bundesliga has begun to evolve in a similar direction, becoming more stable organisationally and financially, and reflecting an increasingly higher standard of professional play.

Internationally, the most well-known German clubs include Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Hamburger SV, Werder Bremen, Schalke 04, Bayer Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart. Hamburger SV is the only team to have played continuously in the Bundesliga since its foundation.

In the 2008–09 season, the Bundesliga reinstated an earlier German system of promotion and relegation:

• The bottom two finishers in the Bundesliga are automatically relegated to the 2. Bundesliga, with the top two finishers in the 2. Bundesliga taking their place.
• The third-from-bottom club in the Bundesliga will play a two-legged match with the third-place team from the 2. Bundesliga, with the winner taking up the final place in the following season's Bundesliga.

For several years,^{[clarification needed]} a different system had been used in which the bottom three finishers of the Bundesliga had been automatically relegated, to be replaced by the top three finishers in the 2. Bundesliga. (Before 1974–75 it was only four clubs that changed places instead of six).

The season starts in early August and lasts until late May, with a winter break of six weeks (mid-December through to the end of January). In recent years, games have been played on Saturdays (five games beginning at 3:30 pm and one game beginning at 6:30 pm) and Sundays (one game beginning at 3:00 pm and one game at 5:00 pm). A new television deal in 2006 reintroduced a Friday game (beginning at 8:30 pm).

History[link]

Origins[link]

For more details on this topic, see History of German football

Prior to the formation of the Bundesliga, German football was played at an amateur level in a large number of sub-regional leagues until, in 1949, part time (semi-) professionalism was introduced and only five regional Oberligen (Premier Leagues) remained. Regional champions and runners-up played a series of playoff matches for the right to compete in a final game for the national championship. On 28 January 1900, a national association, the Deutscher Fußball Bund (DFB) had been founded in Leipzig with 86 member clubs. The first recognised national championship team was VfB Leipzig, who beat DFC Prague 7–2 in a game played at Altona on 31 May 1903.

Through the 1950s, there were continued calls for the formation of a central professional league, especially as professional leagues in other countries began to draw Germany's best players away from the semi-professional domestic leagues. At the international level the German game began to falter as German teams often fared poorly against professional teams from other countries. A key supporter of the central league concept was national team head coach Sepp Herberger who said, “If we want to remain competitive internationally, we have to raise our expectations at the national level.”

Meanwhile, in East Germany, a separate league was established with the formation of the DS-Oberliga (Deutscher Sportausschuss Oberliga) in 1950. The league was renamed the Football Oberliga DFV in 1958 and was generally referred to simply as the DDR-Liga or DDR-Oberliga. The league fielded 14 teams with two relegation spots.

Establishment[link]

The defeat of the national team by Yugoslavia (0–1) in a 1962 World Cup quarter final game in Chile was one impetus (of many) to the formation of a national league. Under new DFB president Hermann Gösmann (elected that very day) the Bundesliga was created in Dortmund on 28 July 1962 to begin play starting with the 1963–64 season.^[3]

At the time, there were five Oberligen (Premier Leagues) in place representing West Germany's North, South, West, Southwest, and Berlin. East Germany, behind the Iron Curtain, maintained its separate league structure. Forty-six clubs applied for admission to the new league. Sixteen teams were selected based on their success on the field, economic criteria and representation of the various Oberligen.

• From Oberliga Nord: Eintracht Braunschweig, Werder Bremen, Hamburger SV
• From Oberliga West: Borussia Dortmund, 1. FC Köln, Meidericher SV (now MSV Duisburg), Preußen Münster, Schalke 04
• From Oberliga Südwest: 1. FC Kaiserslautern, 1. FC Saarbrücken
• From Oberliga Süd: Eintracht Frankfurt, Karlsruher SC, 1. FC Nuremberg, TSV 1860 München, VfB Stuttgart
• From Oberliga Berlin: Hertha BSC Berlin

The first Bundesliga games were played on 24 August 1963. Early favorite 1. FC Köln was the first Bundesliga champion (with 45:19 points) over second place clubs Meidericher SV and Eintracht Frankfurt (both 39:25).

Structure and competition[link]

The German football champion is decided strictly by play in the Bundesliga. Each club plays every other club once at home and once away. Originally, a victory was worth two points, with a draw worth one point and a loss no points. Since the 1995–96 season, a victory has been worth three points, with no change in the value of a draw or loss. The club with the most points at the end of the season becomes German champions. Currently, the top three clubs in the table qualify automatically for the group phase of the UEFA Champions League, while the fourth-place team enters the Champions League at the third qualifying round (see overview). The two teams at the bottom of the table are relegated into the 2nd Bundesliga, while the top two teams in the 2nd Bundesliga are promoted. The sixteenth place team (third last), and the third place team in the 2nd Bundesliga play a two-leg play-off match. The winner of this match plays the next season in the Bundesliga, and the loser in the 2nd Bundesliga.

If teams are level on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:

1. Goal difference for the entire season.
2. Total goals scored for the entire season.
3. Head-to-head results (total points).
4. Head-to-head goals scored.
5. Head-to-head away goals scored.
6. Total away goals scored for the entire season.

If two clubs are still tied after all of these tiebreakers have been applied, a single match is held at a neutral site to determine the placement. However, this has never been necessary in the history of the Bundesliga.

In terms of team selection, matchday squads must have no more than five non-EU representatives. Seven substitutes are permitted to be selected, from which three can be used in the duration of the game.

Changes in league structure[link]

• Number of teams:
  • 1963/64–1964/65: 16
  • 1965/66–1990/91: 18
  • 1991/92: 20, while East and West German leagues were being combined after German reunification
  • Since 1992/93: 18

• Number of teams relegated (automatic relegation except as noted):
  • 1963/64–1973/74: 2
  • 1974/75–1980/81: 3
  • 1981/82–1990/91: 2 automatic plus the 16th-place team in the First Bundesliga played a two-leg relegation match against the third-place team of the Second Bundesliga for the final spot in the First Bundesliga
  • 1991/92: 4
  • 1992/93-2007/08: 3
  • From 2008/09 on: 2 automatic plus the 16th-place team in the First Bundesliga playing a two-leg relegation match against the third-place team of the Second Bundesliga for the final spot in the First Bundesliga

European qualification (as of 2011–12)[link]

• 1st, 2nd place and 3rd place: Group phase of UEFA Champions League
• 4th place: Play-off round of Champions League for non-champions. Winners at this stage enter the group phase; losers enter the group phase of UEFA Europa League.
• DFB-Pokal (German Cup) winner: Qualifies for group phase of UEFA Europa League regardless of league position.
  • If the Cup winner qualifies for the Champions League, the Cup winner's place in the Europa League goes to the defeated Cup finalist if it is not already qualified for European competition, although the defeated Cup finalist will enter the competition a stage earlier than if it had won the Cup. This rule was retained from the Europa League's predecessor, the UEFA Cup.
    • The team that benefits from this rule does not necessarily have to be a Bundesliga member. For example, although 2nd Bundesliga sides Alemannia Aachen lost to Werder Bremen in the 2004 DFB-Pokal Final, Alemannia secured an entry in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup, because Werder qualified for the Champions League as First Bundesliga champions.
    • Also, if both Cup finalists qualify for the Champions League, the Europa League berth reserved for the DFB-Pokal winners is transferred to the highest finisher below the Champions League qualification places, with the two teams immediately below assuming the regular Europa League spots. This most recently happened in 2012, when the 2012 DFB-Pokal Final pitted champions Borussia Dortmund against second-placed Bayern Munich. As a result, seventh-placed Hannover 96, which would otherwise not have qualified for a European competition, received a berth in the 2012-13 UEFA Europa League.
• 5th place: Play-off round of Europa League
• 6th place: Third qualifying round of Europa League
• An additional place in the Europa League may also be granted via the UEFA Fair Play mechanism. This rule was maintained from the UEFA Cup. The last Bundesliga team to gain entry to the UEFA Cup via the fair play rule was Mainz 05 in 2005–06.

The number of German clubs which may participate in UEFA competitions is determined by UEFA coefficients, which take into account the results of a particular nation's clubs in UEFA competitions over the preceding five years.

History of European qualification[link]

• European Cup/Champions League:
  • Up to and including 1996/97: German champion only.
  • 1997–99: Top two teams; champion automatically into group phase, vice-champion entered the qualifying round.
  • 1999–2008: Top two teams automatically into first group phase (only one group phase starting in 2003/04). Depending on the DFB's UEFA coefficients standing, either one or two other clubs (most recently one) entered at the third qualifying round; winners at this level entered the group phase.
  • 2008-2011: Top two teams automatically into group phase. Third placed team had to play in the play-off round for the right to play in the group stage.
• UEFA Cup/Europa League:
  • From 1971/72 to 1998/99, UEFA member nations could send between one and four teams to the UEFA Cup. Germany was always entitled to send at least three teams to the competition and often as many as four. From 1978/79, the number of participants was determined by the DFB's UEFA coefficent standing, prior to this the method for deciding the number of participants is unknown. The best performing teams in the league other than the champion would qualify, although if one of these teams was also winner of the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) then they would enter the Cup Winners' Cup instead and their UEFA Cup place would be taken by the next highest placed team in the league (5th or 6th place). Briefly in the mid-1970s the DFB decided to allocate the last UEFA Cup place to the DFB-Pokal runner-up instead of a third or fourth team qualified by performance in the league, meaning that at this point the DFB-Pokal qualified two teams for European competition (winners for the Cup Winners' Cup, runners-up for the UEFA Cup). This policy was unique amongst UEFA member associations and was dropped after only a few seasons. Starting with the 1999/2000 season and the abolition of the Cup Winners' Cup (which was then folded into the UEFA Cup), the DFB-Pokal winner now automatically qualified for the UEFA Cup alongside, depending on the DFB's UEFA coefficients standing, between one and three extra participants (if the DFB-Pokal winner also qualified for the Champions' League, they were replaced by the DFB-Pokal runner-up; if they were also qualified for the Champions' League, the UEFA Cup place went to the next best placed team in the league not otherwise qualified for European competition). Since 1999, the DFB has always been entitled to enter a minimum of three clubs in the UEFA Cup/Europa League, and at times as many as four (the maximum for any European federation). Teams that entered via UEFA's Fair Play mechanism, or those that entered through the now-defunct Intertoto Cup, did not count against the national quota. From 2006 through the final Intertoto Cup in 2008, only one First Bundesliga side was eligible to enter the Intertoto Cup and possibly earn a UEFA Cup berth. For the 2005/06 season, the DFB earned an extra UEFA Cup place via the Fair Play draw; this place went to Mainz 05 as the highest-ranked club in the Fair Play table of the First Bundesliga not already qualified for Europe.
• Cup Winners' Cup (abolished after 1999):
  • The winner of the DFB-Pokal entered the Cup Winners' Cup, unless that team was also league champion and therefore competing in the European Cup/Champions' League, in which case their place in the Cup Winners' Cup was taken by the DFB-Pokal runner-up. Today, the DFB-Pokal winner (if not otherwise qualified for the Champions' League) enters the UEFA Europa League.

Current members of the Bundesliga (2011–12 season)[link]

Hertha BSC and FC Augsburg have just achieved promotion into the Bundesliga, replacing FC St. Pauli and Eintracht Frankfurt, who finished at the bottom two spots of the table at the end of the 2010–11 season and thus were relegated to the 2nd Bundesliga. Borussia Mönchengladbach earned the right to stay in the Bundesliga despite their 16th place finish by beating VfL Bochum in the 2011 relegation playoffs

Augsburg

FC Bayern

Bremen

Dortmund

Freiburg

Hamburg

Hannover

Hertha BSC

Hoffenheim

Kaiserslautern

Köln

Mainz

Mönchengladbach

Nuremberg

Schalke

Stuttgart

Wolfsburg

Leverkusen

Locations of teams in the 2011–12 Fußball-Bundesliga

Verdiente Meistervereine[link]

In 2004, the honor of “Verdiente Meistervereine” (roughly “distinguished champion clubs”) was introduced, following a custom first practised by the Italian Football Federation,{cn} to recognize sides that have won multiple championships or other honours by the display of gold stars on their team badges and jerseys. Each country's usage is unique and in Germany the practice is to award one star for three titles, two stars for five titles, three stars for ten titles, and four stars for twenty titles.

The former East German side Berliner FC Dynamo laid claim to the three stars of a ten-time champion. They petitioned the league to have their DDR-Oberliga titles recognized, but received no reply. Dynamo eventually took matters into their own hands and emblazoned their jerseys with three stars. This caused some debate given what may be the tainted nature of their championships under the patronage of East Germany's secret police, the Stasi. The issue also affects other former East German and pre-Bundesliga champions. In November 2005, the DFB allowed all former champions to display a single star inscribed with the number of titles, including all German men's titles since 1903, women's titles since 1974 and East German titles.^[5]

The DFB format only applies to teams playing below the Bundesliga (the top two divisions), since there the DFL conventions remain in force. BFC Dynamo Berlin have not followed this guideline and continue to wear three stars, rather than a single star inscribed with the number 10. Greuther Fürth unofficially display three (silver) stars for pre-war titles in spite of being in the Bundesliga second division.

As of June 2010 the following clubs are allowed to wear stars while playing in the Bundesliga. The number in parentheses is for Bundesliga titles won.

• Bayern Munich (21)
• Borussia Mönchengladbach (5)
• Borussia Dortmund (5)
• SV Werder Bremen (4)
• Hamburger SV (3)
• VfB Stuttgart (3)

As of June 2010 the following clubs are allowed to wear one star while playing outside the Bundesliga. The number in parentheses is for total league championships won over the course of German football history, and would be included within the star.

Media coverage[link]

Domestically, Sky holds the rights to broadcast all first and second division matches on a pay television basis. Deutsche Telekom holds the IPTV rights. Only four matches – the season opener, the first match after the winter break, and both legs of the relegation playoff – are broadcast on free television, on ARD.

GOL TV has exclusive U.S. and Canadian rights to broadcast the Bundesliga, however ESPN3 also broadcasts certain games that GOL TV does not pick up. In Australia the Bundesliga is broadcast by Setanta Sports and digital channel One HD. Sport Klub has the rights to broadcast in Serbia. In Greece, most Bundesliga matches are broadcast on OTE's cable TV platform, Conn-x TV Sports. SportTV broadcast one live game per week for Portugal. In Spain the Bundesliga is broadcast by Digital+, In Italy the Bundesliga is broadcast by Sky Sport.

In the United Kingdom the Bundesliga was formerly available to Setanta Sports subscribers with two games shown per week on average. However after Setanta's UK division went out of business due to financial problems, Eurosport secured the rights to broadcast the Bundesliga in several European countries, on their secondary channel, Eurosport 2. From the start of the 2009–10 season, ESPN's UK channel broadcasts live Bundesliga matches in the UK.

In Australia four exclusive games per week from the Bundesliga are broadcast on Setanta Sports & Match of the Week Live or Delay on ONE HD.

In India, up to three matches a week are shown on Neo Sports, generally two live and one delayed.

The rights to broadcast the Bundesliga are generally marketed by the DFL.

In Mexico, TVC Deportes have 5 exclusive games per week.

In China, CCTV5 have exclusive matches every week.

In Philippines, AKTV on IBC have exclusive games every week.

Champions[link]

In total, 43 clubs have won the German championship. FC Bayern Munich have 22 titles, more than any other club. The clubs with the next most titles are BFC Dynamo Berlin (10; all accomplished in the GDR Oberliga) and 1. FC Nuremberg (9).

The clubs with the most Bundesliga titles besides FC Bayern Munich (21 titles) are Borussia Mönchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund (5), Werder Bremen (4), Hamburger SV and VfB Stuttgart are tied with (3) in addition to 1. FC Köln and FC Kaiserslautern who have (2) while TSV 1860 Munich, Eintracht Braunschweig, 1. FC Nuremberg and VfL Wolfsburg have (1).

Borussia Dortmund are the current title-holders.

Records[link]

Charly Körbel

Top Ten Players With Most Appearances^[7]

Player		Period	Club	Games
1	Karl-Heinz Körbel	1972–1991	Eintracht Frankfurt	602
2	Manfred Kaltz	1971–1991	Hamburger SV	581
3	Oliver Kahn	1987–2008	FC Bayern Munich	557
4	Klaus Fichtel	1965–1988	FC Schalke 04	552
5	Miroslav Votava	1976–1996	SV Werder Bremen	546
6	Klaus Fischer	1968–1988	FC Schalke 04	535
7	Eike Immel	1978–1995	VfB Stuttgart	534
8	Willi Neuberger	1966–1983	Eintracht Frankfurt	520
9	Michael Lameck	1972–1988	VfL Bochum	518
10	Uli Stein	1978–1997	Hamburger SV	512

Gerd Müller

Top Ten Goalscorers^[8]

Player		Period	Club	Goals
1	Gerd Müller	1965–1979	FC Bayern Munich	365 (Ø 0,85)
2	Klaus Fischer	1968–1988	FC Schalke 04	268 (Ø 0,50)
3	Jupp Heynckes	1965–1978	Borussia Mönchengladbach	220 (Ø 0,60)
4	Manfred Burgsmüller	1969–1990	Borussia Dortmund	213 (Ø 0,48)
5	Ulf Kirsten	1990–2003	Bayer 04 Leverkusen	181 (Ø 0,52)
6	Stefan Kuntz	1983–1999	1. FC Kaiserslautern	179 (Ø 0,40)
7	Dieter Müller	1973–1986	1. FC Köln	177 (Ø 0,58)
8	Klaus Allofs	1975–1993	1. FC Köln	177 (Ø 0,42)
9	Hannes Löhr	1964–1977	1. FC Köln	166 (Ø 0,44)
10	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	1974–1984	FC Bayern Munich	162 (Ø 0,52)

Player records[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

• The youngest player to play was Nuri Şahin of Borussia Dortmund (16 years and 335 days).
• The youngest player to score was Nuri Şahin of Borussia Dortmund (17 years and 82 days).
• The oldest player was Klaus Fichtel of FC Schalke 04 (43 years old).
• Most own goals scored: 6 by Manfred Kaltz of Hamburger SV, 6 by Nikolče Noveski of Mainz 05.
• Most red cards received: Jens Nowotny (8), Stefan Effenberg, Sergej Barbarez and Torsten Kracht (7 each).
• Most goals scored by a foreign player: 160 by Claudio Pizarro (as of 5 May 2012).
• Most goals scored by penalties: Manfred Kaltz (53 with 7 missed penalties).
• Most goals conceded by a goalkeeper: 829 by Eike Immel (in 534 games).
• Most clean sheets by a goalkeeper: 196 by Oliver Kahn (in 557 games).
• Most championships won as player: 8 by Mehmet Scholl and Oliver Kahn
• Most championships won as coach: 8 by Udo Lattek.
• Fastest Goal: Ulf Kirsten (Bayer Leverkusen) after 11 seconds (against Kaiserslautern in 2002.)
• The longest period of time as coach, is Volker Finke by over 16 years.
• The longest consecutive scoring streak with a new club :6 goals in 6 games by Mohamed Zidan of Mainz 05 (as of 10 March 2012).