The 2. Bundesliga(Zweite Bundesliga[ˈtsvaɪtə ˈbʊndəsˌliːɡa], lit. '2nd Federal League') is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below the Bundesliga and above the 3. Liga in the German football league system. All of the 2. Bundesliga clubs take part in the DFB-Pokal, the annual German Cup competition. A total of 127 clubs have competed in the 2. Bundesliga since its foundation.
The German football league system, or league pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system for association football in Germany that in the 2016–17 season consisted of 2,235 leagues in up to 13 levels having 31,645 teams, in which all divisions are bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation. The top three professional levels contain one division each. Below this, the semi-professional and amateur levels have progressively more parallel divisions, which each cover progressively smaller geographic areas. Teams that finish at the top of their division at the end of each season can rise higher in the pyramid, while those that finish at the bottom find themselves sinking further down. Therefore, in theory, it is possible for even the lowest local amateur club to rise to the top of the system and become German football champions one day. The number of teams promoted and relegated between the divisions varies, and promotion to the upper levels of the pyramid is usually contingent on meeting additional criteria, especially concerning appropriate facilities and finances.
Armin Veh is a German football manager and former player who last managed Eintracht Frankfurt. He won the German championship with Bundesliga team VfB Stuttgart in 2007. Veh and his team also had the chance to win "the double" by winning the DFB-Pokal on 26 May 2007 in Berlin, but lost 3–2 in overtime against 1. FC Nürnberg. From 11 December 2017 to 8 December 2019, Veh was the sports director of 1. FC Köln. During his playing career, he played as a midfielder.
The 1997–98 DFB-Pokal was the 55th season of the annual German football cup competition. 64 teams competed in the tournament of six rounds which began on 14 August 1997 and ended on 16 May 1998. In the final Bayern Munich defeated MSV Duisburg 2–1 thereby claiming their ninth title.
The 1992–93 DFB-Pokal was the 50th season of the annual German football cup competition. 83 teams competed in the tournament of seven rounds which began on 18 August 1992 and ended on 12 June 1993. In the final Bayer Leverkusen defeated the second team of Hertha Berlin 1–0. It was the first time a third-tier team made it to the DFB-Pokal final, and the only time a reserve team has.
Sascha Rösler is a German retired footballer who played as a midfielder.
Martin Harnik is an Austrian professional footballer who plays for German fifth-tier club TuS Dassendorf. He has represented the Austria national football team. He plays as a forward or as a right winger.
The Oberliga Süd was the southernmost of the five Oberligen, the regional leagues forming the top level of association football in West Germany from 1945 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. Oberliga Süd covered the southern three German states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse.
The Oberliga West was the highest level of the German football league system in the west of Germany from 1947 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany.
The 2010–11 Regionalliga season was the seventeenth since its re-establishment after German reunification and the third as a fourth-level league within the German football league system. It was contested in three divisions with eighteen teams each.
The 2012–13 DFB-Pokal was the 70th season of the annual German football cup competition. It began on 17 August 2012 with the first of six rounds and ended on 1 June 2013 with the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. The defending champions were Borussia Dortmund, but they were beaten by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. Bayern Munich went on to win the competition, defeating VfB Stuttgart 3–2 in the final, ultimately going on to conquer the continental treble. As runners-up, VfB Stuttgart have qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, since Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga and thus gained the right to compete in the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League.
Adriano Grimaldi is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for 1. FC Saarbrücken.
Heinz Lucas was a German football player and manager. He managed several clubs in the German Bundesliga – including Fortuna Düsseldorf, where he had the most successful stint of his career, reaching third place twice in the 1972–1973 and 1973–1974 seasons.
The 1994–95 Regionalliga season was the first year of the Regionalliga as the third tier of German football. There were four regional sections, Nord, Nordost, West-Südwest and Süd, each with eighteen teams. Most teams qualified from the Oberliga, which dropped to become a fourth-tier league, while five teams were relegated from the previous year's 2. Bundesliga. In the Nord section, four teams were promoted from the formerly fourth-tier Verbandsliga.
The 2002–03 Regionalliga season was the ninth season of the Regionalliga at tier three (III) of the German football league system.
The 1980–81 Eintracht Frankfurt season was the 81st season in the club's football history. In 1980–81 the club played in the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football. It was the club's 18th season in the Bundesliga.
The 2015–16 DFB-Pokal was the 73rd season of the annual German football cup competition. Sixty-four teams participated in the competition, including all teams from the previous year's Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It began on 7 August 2015 with the first of six rounds and ended on 21 May 2016 with the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, a nominally neutral venue, which has hosted the final since 1985. The DFB-Pokal is considered the second-most important club title in German football after the Bundesliga championship. The DFB-Pokal is run by the German Football Association (DFB).
The 2000–01 Eintracht Frankfurt season was the 101st season in the club's football history. In 2000–01 the club played in the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football. It was the club's 99th season in the first tier.
The 2018–19 DFB-Pokal was the 76th season of the annual German football cup competition. Sixty-four teams participated in the competition, including all teams from the previous year's Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. The competition began on 17 August 2018 with the first of six rounds and ended on 25 May 2019 with the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, a nominally neutral venue, which has hosted the final since 1985. The DFB-Pokal is considered the second-most important club title in German football after the Bundesliga championship. The DFB-Pokal is run by the German Football Association (DFB).
