Safekipedia2. Bundesliga
Adapted from Wikipedia · Adventurer experience
The 2. Bundesliga is the second-highest level of professional football in Germany. It was created 11 years after the top league, the Bundesliga, to give more teams a chance to play at a high level. The league sits between the Bundesliga and the 3. Liga in the German football league system.
It began in August 1974, originally with two groups of 20 teams. Later, it changed to one group of 18 teams. Each season, the top two teams move up to the Bundesliga. The third-place team can also move up by winning a playoff. Teams that finish near the bottom of the league may drop down to the third division.
Many important clubs have played in the 2. Bundesliga, and some have moved up to the top league many times. For the 2024–25 season, it had the highest average attendance of any second-tier league in the world, showing how popular it is with fans.
History
Background
When the Bundesliga started in 1963, five Regionalliga leagues were created as the second-highest level. These were South, Southwest, West, North, and Berlin. The best teams from each Regionalliga played against teams that were dropped from the Bundesliga. However, this system caused money problems for clubs, as being dropped from the Bundesliga could hurt a club's finances.
Formation
The 2. Bundesliga replaced the five Regionalligas in the 1974-75 season. The league was split into northern and southern divisions, each with 20 teams. The top team in each division moved up to the Bundesliga, while the second-placed teams played for the third spot. The bottom four teams in each division were dropped.
2. Bundesliga North and South 1974 to 1981
The first match of the league was played in 1974 between 1. FC Saarbrücken and Darmstadt 98. The league's first champions were Hannover 96 in the north and Karlsruher SC in the south. Over the years, different teams won the league and moved up to the Bundesliga.
Single division era 1981 to 1991
In 1981, the league became a single division with 20 teams. The top two teams moved up to the Bundesliga, while the third-placed team played a match against a Bundesliga team for promotion. The bottom four teams were dropped.
German reunification 1991–92
After German reunification in 1991, the league was temporarily expanded to 24 teams to include East German clubs. It returned to a single division of 24 teams the next season.
Single division era 1992 to present
From 1992 onward, the league operated as a single division. The number of teams and the rules for moving up and down changed several times over the years. Teams like SC Freiburg, VfL Bochum, and Arminia Bielefeld won the league and moved up to the Bundesliga. The league kept changing its format and rules.
Logo history
In 1996, the Bundesliga got its first logo. Six years later, the logo changed to a portrait shape and stayed that way until 2010. A new logo was made for the 2010–11 season to look modern on all screens. For the league’s 50th birthday in the 2012–13 season, a special logo was used. After that, the 2010 logo came back.
In December 2016, it was decided that the 2. Bundesliga would get its own logo starting with the 2017–18 season. Before this, it had used the Bundesliga logo. The new logo was made to make the league more special for fans, media, and sponsors.
All-time table
The team that has been most consistent in the league is SpVgg Greuther Fürth. They have earned 1800 points in 1230 games. FC St. Pauli is in second place with 1690 points, and Hannover 96 is third with 1607 points. The team in last place is Spandauer SV with only ten points.
Clubs
Main article: List of clubs in the 2. Bundesliga
Members for 2025-26
Main article: 2025-26 2. Bundesliga
Here are the teams playing in the 2. Bundesliga for 2025-26:
- Bielefeld
- Bochum
- Braun-
schweig - Hertha BSC
- Darmstadt
- Dynamo Dresden
- Düsseldorf
- Elversberg
- Fürth
- Hannover
- Holstein Kiel
- Kaiserslautern
- Karlsruhe
- Magdeburg
- Münster
- Nürnberg
- Paderborn
- Schalke
Locations of the 2025–26 2. Bundesliga teams
Seasons in 2. Bundesliga
Many teams have played in the 2. Bundesliga over the years. Some teams are currently playing, while others are not active anymore.
Division set-up
The 2. Bundesliga has had different numbers of teams over the years. Since 1994–95, there have been 18 teams. Before that, the league changed in size and sometimes had two groups.
Teams can move up to the Bundesliga. From 1992–93 to 2008–09, the top three teams moved up, but now only the top two move up automatically. The third-place team plays against a team from the Bundesliga to see who gets to stay or move up.
Teams can also move down to lower leagues. Until 2008–09, the bottom four teams moved down, but now only the bottom two teams move down automatically. The third-from-bottom team can stay up by winning a playoff against a team from the 3. Liga.
Main article: Promotion to the Bundesliga
League rules
Since the 2006–07 season, clubs in the 2. Bundesliga no longer limit players from outside the European Union. Each club must have eight players who grew up in German youth teams. Four of these must come from the club's own youth program. Teams can choose seven extra players for the bench, and three of them can play in the game.
League champions
2. Bundesliga
2. Bundesliga
- Bold shows the team that moved up to a higher league.
Promoted and relegated teams
See also: Promotion to the Bundesliga, Promotion to the 2. Bundesliga, and List of clubs in the 2. Bundesliga
The following is a list of teams that moved up to and down from the 2. Bundesliga:
Records
The 2. Bundesliga is the only football league in Germany where teams from every state have played. Greuther Fürth has earned the most points since the league began, with 1,708 points in 1,160 games by the end of the 2022–23 season. Next are FC St. Pauli with 1,621 points and Hannover 96 with 1,498 points.
Greuther Fürth also scored the most goals, with 1,721 in 1,484 games. The best goal difference belongs to Hannover 96 with +304. Eight clubs have moved directly from the third division to the top league, including 1860 Munich and Fortuna Düsseldorf.
SC Fortuna Köln stayed in the 2. Bundesliga for 26 years without dropping down. Hertha BSC set a single-season points record in the 2012–13 season with 76 points.
Horst Hrubesch scored the most goals in one season, with 41 for Rot-Weiss Essen in 1977–78. Hertha BSC scored the most goals in a season, with 123 in 1980–81.
Willi Landgraf played the most games in the league, with 508 appearances. Arminia Bielefeld had the biggest win ever, beating SV Arminia Hannover 11–0 in 1979–80.
The game with the most goals was a 7–6 win for 1. FC Kaiserslautern against SV Meppen in 1996–97. Benjamin Siegert scored the fastest goal ever in German professional football after just eight seconds in 2007.
The most spectators at a 2. Bundesliga game were 77,116 for a match between Hertha BSC and FC Augsburg in 2010–11.
Player records
Appearances
As of end of 2023–24 season.
Top scorers
As of end of 2023–24 season.
Match records
| Rank | Player | Apps | Years | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Willi Landgraf | 508 | 1987–2006 | Alemannia Aachen 188, Rot-Weiss Essen 119, FC Homburg 107, FC Gütersloh 94 |
| 2 |  Joaquín Montañés | 479 | 1974–1989 | Alemannia Aachen 479 |
| 3 | Karl-Heinz Schulz | 463 | 1977–1991 | SC Freiburg 287, Freiburger FC 176 |
| 4 | Hans Wulf | 440 | 1974–1989 | Hessen Kassel 231, Schwarz-Weiß Essen 118, Wormatia Worms 59, Hannover 96 32 |
| 5 | Wolfgang Krüger | 428 | 1975–1988 | Union Solingen 428 |
| 6 | Hans-Jürgen Gede | 416 | 1977–1990 | Fortuna Köln 344, Preußen Münster 72 |
| 7 | Andreas Helmer | 411 | 1983–1998 | SV Meppen 244, VfL Osnabrück 167 |
| 8 | Gerd Paulus | 407 | 1974–1989 | Kickers Offenbach 304, SV Röchling Völklingen 103 |
| 9 | Oliver Posniak | 403 | 1977–1989 | Darmstadt 98 290, FSV Frankfurt 113 |
| 10 | Dirk Hupe | 399 | 1975–1994 | Fortuna Köln 212, Union Solingen 187 |
| Rank | Player | Goals | Apps | Ratio | Years | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simon Terodde | 177 | 311 | 0.57 | 2008–2024 | VfL Bochum (41/66), Schalke 04 (35/58), 1. FC Köln (29/33), VfB Stuttgart (25/32), Hamburger SV (24/33), Union Berlin (23/87), MSV Duisburg (0/2) |
| 2 | Dieter Schatzschneider | 153 | 201 | 0.76 | 1978–1987 | Hannover 96 (131/160), Fortuna Köln (22/41) |
| 3 | Karl-Heinz Mödrath | 150 | 272 | 0.55 | 1974–1983 | Fortuna Köln (143/247), Alemannia Aachen (7/25) |
| 4 | Theo Gries | 123 | 293 | 0.42 | 1985–1994 | Hertha BSC (67/148), Alemannia Aachen (47/125), Hannover 96 (8/20) |
| 5 | Sven Demandt | 121 | 317 | 0.38 | 1987–2001 | Mainz 05 (55/179), Fortuna Düsseldorf (49/74), Hertha BSC (17/64) |
| 6 | Walter Krause | 120 | 273 | 0.44 | 1974–1983 | Kickers Offenbach (98/237), Wattenscheid 09 (13/20), Rot-Weiß Oberhausen (9/16) |
| 7 | Daniel Jurgeleit | 117 | 393 | 0.30 | 1982–1997 | Union Solingen (59/193), FC Homburg (34/133), VfB Lübeck (24/67) |
| 8 | Gerd-Volker Schock | 116 | 242 | 0.48 | 1974–1984 | VfL Osnabrück (95/205), Arminia Bielefeld (21/37) |
| 9 | Franz Gerber | 115 | 213 | 0.54 | 1975–1987 | FC St. Pauli (42/73), ESV Ingolstadt (23/36), Wuppertaler SV (19/32), 1860 Munich (19/35), Hannover 96 (12/37) |
| Paul Linz | 115 | 233 | 0.49 | 1979–1988 | VfL Osnabrück (52/108), Freiburger FC (36/69), Waldhof Mannheim (16/37), OSC Bremerhaven (11/19) |
Spectators
The number of people who watch the games in the 2. Bundesliga since 1992 is shown here. This was when the league went back to having one group.
| Spectators | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Over all | Average | Best supported club | Average |
| 1992–93 | 3,098,153 | 5,613 | FC St. Pauli | 14,120 |
| 1993–94 | 2,649,849 | 6,973 | 1860 Munich | 19,553 |
| 1994–95 | 2,238,271 | 7,315 | FC St. Pauli | 17,211 |
| 1995–96 | 2,300,480 | 7,518 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 16,465 |
| 1996–97 | 2,731,439 | 8,952 | 1.FC Kaiserslautern | 36,680 |
| 1997–98 | 2,843,170 | 9,291 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 24,759 |
| 1998–99 | 2,635,431 | 8,613 | Hannover 96 | 19,229 |
| 1999–2000 | 3,735,624 | 12,208 | 1. FC Köln | 28,853 |
| 2000–01 | 3,218,861 | 10,519 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 23,458 |
| 2001–02 | 2,760,839 | 9,022 | Hannover 96 | 20,562 |
| 2002–03 | 3,403,895 | 11,124 | 1. FC Köln | 26,459 |
| 2003–04 | 2,911,457 | 9,515 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 16,152 |
| 2004–05 | 4,135,108 | 13,513 | 1. FC Köln | 38,482 |
| 2005–06 | 4,024,776 | 13,153 | 1860 Munich | 41,932 |
| 2006–07 | 5,112,072 | 16,706 | 1. FC Köln | 42,194 |
| 2007–08 | 5,551,586 | 18,142 | 1. FC Köln | 43,763 |
| 2008–09 | 4,814,737 | 15,734 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 34,409 |
| 2009–10 | 4,616,048 | 15,085 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 35,398 |
| 2010–11 | 4,526,857 | 14,794 | Hertha BSC | 46,131 |
| 2011–12 | 5,276,103 | 17,242 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 37,641 |
| 2012–13 | 5,274,798 | 17,238 | 1. FC Köln | 40,688 |
| 2013–14 | 5,475,652 | 17,894 | 1. FC Köln | 46,176 |
| 2014–15 | 5,405,811 | 17,666 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 33,013 |
| 2015–16 | 5,857,626 | 19,143 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 30,723 |
| 2016–17 | 6,645,406 | 21,717 | VfB Stuttgart | 50,515 |
| 2017–18 | 5,380,757 | 17,584 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 30,558 |
| 2018–19 | 5,853,246 | 19,128 | 1. FC Köln | 49,547 |
| 2019–20 | 4,583,300 | 14,978 | VfB Stuttgart | 39,503 |
| 2020–21 | 104,547 | 342 | Hannover 96 | 982 |
| 2021–22 | 4,123,434 | 13,699 | Schalke 04 | 33,528 |
| 2022–23 | 6,800,413 | 22,224 | Hamburger SV | 53,529 |
| 2023–24 | 8,929,748 | 29,182 | Schalke 04 | 61,502 |
| 2024–25 | 9,434,101 | 30,830 | Schalke 04 | 61,619 |
| 2025–26 | 8,755,307 | 28,612 | Schalke 04 | 61,700 |
Top scorers
Main article: List of 2. Bundesliga top scorers
Here are the ten most recent players who scored the most goals in the league:
Second division in the European Cup
Clubs from the 2. Bundesliga have played in European competitions six times. After East Germany joined Germany in 1991, teams like FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt and Hallescher FC joined the 2. Bundesliga and played in the UEFA Cup.
Later, teams such as Hannover 96, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Union Berlin, and Alemannia Aachen also took part in European competitions like the UEFA Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup. Some of these teams were eliminated early, while others advanced a bit further.
Related articles
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