| 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 (4th BL title) (2010–11) |
| 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. 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.
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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:
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:
For several years, 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 (seven games beginning at 3:30 pm) and Sundays (two games beginning at 5:00 pm). A new television deal in 2006 reintroduced a Friday game (beginning at 8:30 pm) in place of one of the Saturday matches.
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 re-named 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.
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.
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).
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:
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.
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.
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
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| FC Augsburg | Augsburg | SGL Arena | 30,660 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | Leverkusen | BayArena | 30,210 |
| Bayern Munich | Munich | Allianz Arena | 69,000 |
| Borussia Dortmund | Dortmund | Signal Iduna Park | 80,720 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | Mönchengladbach | Borussia-Park | 54,057 |
| SC Freiburg | Freiburg | Badenova-Stadion | 25,000 |
| Hamburger SV | Hamburg | Imtech Arena | 57,000 |
| Hannover 96 | Hanover | AWD-Arena | 49,000 |
| Hertha BSC | Berlin | Olympiastadion | 74,244 |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | Sinsheim | Rhein-Neckar-Arena | 30,150 |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Kaiserslautern | Fritz Walter Stadion | 49,780 |
| 1. FC Köln | Cologne | RheinEnergieStadion | 50,000 |
| 1. FSV Mainz 05 | Mainz | Coface Arena | 33,500 |
| 1. FC Nuremberg | Nuremberg | EasyCredit-Stadion | 48,548 |
| Schalke 04 | Gelsenkirchen | Veltins-Arena | 61,673 |
| VfB Stuttgart | Stuttgart | Mercedes-Benz Arena | 60,300 |
| Werder Bremen | Bremen | Weserstadion | 42,000 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | Wolfsburg | Volkswagen Arena | 30,000 |
In 2004, the honor of “Verdiente Meistervereine” (roughly “distinguished champion clubs”) was introduced, following a custom first practised by the Italian Football Federation,[4] to recognize sides that have won multiple championships or other honours by the display of gold stars on their team crests 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.
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.
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Domestically, Sky holds the rights to broadcast both 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.
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 (5), Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund (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.
| Player | Period | Club[8] | 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 |
| Player | Period | Club[10] | 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) |
Most positive club records are held by Bayern Munich. The major ones are:
Bayern is not the club with the most seasons in the Bundesliga, though. Hamburg is the only club that has participated in each of the 46 seasons. At the far end Tasmania 1900 Berlin holds an extraordinary list of worst-of records, all achieved in their 1965–66 one-season Bundesliga spell. These records include:
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