Promotion to Bundesliga - The Final Battle

The 2. Bundesliga season is now in the books an there are two new faces that will be a mainstay in the Bundesliga next season.  Greuther Furth won the 2. Bundesliga championship with 70 points, while Eintracht Frankfurt came in second with 68 points.   The third spot and an opportunity to go into a play off with 16th place in the Bundesliga was captured on the last matchday by Fortuna Duesseldorf. 

Greuther Furth completed the season with 20 wins, 10 draws and 4 losses and a goal tally of  73-27.  Eintracht Frankfurt's season ended with 20 wins, 8 draws and 6  losses, with 76-33 goals.  

For Fortuna Duesseldorf the playoff spot for promotion came down to goal difference with FC St. Pauli.  Although tied for points at 62, Duesseldorf and four more goals in its goal tally at +29 to +25. 

1. FC Kaiserslautern and 1. FC Koeln will take the direct path of relegation to the 2. Bundesliga.  Although Koeln led Hertha after Matchday 33, a defeat handed to them by FC Bayern and a vital win for Otto Rehagel's Berlin outfit catapulted the Berliners into 16th place, with an opportunity to remain in the Bundeslig with a series of two playoffs against Duesseldorf.

The relegation matches will be played on May 10th in Berlin and May 15th in Duesseldorf.

Berliners will host two vital matches next week, one being the relegation match and on the 12th the DFB Cup final between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern on May 12th.

The final competition for the crown of the Champions League will take place in the Allianz Stadium in Munich, when FC Bayern hosts Chelsea on May 19th.

There will be no rest for the wicked though, many of the Dortmund and Bayern players will  join the German national side in preparation of the European Championship, which starts on June 18th, with venues in the Ukraine and Poland.

There should be no soccer drought this summer, while fans wait for the next Bundesliga season to kick off.