2nd league
The fear of crashing: Who has to go to the 3rd league?
Kaiserslautern’s coach Friedhelm Funkel wants to avoid relegation to the 3rd league. photo
© Marcus Brandt/dpa
More clubs are involved in the fight against relegation in the second division than in the promotion race. Moving to the third division would hit the clubs hard – especially the prominent ones.
Even the worst rival is worried about FC Schalke 04, 1. FC Kaiserslautern is threatened with the bitter move to the 3rd league as a cup finalist: In the ever-tightening relegation battle in the 2nd Bundesliga, the fear of that is running high Crash – especially at the renowned traditional clubs that played at the top for decades and won important titles.
Experienced coach Friedhelm Funkel found it difficult to find “the right words” after the Palatinate team’s next setback. Four days after the celebrated entry into the final in Berlin, Kaiserslautern slipped into a direct relegation spot on Saturday after losing 2-1 at Hamburger SV – and suddenly has one of the worst starting positions of the seven to eight, some of them prominent, clubs in the second division, and the very expensive gear in to prevent the 3rd league after all.
Huge financial differences
“I am totally convinced that we will get the points we need in the remaining games if we perform like we did in Hamburg,” said Funkel. This belief is also spread by those responsible at FC Schalke, the former major GDR club 1. FC Magdeburg, Hansa Rostock and Eintracht Braunschweig, among others. But someone has to go down straight away. Schalke conceded the equalizer in the final phase of the 1-1 draw at Hannover 96 on Sunday – another goal that hurt a lot.
Although the former Bundesliga heavyweight climbed to 13th place behind the Magdeburg team with the same points (both 32), the lead over Kaiserslautern (29) in 17th place is only three points. Eintracht Braunschweig (30) occupies the relegation place after a 0-2 defeat at Fortuna Düsseldorf on Sunday. The bottom of the table, VfL Osnabrück (24), caught up a bit with a 2-0 win against SpVgg Greuther Fürth. The second winner of the weekend in the cellar was Rostock with a 3-1 win on Friday against Wehen Wiesbaden (both 31).
The financial difference between the second and third highest division is enormous, and depending on the club, it could possibly threaten the existence of the club. The 20 clubs in the 3rd league earned around 187 million euros in the 2021/22 season – the German Football League reports total revenue for the 18 clubs amounting to 868 million euros for the same season in the 2nd Bundesliga.
“Horror idea” for Watzke
Rumors had been circulating in Gelsenkirchen in recent days that the arena might have to be sold in order to renovate the club. Schalke’s response was not a clear denial, but rather an affirmation that the club was examining “fundamentally different options for different scenarios.”
Hans-Joachim Watzke, managing director of arch-rival Borussia Dortmund, said the idea of BVB’s second team playing in the third division against Schalke would be “a horror idea”. “What should I do for Schalke? Keep my fingers crossed that they stay in the second division!” the 64-year-old said in the podcast “Playmaker – The European Championship Talk with Sebastian Hellmann and 360Media”.
For Magdeburg, Rostock, Braunschweig, Wehen Wiesbaden, Osnabrück and also Kaiserslautern, games in the third division are generally nothing unusual. However, experience has taught clubs not to want to experience such seasons again in the near future.
Funkel “totally proud” after defeat
Accordingly, Rostock celebrated their victory against Wiesbaden on Friday. “It’s getting tougher every week. We need patience, we need faith, we need our fans,” said coach Mersad Selimbegovic. The Magdeburgers tried hard to take positive things from the 0-0 draw in Elversberg. “It was important to keep a clean sheet on defense. The luck in the game that you need in football is missing a bit at the front,” said midfielder Daniel Elfadli.
Funkel gathered his players on the lawn on Saturday for the speech. “I did it here for the first time because I wanted to let the team know straight away that I was really proud,” said the 70-year-old. The team didn’t notice the cup semi-final at 1. FC Saarbrücken, nor did it show that “the boys really celebrated, they were allowed to do that.” For him, “the performance and the how” are important – especially in the final phase of the season in the relegation battle.