# 1997–98 Regionalliga

The 1997–98 Regionalliga was the fourth season of the Regionalliga as the third tier of German football. The league was organised in four regional divisions, Nord, Nordost, West-Südwest and Süd.
Hannover 96, Tennis Borussia Berlin, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen and SSV Ulm 1846 were promoted to the 2. Bundesliga.

## North
### Final table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Hannover 96 (C, P) | 34 | 28 | 5 | 1 | 120 | 29 | +91 | 89 | Qualification to promotion play-offs |
| 2 | Eintracht Braunschweig | 34 | 26 | 4 | 4 | 70 | 24 | +46 | 82 | |
| 3 | VfL Osnabrück | 34 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 70 | 28 | +42 | 66 | |
| 4 | SV Werder Bremen II | 34 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 91 | 52 | +39 | 65 | |
| 5 | VfB Oldenburg | 34 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 69 | 48 | +21 | 63 | |
| 6 | Arminia Hannover | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 65 | 45 | +20 | 56 | |
| 7 | VfB Lübeck | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 60 | 45 | +15 | 54 | |
| 8 | Kickers Emden | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 54 | 65 | −11 | 44 | |
| 9 | SV Wilhelmshaven | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 47 | 56 | −9 | 42 | |
| 10 | Eintracht Nordhorn | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 50 | 62 | −12 | 40 | |
| 11 | VfL 93 Hamburg (R) | 34 | 12 | 4 | 18 | 51 | 78 | −27 | 40 | Relegation to Oberliga |
| 12 | TuS Celle | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 50 | 68 | −18 | 39 | |
| 13 | Sportfreunde Ricklingen | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 40 | 59 | −19 | 37 | |
| 14 | Hamburger SV II | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 51 | 59 | −8 | 36 | |
| 15 | VfL Herzlake | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 39 | 71 | −32 | 33 | |
| 16 | 1. SC Norderstedt | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 44 | 64 | −20 | 31 | |
| 17 | SV Atlas Delmenhorst (R) | 34 | 5 | 6 | 23 | 37 | 83 | −46 | 21 | Relegation to Oberliga |
| 18 | Göttingen 05 (R) | 34 | 2 | 7 | 25 | 35 | 107 | −72 | 13 | Relegation to Oberliga |
* ↑ VfL 93 Hamburg were demoted.

### Top scorers

| # | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1. | Markus Erdmann | Arminia Hannover | 34 |
| 2. | Sören Seidel | Werder Bremen (A) | 27 |
| 3. | Vladan Milovanović | Hannover 96 | 22 |
| 4. | Marinus Bester | VfL 93 Hamburg | 20 |
| 5. | Gerald Asamoah | Hannover 96 | 19 |
| 6. | Miloš Kolaković | Eintracht Braunschweig | 18 |
| 7. | Jürgen Degen | VfL 93 Hamburg Hannover 96 | 17 |
| 7. | Martin Przondziono | VfL Osnabrück | 17 |
| 9. | Muhamet Lajqi | Eintracht Nordhorn | 15 |
| 10. | Markus Burmeister | 1. SC Norderstedt | 14 |
| 10. | Horst Elberfeld | VfB Oldenburg | 14 |

## North-East
### Final table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Tennis Borussia Berlin (C, P) | 34 | 29 | 5 | 0 | 86 | 7 | +79 | 92 | Qualification to promotion play-offs |
| 2 | Dynamo Dresden | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 60 | 39 | +21 | 60 | |
| 3 | Eisenhüttenstädter FC Stahl | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 68 | 55 | +13 | 57 | |
| 4 | FC Sachsen Leipzig | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 60 | 36 | +24 | 56 | |
| 5 | FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 59 | 49 | +10 | 56 | |
| 6 | 1. FC Union Berlin | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 46 | 36 | +10 | 54 | |
| 7 | Erzgebirge Aue | 34 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 52 | |
| 8 | Chemnitzer FC | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 54 | 36 | +18 | 51 | |
| 9 | Lok Altmark Stendal | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 51 | |
| 10 | VFC Plauen | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 55 | 51 | +4 | 48 | |
| 11 | FC Berlin | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 55 | 55 | 0 | 43 | |
| 12 | 1. FC Magdeburg | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 60 | 65 | −5 | 39 | |
| 13 | Spandauer SV | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 42 | 64 | −22 | 39 | |
| 14 | SV Babelsberg 03 | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 33 | 50 | −17 | 38 | |
| 15 | Hertha Zehlendorf (R) | 34 | 9 | 7 | 18 | 39 | 62 | −23 | 34 | Relegation to Oberliga |
| 16 | Reinickendorfer Füchse (R) | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 27 | 64 | −37 | 31 | Relegation to Oberliga |
| 17 | FSV Wacker 90 Nordhausen (R) | 34 | 7 | 8 | 19 | 32 | 58 | −26 | 29 | Relegation to Oberliga |
| 18 | F.C. Hansa Rostock II (R) | 34 | 5 | 5 | 24 | 34 | 77 | −43 | 20 | Relegation to Oberliga |

### Top scorers

| # | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1. | Rainer Wiedemann | Lok Altmark Stendal | 25 |
| 2. | Mike Lünsmann | FC Sachsen Leipzig / Tennis Borussia Berlin | 18 |
| 3. | Ilija Aračić | Tennis Borussia Berlin | 16 |
| 3. | Torsten Gütschow | Dynamo Dresden | 16 |
| 5. | Rocco Milde | Dynamo Dresden | 15 |
| 5. | Mirko Ullmann | Chemnitzer FC | 15 |
| 7. | Mike Klenge | EFC Stahl | 14 |
| 8. | Francisco Copado | Tennis Borussia Berlin | 12 |
| 8. | Kreso Kovacec | Tennis Borussia Berlin | 12 |
| 8. | Stephan Kuhlow | Hertha Zehlendorf | 12 |
| 8. | Nico Patschinski | 1. FC Union Berlin / SV Babelsberg 03 | 12 |

## West/South-West
### Final table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Rot-Weiß Oberhausen (C, P) | 34 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 66 | 31 | +35 | 71 | Promotion to 2. Bundesliga |
| 2 | Sportfreunde Siegen | 34 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 69 | 37 | +32 | 65 | Qualification to promotion play-offs |
| 3 | FC 08 Homburg | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 70 | 38 | +32 | 59 | |
| 4 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 34 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 70 | 43 | +27 | 59 | |
| 5 | Eintracht Trier | 34 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 56 | 41 | +15 | 54 | |
| 6 | LR Ahlen | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 62 | 52 | +10 | 51 | |
| 7 | Alemannia Aachen | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 62 | 46 | +16 | 49 | |
| 8 | Preußen Münster | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 57 | 48 | +9 | 49 | |
| 9 | SC Paderborn 07 | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 61 | 37 | +24 | 48 | |
| 10 | SC Verl | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 52 | 56 | −4 | 47 | |
| 11 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern II | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 45 | 46 | −1 | 46 | |
| 12 | Wuppertaler SV | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 49 | 58 | −9 | 43 | |
| 13 | FC Remscheid | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 40 | 55 | −15 | 38 | |
| 14 | FSV Salmrohr | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 33 | 66 | −33 | 37 | |
| 15 | SpVgg Erkenschwick | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 41 | 69 | −28 | 36 | |
| 16 | Bonner SC (R) | 34 | 10 | 5 | 19 | 34 | 65 | −31 | 35 | Relegation to Oberliga |
| 17 | Rot-Weiss Essen (R) | 34 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 41 | 80 | −39 | 30 | Relegation to Oberliga |
| 18 | FC Germania 1910 Teveren (R) | 34 | 6 | 6 | 22 | 32 | 72 | −40 | 24 | Relegation to Oberliga |

### Top scorers

| # | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1. | Branko Zibert | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 20 |
| 2. | Veselin Petkov Gerov | SC Paderborn 07 | 19 |
| 3. | Mario Krohm | Alemannia Aachen | 18 |
| 3. | Achim Weber | Rot-Weiß Oberhausen | 18 |
| 5. | Taifour Diane | FC Homburg | 16 |
| 6. | Til Bettenstaedt | SC Verl | 15 |
| 7. | Marco Antwerpen | Preußen Münster | 14 |
| 7. | Sambo Choji | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 14 |
| 7. | Uwe Klein | Sportfreunde Siegen | 14 |
| 10. | Rudi Thömmes | Eintracht Trier | 13 |

## South
### Final table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | SSV Ulm 1846 (C, P) | 32 | 18 | 6 | 8 | 63 | 36 | +27 | 60 | Promotion to 2. Bundesliga |
| 2 | Kickers Offenbach | 32 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 56 | 37 | +19 | 59 | Qualification to promotion play-offs |
| 3 | Borussia Fulda | 32 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 52 | 46 | +6 | 57 | |
| 4 | SSV Reutlingen | 32 | 15 | 10 | 7 | 50 | 30 | +20 | 55 | |
| 5 | Wacker Burghausen | 32 | 15 | 9 | 8 | 56 | 34 | +22 | 54 | |
| 6 | FC Bayern Munich II | 32 | 15 | 3 | 14 | 45 | 44 | +1 | 48 | |
| 7 | SV Waldhof Mannheim | 32 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 46 | 40 | +6 | 47 | |
| 8 | Karlsruher SC II | 32 | 14 | 5 | 13 | 41 | 52 | −11 | 47 | |
| 9 | TSV 1860 Munich II | 32 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 51 | 43 | +8 | 43 | |
| 10 | FC Augsburg | 32 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 51 | 47 | +4 | 42 | |
| 11 | SC Weismain | 32 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 42 | 48 | −6 | 40 | |
| 12 | TSF 1893 Ditzingen | 32 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 36 | 47 | −11 | 38 | |
| 13 | SV Wehen | 32 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 35 | |
| 14 | VfR Mannheim | 32 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 37 | 48 | −11 | 35 | |
| 15 | SC Neukirchen 1899 | 32 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 45 | 56 | −11 | 33 | |
| 16 | Darmstadt 98 (R) | 32 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 38 | 57 | −19 | 33 | Relegation to Oberliga |
| 17 | VfL Kirchheim unter Teck (R) | 32 | 3 | 9 | 20 | 31 | 69 | −38 | 18 | Relegation to Oberliga |
NB KSV Hessen Kassel were declared bankrupt mid-season and all results were therefore annulled.

### Top scorers

| # | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1. | Dieter Eckstein | FC Augsburg | 21 |
| 2. | Dragan Trkulja | SSV Ulm 1846 | 19 |
| 3. | Marko Barlecaj | Wacker Burghausen / 1860 Munich (A) | 18 |
| 4. | Marco Fladung | Borussia Fulda | 17 |
| 4. | Sascha Licht | SC Weismain | 17 |
| 6. | Oliver Roth | Kickers Offenbach | 16 |
| 7. | Olivier Djappa | Borussia Fulda | 15 |
| 8. | Michael Mayer | KSSV Reutlingen | 14 |
| 9. | Artur Maxhuni | SV Wehen | 13 |
| 9. | Amaechi Ottiji | SV Darmstadt 98 | 13 |
| 9. | Thomas Winter | Kickers Offenbach / SSV Reutlingen | 13 |

## Promotion playoffs

A preliminary decider was contested between the champions of the North and North-East regions. Hannover 96 won on penalties and so were promoted to the 2. Bundesliga.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Tennis Borussia Berlin (NE) | 2–2(1–3 pen) | Hannover 96 (N) | 2–0 | 0–2 aet(1–3 pen) |
The loser of the above tie faced the 2nd placed teams from the South and West/South-West regions for a final promotion place.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Sportfreunde Siegen (SW) | 4–0 | Kickers Offenbach (S) |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Kickers Offenbach (S) | 1–2 | Tennis Borussia Berlin (NE) |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Tennis Borussia Berlin (NE) | 2–0 | Sportfreunde Siegen (SW) |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Tennis Borussia Berlin | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 |
| 2 | Sportfreunde Siegen | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 3 |
| 3 | Kickers Offenbach | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0 |
Tennis Borussia Berlin were promoted to the 2. Bundesliga.

## Top goalscorer

* Rainer Wiedemann (FSV Lok Altmark Stendal) – 25 goals