# 2007–08 Bundesliga

The 2007–08 Bundesliga was the 45th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. It began on 10 August 2007 and ended on 17 May 2008. VfB Stuttgart were the defending champions.

## Competition format

Every team played two games against each other team, one at home and one away. Teams received three points for a win and one point for a draw. If two or more teams were tied on points, places were determined by goal difference and, if still tied, by goals scored. The team with the most points were crowned champions while the three teams with the fewest points were relegated to 2. Bundesliga.

## Background

Bayern Munich secured their 21st title with a 0–0 draw at VfL Wolfsburg on 4 May 2008. Bayern were good value for their title, having conceded only 21 goals, losing only two games in the process. Their completely overhauled squad hinged on the performances of Italy striker Luca Toni, who found the back of the net 24 times, and France winger Franck Ribéry, who won the Player of the Year award. Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld was named Manager of the Year as well, to round off a thoroughly successful season for Bayern. Werder Bremen finished their first season without Miroslav Klose on 66 points, a distant ten points behind Bayern, in second place. Schalke 04 finished in the last Champions League place, two points behind Bremen. Joining Hamburger SV in the UEFA Cup spot were season surprise packages Wolfsburg, who finished in fifth place. Borussia Dortmund, though suffering a terrible domestic campaign, finishing 13th, managed to qualify for the UEFA Cup as well, having finished runners-up in the DFB-Pokal final, losing to Bayern Munich. 1. FC Nürnberg, MSV Duisburg and Hansa Rostock were all automatically relegated, having suffered a combined 58 defeats in the campaign.

## Teams

Mainz 05, Alemannia Aachen and Borussia Mönchengladbach were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga after finishing in the last three places. They were replaced by Karlsruher SC, Hansa Rostock and MSV Duisburg.

### Stadia and locations

| Team | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| Hertha BSC | Berlin | Olympic Stadium | 74,228 |
| Arminia Bielefeld | Bielefeld | Schüco Arena | 28,008 |
| VfL Bochum | Bochum | Ruhrstadion | 31,328 |
| SV Werder Bremen | Bremen | Weserstadion | 42,358 |
| FC Energie Cottbus | Cottbus | Stadion der Freundschaft | 22,450 |
| Borussia Dortmund | Dortmund | Signal Iduna Park | 80,708 |
| MSV Duisburg | Duisburg | MSV-Arena | 31,500 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Frankfurt | Commerzbank-Arena | 52,300 |
| Hamburger SV | Hamburg | HSH Nordbank Arena | 57,274 |
| Hannover 96 | Hanover | AWD-Arena | 49,000 |
| Karlsruher SC | Karlsruhe | Wildparkstadion | 32,306 |
| Bayer 04 Leverkusen | Leverkusen | BayArena | 22,500 |
| FC Bayern Munich | Munich | Allianz Arena | 69,901 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | Nuremberg | Easy Credit Stadion | 47,559 |
| F.C. Hansa Rostock | Rostock | DKB-Arena | 29,000 |
| FC Schalke 04 | Gelsenkirchen | Veltins-Arena | 61,673 |
| VfB Stuttgart | Stuttgart | Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion | 58,000 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | Wolfsburg | Volkswagen Arena | 30,122 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Hertha BSC | Lucien Favre | Arne Friedrich | Nike | DB |
| Arminia Bielefeld | Michael Frontzeck | Mathias Hain | Saller | Krombacher |
| VfL Bochum | Marcel Koller | Tomasz Zdebel | Umbro | KiK |
| SV Werder Bremen | Thomas Schaaf | Frank Baumann | Kappa | Citibank |
| FC Energie Cottbus | Bojan Prašnikar | Timo Rost | Saller | enviaM |
| Borussia Dortmund | Thomas Doll | Christian Wörns | Nike | Evonik |
| MSV Duisburg | Rudolf Bommer | Ivica Grlić | Uhlsport | Xella |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Friedhelm Funkel | Giannis Amanatidis | Jako | Fraport |
| Hamburger SV | Huub Stevens | Rafael van der Vaart | Adidas | Emirates |
| Hannover 96 | Dieter Hecking | Robert Enke | Diadora | TUIfly |
| Karlsruher SC | Edmund Becker | Mario Eggimann | Jako | EnBW |
| Bayer 04 Leverkusen | Michael Skibbe | Carsten Ramelow | Adidas | Teldafax |
| FC Bayern Munich | Ottmar Hitzfeld | Oliver Kahn | Adidas | T-Home |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | Thomas von Heesen | Tomáš Galásek | Adidas | mister*lady |
| FC Hansa Rostock | Frank Pagelsdorf | Stefan Beinlich | Masita | KiK |
| FC Schalke 04 | Mike Büskens Youri Mulder | Marcelo Bordon | Adidas | Gazprom |
| VfB Stuttgart | Armin Veh | Fernando Meira | Puma | EnBW |
| VfL Wolfsburg | Felix Magath | Marcelinho | Nike | Volkswagen/Tiguan/Ein Herz für Kinder |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of departure | Replaced by | Date of Appointment |
| Hertha BSC | Karsten Heine | 19 May 2007 | Lucien Favre | 1 July 2007 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | Klaus Augenthaler | 19 May 2007 | Felix Magath | 1 July 2007 |
| Energie Cottbus | Petrik Sander | 23 September 2007 | Bojan Prašnikar | 28 September 2007 |
| Arminia Bielefeld | Ernst Middendorp | 10 December 2007 | Michael Frontzeck | 1 January 2008 |
| FC Schalke 04 | Mirko Slomka | 13 April 2008 | Mike Büskens Youri Mulder | 14 April 2008 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Bayern Munich (C) | 34 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 68 | 21 | +47 | 76 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Werder Bremen | 34 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 75 | 45 | +30 | 66 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Schalke 04 | 34 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 55 | 32 | +23 | 64 | Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Hamburger SV | 34 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 47 | 26 | +21 | 54 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | VfL Wolfsburg | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 58 | 46 | +12 | 54 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | VfB Stuttgart | 34 | 16 | 4 | 14 | 57 | 57 | 0 | 52 | Qualification to Intertoto Cup third round |
| 7 | Bayer Leverkusen | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 57 | 40 | +17 | 51 | |
| 8 | Hannover 96 | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 54 | 56 | −2 | 49 | |
| 9 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 43 | 50 | −7 | 46 | |
| 10 | Hertha BSC | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 44 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first qualifying round |
| 11 | Karlsruher SC | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 38 | 53 | −15 | 43 | |
| 12 | VfL Bochum | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 48 | 54 | −6 | 41 | |
| 13 | Borussia Dortmund | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 50 | 62 | −12 | 40 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
| 14 | Energie Cottbus | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 35 | 56 | −21 | 36 | |
| 15 | Arminia Bielefeld | 34 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 35 | 60 | −25 | 34 | |
| 16 | 1. FC Nürnberg (R) | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 35 | 51 | −16 | 31 | Relegation to 2. Bundesliga |
| 17 | Hansa Rostock (R) | 34 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 30 | 52 | −22 | 30 | Relegation to 2. Bundesliga |
| 18 | MSV Duisburg (R) | 34 | 8 | 5 | 21 | 36 | 55 | −19 | 29 | Relegation to 2. Bundesliga |
* ↑ An additional UEFA Cup spot was awarded to the Bundesliga after it had been drawn from the best teams of the UEFA Fair Play ranking 2007–08. The spot was awarded to national Fair Play competition winners Hertha BSC.
* ↑ Because German Cup 2007–08 winners Bayern Munich had already qualified for the Champions League via their league placement, losing finalists Borussia Dortmund took the UEFA Cup spot reserved for the cup winners.

## Results

| Home \ Away | BSC | DSC | BOC | SVW | FCE | BVB | DUI | SGE | HSV | H96 | KSC | B04 | FCB | FCN | ROS | S04 | VFB | WOB |
| Hertha BSC | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| Arminia Bielefeld | 2–0 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| VfL Bochum | 1–1 | 3–0 | — | 2–2 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 5–3 |
| Werder Bremen | 3–2 | 8–1 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 6–1 | 4–0 | 5–2 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 |
| Energie Cottbus | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | — | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 1–1 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | — | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 2–4 |
| MSV Duisburg | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 3–3 | — | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–3 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 2–3 |
| Hamburger SV | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | — | 1–1 | 7–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 |
| Hannover 96 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 4–3 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–2 |
| Karlsruher SC | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 2–2 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | — | 0–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 |
| Bayern Munich | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Hansa Rostock | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Schalke 04 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | 4–1 | 1–2 |
| VfB Stuttgart | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 6–3 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | — | 3–1 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | — |
* ↑ The 1. FC Nürnberg v VfL Wolfsburg match from 11 April 2008 was suspended after 45 minutes (half-time) and a score of 1–0 due to poor playing conditions caused by heavy rain. The replay took place on 20 April 2008 and finished with a score of 1–0.

## Statistics
### Top goalscorers

Source: www.kicker.de (in German)
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Luca Toni | Bayern Munich | 24 |
| 2 | Mario Gómez | VfB Stuttgart | 19 |
| 3 | Kevin Kurányi | Schalke 04 | 15 |
| 4 | Ivica Olić | Hamburger SV | 14 |
| 4 | Markus Rosenberg | Werder Bremen | 14 |
| 6 | Diego | Werder Bremen | 13 |
| 6 | Marko Pantelić | Hertha BSC | 13 |
| 6 | Mladen Petrić | Borussia Dortmund | 13 |
| 6 | Stanislav Šesták | VfL Bochum | 13 |
| 10 | Rafael van der Vaart | Hamburger SV | 12 |

## Awards
### Annual awards

Player of the Year: Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich)
Manager of the Year: Ottmar Hitzfeld (Bayern Munich)

### Monthly awards

Player of the Month
| Month | Player | Team |
| August | Franck Ribéry | Bayern Munich |
| September | Diego | Werder Bremen |
| October | Ivica Olić | Hamburger SV |
| November | Thomas Hitzlsperger | VfB Stuttgart |
| December | Diego | Werder Bremen |
| February | Joshua Kennedy | Karlsruher SC |
| March | Mario Gómez | VfB Stuttgart |
| April | Kevin Kurányi | FC Schalke 04 |
| May | Torsten Frings | Werder Bremen |