# 2011–12 2. Bundesliga

The 2011–12 2. Bundesliga was the 38th season of the 2. Bundesliga, Germany's second tier of its football league system. The season commenced on 15 July 2011, three weeks earlier than the 2011–12 Bundesliga season, and ended with the last games on 6 May 2012. The traditional winter break was to be held between the weekends around 18 December 2011 and 4 February 2012. The league comprises eighteen teams.

## Teams

At the end of the 2010–11 season, champions Hertha BSC and runners-up FC Augsburg were directly promoted to the 2011–12 Bundesliga. The Berlin side has directly returned to the highest German football league, while Augsburg ended a five-year tenure in the second level of German football. The two teams were replaced by Eintracht Frankfurt and FC St. Pauli, who were directly relegated from the 2010–11 Bundesliga season. Frankfurt returned to the 2. Bundesliga after six years, while St. Pauli made a direct comeback to the league.
On the other end of the table, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen and Arminia Bielefeld were directly relegated to the 2011–12 3. Liga, after finishing the 2010–11 season in the bottom two spots of the table. Oberhausen was dropped to the third level after three years, while Bielefeld will leave the 2. Bundesliga after two seasons. The two relegated teams were replaced by 2010–11 3. Liga champions Eintracht Braunschweig and runners-up Hansa Rostock. Braunschweig returned to the 2. Bundesliga after a total of four seasons at the third tier of the German football pyramid, while Rostock immediately bounced back from their relegation twelve months earlier.
A further two places were given to VfL Bochum as losers of the Bundesliga relegation playoff and Dynamo Dresden as winners of the 2. Bundesliga relegation playoff. Dresden returned to the 2. Bundesliga after a five-year absence after beating VfL Osnabrück 4–2 on aggregate; Osnabrück were thus immediately relegated back to the 3. Liga. In the Bundesliga playoff, Bochum retained its spot in the league after losing 2–1 on aggregate against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Stadium capacity |
| Alemannia Aachen | Aachen | New Tivoli | 32,960 |
| VfL Bochum | Bochum | rewirPower-Stadion | 29,448 |
| MSV Duisburg | Duisburg | Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena | 31,500 |
| Dynamo Dresden | Dresden | Glücksgas-Stadion | 32,066 |
| Eintracht Braunschweig | Braunschweig | Eintracht-Stadion | 24,000 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Frankfurt am Main | Commerzbank-Arena | 51,500 |
| Energie Cottbus | Cottbus | Stadion der Freundschaft | 22,528 |
| FC Erzgebirge Aue | Aue | Sparkassen-Erzgebirgsstadion | 15,700 |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | Düsseldorf | Esprit Arena | 54,400 |
| FSV Frankfurt | Frankfurt am Main | Frankfurter Volksbank Stadion | 10,826 |
| SpVgg Greuther Fürth | Fürth | Trolli Arena | 15,000 |
| Hansa Rostock | Rostock | DKB-Arena | 29,000 |
| FC Ingolstadt 04 | Ingolstadt | Audi Sportpark | 15,445 |
| Karlsruher SC | Karlsruhe | Wildparkstadion | 29,699 |
| 1860 Munich | Munich | Allianz Arena | 69,000 |
| SC Paderborn 07 | Paderborn | Energieteam Arena | 15,000 |
| FC St. Pauli | Hamburg | Millerntor-Stadion | 24,487 |
| Union Berlin | Berlin | Alte Försterei | 18,432 |

### Personnel and sponsorships

| Team | Head coach | Team captain | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor |
| Alemannia Aachen | Ralf Außem | Benjamin Auer | Nike | AachenMünchener |
| VfL Bochum | Andreas Bergmann | Christoph Dabrowski | Nike | Netto |
| MSV Duisburg | Oliver Reck | Srđan Baljak | Nike | Rheinpower |
| Dynamo Dresden | Ralf Loose | Robert Koch | Nike | Veolia |
| Eintracht Braunschweig | Torsten Lieberknecht | Dennis Kruppke | Puma | Volkswagen Bank |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Armin Veh | Pirmin Schwegler | Jako | Fraport |
| Energie Cottbus | Rudi Bommer | Marc-André Kruska | Umbro | Tropical Islands |
| Erzgebirge Aue | Karsten Baumann | René Klingbeil | Puma | Spar mit! Reisen |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | Norbert Meier | Andreas Lambertz | Puma | Bauhaus |
| FSV Frankfurt | Benno Möhlmann | Björn Schlicke | Saller | Hyundai |
| SpVgg Greuther Fürth | Michael Büskens | Thomas Kleine | Jako | Ergo Direkt Versicherungen |
| Hansa Rostock | Wolfgang Wolf | Sebastian Pelzer | Nike | Veolia Umweltservice |
| FC Ingolstadt 04 | Tomas Oral | Moritz Hartmann | Adidas | Audi |
| Karlsruher SC | Markus Kauczinski | Alexander Iashvili | Nike | Klaiber Markisen |
| 1860 Munich | Reiner Maurer | Benjamin Lauth | Uhlsport | Aston Martin |
| SC Paderborn 07 | Roger Schmidt | Markus Krösche | Puma | Möbelhaus Finke |
| FC St. Pauli | André Schubert | Fabio Morena | Do You Football | Ein Platz an der Sonne |
| 1. FC Union Berlin | Uwe Neuhaus | Torsten Mattuschka | Uhlsport | kfzteile24 |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Christoph Daum | Resigned | 16 May 2011 | Off-season | Armin Veh | 1 July 2011 |
| SC Paderborn 07 | André Schubert | Signed by St. Pauli | 30 June 2011 | Off-season | Roger Schmidt | 1 July 2011 |
| FC St. Pauli | Holger Stanislawski | End of contract | 30 June 2011 | Off-season | André Schubert | 1 July 2011 |
| Alemannia Aachen | Peter Hyballa | Sacked | 13 September 2011 | 18th | Friedhelm Funkel | 19 September 2011 |
| VfL Bochum | Friedhelm Funkel | Sacked | 14 September 2011 | 17th | Andreas Bergmann | 15 September 2011 |
| MSV Duisburg | Milan Šašić | Sacked | 28 October 2011 | 14th | Oliver Reck | 28 October 2011 |
| Karlsruher SC | Rainer Scharinger | Sacked | 31 October 2011 | 17th | Jørn Andersen | 6 November 2011 |
| FC Ingolstadt 04 | Benno Möhlmann | Sacked | 9 November 2011 | 18th | Tomas Oral | 10 November 2011 |
| Hansa Rostock | Peter Vollmann | Sacked | 6 December 2011 | 17th | Wolfgang Wolf | 7 December 2011 |
| Energie Cottbus | Claus-Dieter Wollitz | Mutual Consent | 8 December 2011 | 9th | Rudi Bommer | 1 January 2012 |
| FSV Frankfurt | Hans-Jürgen Boysen | Sacked | 17 December 2011 | 16th | Benno Möhlmann | 21 December 2011 |
| Erzgebirge Aue | Rico Schmitt | Sacked | 21 February 2012 | 14th | Karsten Baumann | 22 February 2012 |
| Karlsruher SC | Jørn Andersen | Sacked | 26 March 2012 | 17th | Markus Kauczinski | 26 March 2012 |
| Alemannia Aachen | Friedhelm Funkel | Sacked | 1 April 2012 | 17th | Ralf Außem | 1 April 2012 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | SpVgg Greuther Fürth (C, P) | 34 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 73 | 27 | +46 | 70 | Promotion to Bundesliga |
| 2 | Eintracht Frankfurt (P) | 34 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 76 | 33 | +43 | 68 | Promotion to Bundesliga |
| 3 | Fortuna Düsseldorf (P) | 34 | 16 | 14 | 4 | 64 | 35 | +29 | 62 | Qualification to promotion play-offs |
| 4 | FC St. Pauli | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 59 | 34 | +25 | 62 | |
| 5 | SC Paderborn | 34 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 51 | 42 | +9 | 61 | |
| 6 | 1860 Munich | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 62 | 46 | +16 | 57 | |
| 7 | 1. FC Union Berlin | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 55 | 58 | −3 | 48 | |
| 8 | Eintracht Braunschweig | 34 | 10 | 15 | 9 | 37 | 34 | +3 | 45 | |
| 9 | Dynamo Dresden | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 50 | 52 | −2 | 45 | |
| 10 | MSV Duisburg | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 42 | 47 | −5 | 39 | |
| 11 | VfL Bochum | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 41 | 55 | −14 | 37 | |
| 12 | FC Ingolstadt 04 | 34 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 43 | 58 | −15 | 37 | |
| 13 | FSV Frankfurt | 34 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 43 | 59 | −16 | 35 | |
| 14 | Energie Cottbus | 34 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 30 | 49 | −19 | 35 | |
| 15 | Erzgebirge Aue | 34 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 31 | 55 | −24 | 35 | |
| 16 | Karlsruher SC (R) | 34 | 9 | 6 | 19 | 34 | 60 | −26 | 33 | Qualification to relegation play-offs |
| 17 | Alemannia Aachen (R) | 34 | 6 | 13 | 15 | 30 | 47 | −17 | 31 | Relegation to 3. Liga |
| 18 | Hansa Rostock (R) | 34 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 34 | 63 | −29 | 27 | Relegation to 3. Liga |

## Results

| Home \ Away | AAC | AUE | UNB | BOC | EBS | FCE | SGD | DUI | F95 | SGE | FSV | SGF | FCI | KSC | M60 | SCP | ROS | STP |
| Alemannia Aachen | — | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Erzgebirge Aue | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Union Berlin | 2–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 0–4 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 5–4 | 0–2 |
| VfL Bochum | 1–0 | 6–0 | 4–2 | — | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Eintracht Braunschweig | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | — | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 |
| Energie Cottbus | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–4 |
| Dynamo Dresden | 1–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| MSV Duisburg | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | — | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 4–3 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | — | 6–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 |
| FSV Frankfurt | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–5 | 0–4 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–3 |
| Greuther Fürth | 1–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 6–2 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 4–0 | — | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| FC Ingolstadt | 3–3 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 3–5 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | — | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 |
| Karlsruher SC | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–5 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 3–2 | — | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 |
| 1860 Munich | 1–2 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–4 | 4–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| SC Paderborn | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Hansa Rostock | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–5 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 1–5 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | — | 1–3 |
| FC St. Pauli | 3–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 5–0 | 3–0 | — |

## Relegation play-offs

The 16th-placed team faced the third-placed 2011–12 3. Liga side for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches will earn a spot in the 2012–13 2. Bundesliga.
Dates and times of these matches were determined by the Deutsche Fußball-Liga as following:
Tie ended 3–3 on aggregate; Jahn Regensburg promoted to 2012–13 2. Bundesliga, Karlsruher SC relegated to 2012–13 3. Liga according to away goal rule.