# 2020–21 3. Liga

The 2020–21 3. Liga was the 13th season of the 3. Liga. It began on 18 September 2020 and concluded on 22 May 2021. The season was originally scheduled to begin on 24 July 2020 and conclude on 15 May 2021, though this was delayed due to postponement of the previous season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fixtures were announced on 20 August 2020.
Dynamo Dresden and Hansa Rostock got promoted directly, while FC Ingolstadt won the promotion play-offs. Originally, SV Meppen, Bayern Munich II, VfB Lübeck and SpVgg Unterhaching were relegated; however, KFC Uerdingen was unable to obtain a 3. Liga license for the 2021–22 season and was therefore relegated, sparing SV Meppen from relegation.

## Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

Unlike other competitions organised by the DFB and DFL, the clubs of the 3. Liga initially voted to allow for only three substitutes during the 2020–21 season. Five substitutions were permitted in the 3. Liga at the end of the previous season to lessen the impact of fixture congestion caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and competition organisers had the option to use the rule until 2021. On 11 January 2021, the DFB Executive Committee approved the use of five substitutions for the second half of the season from 22 January (matchday 20 onward), following a secondary vote by the 20 clubs. However, the number of players permitted on the bench remained at seven. Rescheduled matches from the first half of the season (matchday 19 and earlier) remained limited to three substitutions.

## Teams
### Team changes

| Promoted from 2019–20 Regionalliga | Relegated from 2019–20 2. Bundesliga | Promoted to 2020–21 2. Bundesliga | Relegated from 2019–20 3. Liga |
| VfB Lübeck Türkgücü München 1. FC Saarbrücken SC Verl | Wehen Wiesbaden Dynamo Dresden | Würzburger Kickers Eintracht Braunschweig | Chemnitzer FC Preußen Münster Sonnenhof Großaspach Carl Zeiss Jena |

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Dynamo Dresden | Dresden | Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion | 32,066 |
| MSV Duisburg | Duisburg | Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena | 31,500 |
| Hallescher FC | Halle | Erdgas Sportpark | 15,057 |
| FC Ingolstadt | Ingolstadt | Audi Sportpark | 15,000 |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Kaiserslautern | Fritz-Walter-Stadion | 49,780 |
| Viktoria Köln | Cologne | Sportpark Höhenberg | 10,001 |
| VfB Lübeck | Lübeck | Stadion Lohmühle | 17,849 |
| 1. FC Magdeburg | Magdeburg | MDCC-Arena | 27,500 |
| Waldhof Mannheim | Mannheim | Carl-Benz-Stadion | 25,667 |
| SV Meppen | Meppen | Hänsch-Arena | 16,500 |
| 1860 Munich | Munich | Grünwalder Stadion | 15,000 |
| Bayern Munich II | Munich | Grünwalder Stadion FC Bayern Campus$^1$ | 15,000 2,500 |
| Türkgücü München | Munich | Olympiastadion$^2$ Grünwalder Stadion | 69,250 15,000 |
| Hansa Rostock | Rostock | Ostseestadion | 29,000 |
| 1. FC Saarbrücken | Saarbrücken Frankfurt Völklingen | Ludwigsparkstadion PSD Bank Arena Hermann-Neuberger-Stadion$^3$ | 16,003 12,542 6,800 |
| KFC Uerdingen | Düsseldorf Lotte | Merkur Spiel-Arena Stadion am Lotter Kreuz$^4$ | 54,600 10,059 |
| SpVgg Unterhaching | Unterhaching | Sportpark Unterhaching | 15,053 |
| SC Verl | Verl Paderborn | Sportclub Arena Benteler-Arena$^5$ | 5,153 15,000 |
| Wehen Wiesbaden | Wiesbaden | BRITA-Arena | 12,250 |
| FSV Zwickau | Zwickau | GGZ-Arena Zwickau | 10,049 |
$^1$ Bayern Munich II will play their home match against 1. FC Magdeburg at FC Bayern Campus to take strain off the Grünwalder Stadion, since it is being used by three teams and would have to host four matches in one week otherwise. $^2$ Türkgücü München will play up to eight of their home matches at the Olympiastadion and the remainder at the Grünwalder Stadion. $^3$ 1. FC Saarbrücken played their home match against VfB Lübeck at the PSD Bank Arena in Frankfurt and their home match against 1860 Munich at the Hermann-Neuberger-Stadion in Völklingen because their regular home stadium was rendered unusable due to snowfall. $^4$ KFC Uerdingen played their first ten home matches at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf while their home stadium, the Grotenburg-Stadion in Krefeld, is being renovated. The club moved to the Stadion am Lotter Kreuz in Lotte for the rest of the season since they could no longer afford to pay the rent for the Merkur Spiel-Arena. $^5$ SC Verl will play their home matches at the Benteler-Arena since their home stadium, the Sportclub Arena in Verl, did not meet 3. Liga standards. As only a limited number of spectators was permitted, the DFB allowed Verl to play three matches in their home stadium.

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | Sleeve sponsor |
| Dynamo Dresden | Alexander Schmidt | Sebastian Mai | Craft | ALL-INKL.COM | AOK Plus |
| MSV Duisburg | Pavel Dochev | Moritz Stoppelkamp | Capelli | Iberostar Group | Rheinpower |
| Hallescher FC | Florian Schnorrenberg | Jonas Nietfeld | Puma | sunmaker | Autohaus König |
| FC Ingolstadt | Tomas Oral | Stefan Kutschke | Puma | PROSIS | Audi Schanzer Fußballschule |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Marco Antwerpen | Carlo Sickinger | Nike | Allgäuer Latschenkiefer | |
| Viktoria Köln | Olaf Janßen | Mike Wunderlich | Puma | ETL | Wintec Autoglas |
| VfB Lübeck | Rolf Landerl | Tommy Grupe | Hummel | Hansebelt | Mayo Feinkost |
| 1. FC Magdeburg | Christian Titz | Tobias Müller | Uhlsport | sunmaker | SWM Magdeburg |
| Waldhof Mannheim | Patrick Glöckner | Kevin Conrad | Capelli | sunmaker | |
| SV Meppen | Mario Neumann | Thilo Leugers | Nike | KiK xxl | Echt Emsland |
| 1860 Munich | Michael Köllner | Sascha Mölders | Nike | Die Bayerische | Bet3000 |
| Bayern Munich II | Holger Seitz | Nicolas Feldhahn | Adidas | Magenta Sport | Tipico |
| Türkgücü München | Andreas Pummer | Sercan Sararer | Capelli | Yayla | |
| Hansa Rostock | Jens Härtel | Markus Kolke | Nike | sunmaker | SoftClean |
| 1. FC Saarbrücken | Lukas Kwasniok | Manuel Zeitz | Adidas | Victor's | Lotto Saartoto |
| KFC Uerdingen | Jürgen Press / Stefan Reisinger | Assani Lukimya | Capelli | SWK | |
| SpVgg Unterhaching | Arie van Lent | Josef Welzmüller | Adidas | frostkrone | Süd-Hansa |
| SC Verl | Guerino Capretti | Julian Stöckner | Joma | Beckhoff | Frankenfeld |
| Wehen Wiesbaden | Rüdiger Rehm | Sebastian Mrowca | Capelli | Brita | |
| FSV Zwickau | Joe Enochs | Johannes Brinkies | Puma | sunmaker | ATUS |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Exit date | Exit date | Position in table | Incoming | Incoming date | Incoming date | Ref. |
| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Announced on | Departed on | Position in table | Incoming | Announced on | Arrived on | Ref. |
| Türkgücü München | Reiner Maurer | End of contract | 1 June 2020 | 31 May 2020 | Pre-season | Alexander Schmidt | 26 June 2020 | 26 June 2020 | |
| SV Meppen | Christian Neidhart | Mutual consent | 19 June 2020 | 4 July 2020 | Pre-season | Torsten Frings | 14 July 2020 | 14 July 2020 | |
| Waldhof Mannheim | Bernhard Trares | End of contract | 1 July 2020 | 4 July 2020 | Pre-season | Patrick Glöckner | 20 July 2020 | 20 July 2020 | |
| Bayern Munich II | Sebastian Hoeneß | Signed for 1899 Hoffenheim | 27 July 2020 | 27 July 2020 | Pre-season | Holger Seitz | 25 August 2020 | 25 August 2020 | |
| SpVgg Unterhaching | Claus Schromm | Moved to sporting director | 29 July 2020 | 29 July 2020 | Pre-season | Arie van Lent | 18 August 2020 | 18 August 2020 | |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Boris Schommers | Sacked | 29 September 2020 | 29 September 2020 | 20th | Jeff Saibene | 2 October 2020 | 2 October 2020 | |
| MSV Duisburg | Torsten Lieberknecht | Sacked | 10 November 2020 | 10 November 2020 | 17th | Gino Lettieri | 11 November 2020 | 15 November 2020 | |
| Viktoria Köln | Pavel Dochev | Sacked | 24 January 2021 | 24 January 2021 | 13th | Daniel Zillken / Markus Brzenska (interim) | 24 January 2021 | 24 January 2021 | |
| MSV Duisburg | Gino Lettieri | Sacked | 27 January 2021 | 27 January 2021 | 19th | Uwe Schubert (interim) | 27 January 2021 | 27 January 2021 | |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Jeff Saibene | Sacked | 30 January 2021 | 30 January 2021 | 16th | Marco Antwerpen | 1 February 2021 | 1 February 2021 | |
| MSV Duisburg | Uwe Schubert (interim) | End of caretaker spell | 2 February 2021 | 2 February 2021 | 19th | Pavel Dochev | 2 February 2021 | 2 February 2021 | |
| 1. FC Magdeburg | Thomas Hoßmang | Sacked | 9 February 2021 | 9 February 2021 | 19th | Christian Titz | 12 February 2021 | 12 February 2021 | |
| Türkgücü München | Alexander Schmidt | Sacked | 9 February 2021 | 9 February 2021 | 7th | Andreas Pummer (interim) | 9 February 2021 | 9 February 2021 | |
| Türkgücü München | Andreas Pummer (interim) | End of caretaker | 23 February 2021 | 23 February 2021 | 5th | Serdar Dayat | 23 February 2021 | 23 February 2021 | |
| Viktoria Köln | Daniel Zillken / Markus Brzenska (interim) | End of caretaker | 1 February 2021 | 1 February 2021 | 14th | Olaf Janßen | 1 February 2021 | 1 February 2021 | |
| Bayern Munich II | Holger Seitz | Moving to campus sporting director | 2 April 2021 | 4 April 2021 | 15th | Martín Demichelis / Danny Schwarz | 2 April 2021 | 4 April 2021 | |
| KFC Uerdingen | Stefan Krämer | Sacked | 13 April 2021 | 13 April 2021 | 17h | Jürgen Press / Stefan Reisinger (interim) | 13 April 2021 | 13 April 2021 | |
| SV Meppen | Torsten Frings | Sacked | 14 April 2021 | 14 April 2021 | 15th | Mario Neumann (interim) | 14 April 2021 | 14 April 2021 | |
| SV Meppen | Mario Neumann (interim) | End of caretaker spell | 20 April 2021 | 20 April 2021 | 15th | Rico Schmitt | 20 April 2021 | 20 April 2021 | |
| Dynamo Dresden | Markus Kauczinski | Sacked | 25 April 2021 | 25 April 2021 | 4th | Alexander Schmidt | 26 April 2021 | 26 April 2021 | |
| Türkgücü München | Serdar Dayat | Mutual consent | 6 May 2021 | 6 May 2021 | 10th | Andreas Pummer (interim) | 6 May 2021 | 6 May 2021 | |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Dynamo Dresden (C, P) | 38 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 61 | 29 | +32 | 75 | Promotion to 2. Bundesliga and qualification for DFB-Pokal |
| 2 | Hansa Rostock (P) | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 52 | 33 | +19 | 71 | Promotion to 2. Bundesliga and qualification for DFB-Pokal |
| 3 | FC Ingolstadt (O, P) | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 56 | 40 | +16 | 71 | Qualification for promotion play-offs and DFB-Pokal |
| 4 | 1860 Munich | 38 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 69 | 35 | +34 | 66 | Qualification for DFB-Pokal |
| 5 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 66 | 51 | +15 | 59 | |
| 6 | Wehen Wiesbaden | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 57 | 53 | +4 | 56 | |
| 7 | SC Verl | 38 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 66 | 55 | +11 | 55 | |
| 8 | Waldhof Mannheim | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 50 | 55 | −5 | 52 | |
| 9 | Hallescher FC | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 51 | 58 | −7 | 52 | |
| 10 | FSV Zwickau | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 51 | |
| 11 | 1. FC Magdeburg | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 42 | 45 | −3 | 51 | |
| 12 | Viktoria Köln | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 52 | 59 | −7 | 51 | |
| 13 | Türkgücü München | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 45 | 55 | −10 | 47 | |
| 14 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 38 | 8 | 19 | 11 | 47 | 52 | −5 | 43 | |
| 15 | MSV Duisburg | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 52 | 67 | −15 | 43 | |
| 16 | KFC Uerdingen (R) | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 38 | 50 | −12 | 41 | Relegation to Regionalliga |
| 17 | SV Meppen | 38 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 37 | 61 | −24 | 41 | |
| 18 | Bayern Munich II (R) | 38 | 8 | 13 | 17 | 47 | 58 | −11 | 37 | Relegation to Regionalliga |
| 19 | VfB Lübeck (R) | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 41 | 57 | −16 | 35 | Relegation to Regionalliga |
| 20 | SpVgg Unterhaching (R) | 38 | 9 | 5 | 24 | 40 | 57 | −17 | 32 | Relegation to Regionalliga |
* ↑ KFC Uerdingen were deducted three points, after they filed for insolvency.
* ↑ KFC Uerdingen did not obtain a license for the next season and was therefore relegated, sparing SV Meppen from relegation.
* ↑ Reserve teams are ineligible for promotion or DFB-Pokal qualification.

## Results

| Home \ Away | DRE | DUI | HAL | ING | KAI | KÖL | LÜB | MAG | MAN | MEP | MUN | MU2 | ROS | SAA | TÜR | UER | UNT | VER | WIE | ZWI |
| Dynamo Dresden | — | 1–0 | 0–3 | 4–0 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| MSV Duisburg | 0–3 | — | 0–0 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 4–1 | 1–1 |
| Hallescher FC | 1–3 | 1–1 | — | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 |
| FC Ingolstadt | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 3–2 |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Viktoria Köln | 2–4 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | — | 0–2 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| VfB Lübeck | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 |
| 1. FC Magdeburg | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| Waldhof Mannheim | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 5–2 | — | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 4–4 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| SV Meppen | 0–4 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | — | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 |
| 1860 Munich | 1–0 | 0–2 | 6–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 |
| Bayern Munich II | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | — | 0–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 |
| Hansa Rostock | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 4–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| 1. FC Saarbrücken | 2–1 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–2 |
| Türkgücü München | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | — | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| KFC Uerdingen | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 |
| SpVgg Unterhaching | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | — | 3–4 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| SC Verl | 0–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Wehen Wiesbaden | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | 3–1 |
| FSV Zwickau | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | — |

## Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Sascha Mölders | 1860 Munich | 22 |
| 2 | Terrence Boyd | Hallescher FC | 18 |
| 3 | Zlatko Janjić | SC Verl | 14 |
| 3 | Nicklas Shipnoski | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 14 |
| 3 | Aygün Yıldırım | SC Verl | 14 |
| 6 | Stefan Kutschke | FC Ingolstadt | 13 |
| 6 | Dominik Martinović | Waldhof Mannheim | 13 |
| 6 | Petar Slišković | Türkgücü München | 13 |
| 9 | Christoph Daferner | Dynamo Dresden | 12 |
| 9 | Maurice Malone | Wehen Wiesbaden | 12 |
| 9 | John Verhoek | Hansa Rostock | 12 |

## Number of teams by state

| Position | State | Number of teams | Teams |
| 1 | Bavaria | 5 | FC Ingolstadt, Bayern Munich II, 1860 Munich, Türkgücü München and SpVgg Unterhaching |
| 2 | North Rhine-Westphalia | 4 | MSV Duisburg, Viktoria Köln, KFC Uerdingen and SC Verl |
| 3 | Saxony | 2 | Dynamo Dresden and FSV Zwickau |
| 3 | Saxony-Anhalt | 2 | Hallescher FC and 1. FC Magdeburg |
| 5 | Baden-Württemberg | 1 | Waldhof Mannheim |
| 5 | Hesse | 1 | Wehen Wiesbaden |
| 5 | Lower Saxony | 1 | SV Meppen |
| 5 | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 1 | Hansa Rostock |
| 5 | Rhineland-Palatinate | 1 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern |
| 5 | Saarland | 1 | 1. FC Saarbrücken |
| 5 | Schleswig-Holstein | 1 | VfB Lübeck |