# 2015–16 2. Bundesliga

The 2015–16 2. Bundesliga was the 42nd season of the 2. Bundesliga.

## Teams

A total of 18 teams participated in the 2015–16 2. Bundesliga. These include 14 teams from the 2014–15 2. Bundesliga, together with SC Freiburg and SC Paderborn, who directly relegated from the 2014–15 Bundesliga, and Arminia Bielefeld and MSV Duisburg, who directly promoted from the 2014–15 3. Liga. The 16th-placed 2014–15 2. Bundesliga team, 1860 Munich, defeated the third-place finisher in the 2014–15 3. Liga, Holstein Kiel, in a two-legged play-off and avoided relegation.

### Stadiums and locations

* Team
* Arminia Bielefeld
* VfL Bochum
* Eintracht Braunschweig
* MSV Duisburg
* Fortuna Düsseldorf
* FSV Frankfurt
* SpVgg Greuther Fürth
* SC Freiburg
* 1. FC Heidenheim
* 1. FC Kaiserslautern
* Karlsruher SC
* RB Leipzig
* 1860 Munich
* 1. FC Nürnberg
* SC Paderborn 07
* SV Sandhausen
* FC St. Pauli
* 1. FC Union Berlin
Notes
* The capacity is reduced to 42,959 spectators during the 2015-16 season, due to a redevelopment of various stadium areas. The redevelopment includes an expansion of the VIP area, the press box and the wheelchair spaces.

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Arminia Bielefeld | Norbert Meier | Fabian Klos | Saller | Alpecin |
| VfL Bochum | Gertjan Verbeek | Patrick Fabian | Nike | Booster Energy Drink (H) / Netto (A) |
| MSV Duisburg | Iliya Gruev | Branimir Bajić | Uhlsport | Black Crevice |
| Eintracht Braunschweig | Torsten Lieberknecht | Marcel Correia | Nike | SEAT |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | Friedhelm Funkel | Adam Bodzek | Puma | o.tel.o |
| SC Freiburg | Christian Streich | Mensur Mujdža | Nike | Ehrmann |
| FSV Frankfurt | Falko Götz | Manuel Konrad | Saller | Ayondo |
| SpVgg Greuther Fürth | Stefan Ruthenbeck | Marco Caligiuri | Hummel | Ergo Direkt Versicherungen |
| 1. FC Heidenheim | Frank Schmidt | Marc Schnatterer | Nike | Hartmann Gruppe |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Konrad Fünfstück | Chris Löwe | Uhlsport | Maxda |
| Karlsruher SC | Markus Kauczinski | Dirk Orlishausen | Jako | Klaiber Markisen |
| RB Leipzig | Ralf Rangnick | Dominik Kaiser | Nike | Red Bull |
| 1860 Munich | Denis Bushuev | Christopher Schindler | Macron | Think Blue |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | René Weiler | Even Hovland | Adidas | Wolf Möbel |
| SC Paderborn 07 | René Müller | Uwe Hünemeier | Saller | kfzteile24 |
| SV Sandhausen | Alois Schwartz | Stefan Kulovits | Puma | Verivox |
| FC St. Pauli | Ewald Lienen | Sören Gonther | Hummel | Congstar |
| 1. FC Union Berlin | André Hofschneider | Damir Kreilach | Macron | kfzteile24 |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| RB Leipzig | Achim Beierlorzer | End of caretaker stint | 11 May 2015 | Preseason | Ralf Rangnick | 29 May 2015 |
| Greuther Fürth | Mike Büskens | Stepped down | 28 May 2015 | Preseason | Stefan Ruthenbeck | 12 June 2015 |
| SC Paderborn | André Breitenreiter | Left | 12 June 2015 | Preseason | Markus Gellhaus | 13 June 2015 |
| Union Berlin | Norbert Düwel | Sacked | 31 August 2015 | 14th | Sascha Lewandowski | 1 September 2015 |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Kosta Runjaić | Resigned | 23 September 2015 | 12th | Konrad Fünfstück | 23 September 2015 |
| 1860 Munich | Torsten Fröhling | Sacked | 6 October 2015 | 17th | Benno Möhlmann | 6 October 2015 |
| SC Paderborn | Markus Gellhaus | Sacked | 6 October 2015 | 15th | Stefan Effenberg | 13 October 2015 |
| MSV Duisburg | Gino Lettieri | Sacked | 2 November 2015 | 18th | Iliya Gruev | 3 November 2015 |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | Frank Kramer | Sacked | 23 November 2015 | 17th | Peter Hermann (interim) | 23 November 2015 |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | Peter Hermann (interim) | Replaced | 23 December 2015 | 15th | Marco Kurz | 23 December 2015 |
| SC Paderborn | Stefan Effenberg | Sacked | 3 March 2016 | 17th | René Müller | 3 March 2016 |
| Union Berlin | Sascha Lewandowski | Stepped down | 4 March 2016 | 11th | André Hofschneider | 4 March 2016 |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | Marco Kurz | Sacked | 13 March 2016 | 16th | Friedhelm Funkel | 14 March 2016 |
| FSV Frankfurt | Tomas Oral | Sacked | 10 April 2016 | 14th | Falko Götz | 11 April 2016 |
| 1860 Munich | Benno Möhlmann | Sacked | 19 April 2016 | 17th | Daniel Bierofka | 19 April 2016 |
| 1860 Munich | Daniel Bierofka | Permit expired | 9 May 2016 | 14th | Denis Bushuev | 19 April 2016 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | SC Freiburg (C, P) | 34 | 22 | 6 | 6 | 75 | 39 | +36 | 72 | Promotion to Bundesliga |
| 2 | RB Leipzig (P) | 34 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 54 | 32 | +22 | 67 | Promotion to Bundesliga |
| 3 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 34 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 68 | 41 | +27 | 65 | Qualification to promotion play-offs |
| 4 | FC St. Pauli | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 45 | 39 | +6 | 53 | |
| 5 | VfL Bochum | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 56 | 40 | +16 | 51 | |
| 6 | Union Berlin | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 56 | 50 | +6 | 49 | |
| 7 | Karlsruher SC | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 35 | 37 | −2 | 47 | |
| 8 | Eintracht Braunschweig | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 44 | 38 | +6 | 46 | |
| 9 | SpVgg Greuther Fürth | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 49 | 55 | −6 | 46 | |
| 10 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 49 | 47 | +2 | 45 | |
| 11 | 1. FC Heidenheim | 34 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 42 | 40 | +2 | 45 | |
| 12 | Arminia Bielefeld | 34 | 8 | 18 | 8 | 38 | 39 | −1 | 42 | |
| 13 | SV Sandhausen | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 40 | 50 | −10 | 40 | |
| 14 | Fortuna Düsseldorf | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 32 | 47 | −15 | 35 | |
| 15 | 1860 Munich | 34 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 32 | 46 | −14 | 34 | |
| 16 | MSV Duisburg (R) | 34 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 32 | 54 | −22 | 32 | Qualification to relegation play-offs |
| 17 | FSV Frankfurt (R) | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 33 | 59 | −26 | 32 | Relegation to 3. Liga |
| 18 | SC Paderborn (R) | 34 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 55 | −27 | 28 | Relegation to 3. Liga |
* ↑ SV Sandhausen were deducted three points for license violation.

## Results

| Home \ Away | UNB | DSC | BOC | EBS | DUI | F95 | FSV | SCF | SGF | FCH | FCK | KSC | RBL | M60 | FCN | SCP | SVS | STP |
| Union Berlin | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–3 |
| Arminia Bielefeld | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| VfL Bochum | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | 2–3 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 |
| Eintracht Braunschweig | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 6–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 |
| MSV Duisburg | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–5 | — | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| FSV Frankfurt | 3–2 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 3–3 | 1–2 | — | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| SC Freiburg | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | — | 5–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 6–3 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 4–3 |
| Greuther Fürth | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–5 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | — | 0–2 | 2–4 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 |
| 1. FC Heidenheim | 0–2 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Karlsruher SC | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | — | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 |
| RB Leipzig | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | — | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| 1860 Munich | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 6–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| SC Paderborn | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–4 | 0–1 | — | 0–6 | 0–0 |
| SV Sandhausen | 4–3 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 0–2 |
| FC St. Pauli | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 5–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 3–4 | 1–3 | — |

## Promotion play-offs

The team which finished 16th faced the third-placed 2015–16 2. Bundesliga side for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches will earn entry into the 2016–17 Bundesliga.

### First leg

| Eintracht Frankfurt | 1. FC Nürnberg |
| GK | 1 | Lukáš Hrádecký |
| RB | 22 | Timothy Chandler |
| CB | 19 | David Abraham |
| CB | 4 | Marco Russ (c) | 56' |
| LB | 6 | Bastian Oczipka |
| CM | 20 | Makoto Hasebe |
| CM | 8 | Szabolcs Huszti |
| RW | 16 | Stefan Aigner | | 61' |
| AM | 14 | Alexander Meier | | 70' |
| LW | 11 | Mijat Gaćinović | | 84' |
| CF | 9 | Haris Seferovic |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 13 | Heinz Lindner |
| DF | 2 | Yanni Regäsel |
| DF | 5 | Carlos Zambrano |
| MF | 21 | Marc Stendera | | 70' |
| MF | 27 | Aleksandar Ignjovski |
| MF | 32 | Änis Ben-Hatira | | 61' |
| FW | 30 | Luc Castaignos | | 84' |
| Manager: ||
| Niko Kovač ||
| GK | 1 | Raphael Schäfer |
| RB | 2 | Mišo Brečko (c) |
| CB | 33 | Georg Margreitter |
| CB | 4 | Dave Bulthuis |
| LB | 6 | László Sepsi |
| RM | 17 | Sebastian Kerk | 74' |
| CM | 31 | Ondřej Petrák |
| CM | 18 | Hanno Behrens |
| LM | 23 | Tim Leibold | 89' |
| CF | 24 | Niclas Füllkrug | 85' |
| CF | 9 | Guido Burgstaller |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 22 | Patrick Rakovsky |
| DF | 3 | Even Hovland | 85' |
| DF | 28 | Lukas Mühl |
| MF | 14 | Kevin Möhwald |
| MF | 19 | Rúrik Gíslason | 89' |
| FW | 7 | Danny Blum | 74' |
| FW | 36 | Cedric Teuchert |
| Manager: ||
| René Weiler ||
| Assistant referees: Florian Heft (Neuenkirchen) Jan Seidel (Oberkrämer) Fourth official: Bibiana Steinhaus (Hanover) | Match rules: 90 minutes. Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used. |

### Second leg

| 1. FC Nürnberg | Eintracht Frankfurt |
| GK | 1 | Raphael Schäfer |
| RB | 2 | Mišo Brečko (c) | 72' |
| CB | 33 | Georg Margreitter |
| CB | 4 | Dave Bulthuis |
| LB | 6 | László Sepsi | | 84' |
| RM | 17 | Sebastian Kerk | 56' | 74' |
| CM | 31 | Ondřej Petrák | | 74' |
| CM | 18 | Hanno Behrens |
| LM | 23 | Tim Leibold |
| CF | 9 | Guido Burgstaller | 90+2' |
| CF | 24 | Niclas Füllkrug |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 22 | Patrick Rakovsky |
| DF | 3 | Even Hovland | | 84' |
| DF | 28 | Lukas Mühl |
| MF | 14 | Kevin Möhwald |
| MF | 19 | Rúrik Gíslason | | 74' |
| FW | 7 | Danny Blum | | 74' |
| FW | 36 | Cedric Teuchert |
| Manager: ||
| René Weiler ||
| GK | 1 | Lukáš Hrádecký | 90+1' |
| RB | 22 | Timothy Chandler | | 69' |
| CB | 5 | Carlos Zambrano (c) |
| CB | 19 | David Abraham | 90+4' |
| LB | 6 | Bastian Oczipka | 24' |
| CM | 20 | Makoto Hasebe |
| CM | 8 | Szabolcs Huszti |
| RW | 32 | Änis Ben-Hatira | | 58' |
| AM | 21 | Marc Stendera | | 11' |
| LW | 11 | Mijat Gaćinović |
| CF | 9 | Haris Seferovic | 76' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 13 | Heinz Lindner |
| DF | 2 | Yanni Regäsel |
| MF | 10 | Marco Fabián | 51' | 11' |
| MF | 16 | Stefan Aigner |
| MF | 27 | Aleksandar Ignjovski | | 69' |
| FW | 14 | Alexander Meier | | 58' |
| FW | 30 | Luc Castaignos |
| Manager: ||
| Niko Kovač ||
| Assistant referees: Tobias Christ (Münchweiler an der Rodalb) Arne Aarnink (Nordhorn) Fourth official: Bastian Dankert (Rostock) | Match rules: 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if tied on aggregate and away goals. Penalty shoot-out if no further goals are scored. Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used. |
Eintracht Frankfurt won 2–1 on aggregate.

## Relegation play-offs

The team which finished sixteenth faced the third-placed 2015–16 3. Liga side for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches earned entry into the 2016–17 2. Bundesliga.

### First leg

| GK | 28 | Robert Wulnikowski (c) |
| RB | 22 | Dennis Russ | | 74' |
| CB | 11 | Richard Weil |
| CB | 5 | Clemens Schoppenhauer |
| LB | 16 | Peter Kurzweg |
| CM | 30 | Emanuel Taffertshofer |
| CM | 26 | Royal-Dominique Fennell |
| RW | 10 | Nejmeddin Daghfous |
| AM | 4 | Rico Benatelli |
| LW | 14 | Joannis Karsanidis | | 57' |
| CF | 33 | Elia Soriano | | 70' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 1 | Dominik Brunnhübner |
| DF | 32 | Lukas Billick |
| MF | 2 | Dennis Schmitt |
| MF | 7 | Marco Haller | | 57' |
| MF | 9 | Amir Shapourzadeh | | 74' |
| MF | 20 | Dániel Nagy | 76' | 70' |
| FW | 27 | Adam Jabiri |
| Manager: ||
| Bernd Hollerbach ||
| GK | 30 | Marcel Lenz |
| RB | 28 | Steffen Bohl |
| CB | 25 | Thomas Meißner |
| CB | 5 | Branimir Bajić (c) | 8' |
| LB | 27 | Dan-Patrick Poggenberg |
| RM | 36 | Giorgi Chanturia | | 75' |
| CM | 23 | James Holland |
| CM | 3 | Enis Hajri |
| LM | 17 | Kevin Wolze | | 86' |
| CF | 10 | Kingsley Onuegbu | 9' | 53' |
| CF | 11 | Stanislav Iljutcenko |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 39 | Timothy Dieng |
| DF | 21 | Rolf Feltscher |
| MF | 13 | Zlatko Janjić |
| MF | 14 | Tim Albutat |
| MF | 19 | Nico Klotz | | 75' |
| FW | 8 | Thomas Bröker | | 86' |
| FW | 33 | Kevin Scheidhauer | | 53' |
| Manager: ||
| Iliya Gruev ||

### Second leg

| GK | 30 | Marcel Lenz |
| CB | 25 | Thomas Meißner |
| CB | 23 | James Holland |
| CB | 3 | Enis Hajri |
| RM | 21 | Rolf Feltscher |
| CM | 36 | Giorgi Chanturia | | 56' |
| CM | 14 | Tim Albutat | | 73' |
| CM | 17 | Kevin Wolze | 67' | 71' |
| LM | 27 | Dan-Patrick Poggenberg |
| CF | 15 | Victor Obinna | 89' |
| CF | 10 | Kingsley Onuegbu (c) |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 39 | Timothy Dieng |
| DF | 28 | Steffen Bohl |
| MF | 13 | Zlatko Janjić |
| MF | 19 | Nico Klotz | | 56' |
| MF | 38 | Barış Özbek |
| FW | 8 | Thomas Bröker | | 71' |
| FW | 11 | Stanislav Iljutcenko | | 73' |
| Manager: ||
| Iliya Gruev ||
| GK | 28 | Robert Wulnikowski (c) |
| RB | 11 | Richard Weil |
| CB | 5 | Clemens Schoppenhauer |
| CB | 26 | Royal-Dominique Fennell | 64' |
| LB | 16 | Peter Kurzweg | 22' | 72' |
| CM | 30 | Emanuel Taffertshofer |
| CM | 4 | Rico Benatelli |
| RW | 22 | Dennis Russ |
| AM | 14 | Joannis Karsanidis | 81' | 83' |
| LW | 7 | Marco Haller |
| CF | 33 | Elia Soriano | | 88' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 1 | Dominik Brunnhübner |
| DF | 3 | Dominik Nothnagel | | 72' |
| DF | 6 | Niklas Weißenberger |
| DF | 32 | Lukas Billick | | 83' |
| MF | 9 | Amir Shapourzadeh |
| MF | 18 | Nico Gutjahr |
| FW | 27 | Adam Jabiri | | 88' |
| Manager: ||
| Bernd Hollerbach ||
Würzburger Kickers won 4–1 on aggregate.

## Player statistics
### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Simon Terodde | VfL Bochum | 25 |
| 2 | Nils Petersen | SC Freiburg | 21 |
| 3 | Bobby Wood | Union Berlin | 17 |
| 5 | Niclas Füllkrug | Nürnberg | 14 |
| 5 | Vincenzo Grifo | SC Freiburg | 14 |
| 7 | Guido Burgstaller | Nürnberg | 13 |
| 8 | Sebastian Freis | Greuther Fürth | 12 |
| 8 | Fabian Klos | Arminia Bielefeld | 12 |
| 8 | Damir Kreilach | Union Berlin | 12 |
| 11 | Kerem Demirbay | Fortuna Düsseldorf | 10 |
| 11 | Robert Leipertz | 1. FC Heidenheim | 10 |
| 11 | Davie Selke | RB Leipzig | 10 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | Club | Against | Result | Date |
| Nils Petersen | SC Freiburg | 1. FC Nürnberg | 6−3 | 27 July 2015 |
| Lennart Thy$^4$ | FC St. Pauli | Fortuna Düsseldorf | 4−0 | 9 November 2015 |
| Nils Petersen | SC Freiburg | SC Paderborn | 4−1 | 22 November 2015 |
| Rubin Okotie | 1860 Munich | SC Paderborn | 4−4 | 28 November 2015 |
| Niclas Füllkrug | 1. FC Nürnberg | Union Berlin | 6−2 | 23 April 2016 |
| Simon Terodde | VfL Bochum | 1. FC Heidenheim | 4−2 | 15 May 2016 |
$^4$Player scored four goals