# 2014–15 Bundesliga

The 2014–15 Bundesliga was the 52nd season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. The season started on 22 August 2014 and the final matchday took place on 23 May 2015. Bayern Munich won their 25th German title on 26 April 2015.

## Background

Bayern Munich came into the season as defending champions, winning the championship on 25 March 2014 against Hertha BSC. Armin Veh announced that he was leaving Eintracht Frankfurt during the 2013–14 season. He had demanded that the club invest more money in the squad. Thomas Schaaf replaced Veh.
Bayer Leverkusen sacked Sami Hyypiä during the 2013–14 season. Sascha Lewandowski was named interim manager. Lewandowski's interim reign lasted until the end of the season when Roger Schmidt took over. Other managerial changes include Kasper Hjulmand replacing Thomas Tuchel at 1. FSV Mainz 05 and Armin Veh replacing Huub Stevens at VfB Stuttgart. Every club received their licence. The league schedule came out on 24 June with Bayern Munich facing VfL Wolfsburg in the opening fixture on 22 August. The match ended 2–1 win for Bayern Munich, a record third straight win for the home team, on the opening matchday, in the last three seasons.

## Teams

18 teams comprise the league. 15 sides qualified directly from the 2013–14 season and two sides were directly promoted from the 2013–14 2. Fußball-Bundesliga season: 1. FC Köln and SC Paderborn 07. The final participant was decided by a two-legged play-off, in which 16th-placed Bundesliga club Hamburger SV defeated third-place finisher in 2. Bundesliga, SpVgg Greuther Fürth.

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| FC Augsburg | Augsburg | SGL arena | 30,660 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | Leverkusen | BayArena | 30,210 |
| Bayern Munich | Munich | Allianz Arena | 75,000 |
| Borussia Dortmund | Dortmund | Signal Iduna Park | 80,645 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | Mönchengladbach | Stadion im Borussia-Park | 54,010 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Frankfurt | Commerzbank-Arena | 51,500 |
| SC Freiburg | Freiburg | Schwarzwald-Stadion | 24,000 |
| Hamburger SV | Hamburg | Imtech Arena | 57,000 |
| Hannover 96 | Hanover | HDI-Arena | 49,000 |
| Hertha BSC | Berlin | Olympiastadion | 74,244 |
| TSG 1899 Hoffenheim | Sinsheim | Rhein-Neckar Arena | 30,150 |
| 1. FC Köln | Cologne | RheinEnergieStadion | 50,000 |
| 1. FSV Mainz 05 | Mainz | Coface Arena | 34,000 |
| SC Paderborn 07 | Paderborn | Benteler Arena | 15,000 |
| Schalke 04 | Gelsenkirchen | Veltins-Arena | 61,973 |
| VfB Stuttgart | Stuttgart | Mercedes-Benz Arena | 60,441 |
| Werder Bremen | Bremen | Weserstadion | 42,100 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | Wolfsburg | Volkswagen Arena | 30,000 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| FC Augsburg | Markus Weinzierl | Paul Verhaegh | Nike | AL-KO |
| Bayer Leverkusen | Roger Schmidt | Simon Rolfes | adidas | LG Electronics |
| Bayern Munich | Pep Guardiola | Philipp Lahm | adidas | Deutsche Telekom |
| Borussia Dortmund | Jürgen Klopp | Mats Hummels | Puma | Evonik |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | Lucien Favre | Filip Daems | Kappa | Postbank |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Thomas Schaaf | Kevin Trapp | Nike | Alfa Romeo |
| SC Freiburg | Christian Streich | Julian Schuster | Nike | Ehrmann |
| Hamburger SV | Bruno Labbadia | Rafael van der Vaart | adidas | Fly Emirates |
| Hannover 96 | Michael Frontzeck | Lars Stindl | Jako | Heinz von Heiden |
| Hertha BSC | Pál Dárdai | Fabian Lustenberger | Nike | Deutsche Bahn |
| TSG 1899 Hoffenheim | Markus Gisdol | Andreas Beck | Lotto | SAP |
| 1. FC Köln | Peter Stöger | Mišo Brečko | Erima | REWE |
| 1. FSV Mainz 05 | Martin Schmidt | Nikolče Noveski | Nike | Entega |
| SC Paderborn 07 | André Breitenreiter | Uwe Hünemeier | Saller | kfzteile24 |
| Schalke 04 | Roberto Di Matteo | Benedikt Höwedes | adidas | Gazprom |
| VfB Stuttgart | Huub Stevens | Christian Gentner | Puma | Mercedes-Benz Bank |
| Werder Bremen | Viktor Skrypnyk | Clemens Fritz | Nike | Wiesenhof |
| VfL Wolfsburg | Dieter Hecking | Diego Benaglio | Kappa | Volkswagen |

## Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Date | Position in table | Incoming | Date |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Armin Veh | End of contract | 30 June 2014 | Pre–season | Thomas Schaaf | 21 May 2014 |
| Mainz 05 | Thomas Tuchel | Stepped down | 11 May 2014 | Pre–season | Kasper Hjulmand | 15 May 2014 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | Sascha Lewandowski | End of caretaker assignment | 30 June 2014 | Pre–season | Roger Schmidt | 1 July 2014 |
| VfB Stuttgart | Huub Stevens | End of contract | 30 June 2014 | Pre–season | Armin Veh | 1 July 2014 |
| Hamburger SV | Mirko Slomka | Sacked | 15 September 2014 | 18th | Josef Zinnbauer | 16 September 2014 |
| Schalke 04 | Jens Keller | Sacked | 7 October 2014 | 11th | Roberto Di Matteo | 7 October 2014 |
| Werder Bremen | Robin Dutt | Sacked | 25 October 2014 | 18th | Viktor Skrypnyk | 25 October 2014 |
| VfB Stuttgart | Armin Veh | Resigned | 24 November 2014 | 18th | Huub Stevens | 25 November 2014 |
| Hertha BSC | Jos Luhukay | Sacked | 5 February 2015 | 17th | Pál Dárdai | 6 February 2015 |
| Mainz 05 | Kasper Hjulmand | Sacked | 17 February 2015 | 14th | Martin Schmidt | 17 February 2015 |
| Hamburger SV | Josef Zinnbauer | Sacked | 22 March 2015 | 16th | Bruno Labbadia | 15 April 2015 |
| Hannover 96 | Tayfun Korkut | Sacked | 20 April 2015 | 15th | Michael Frontzeck | 20 April 2015 |

### Notes

* Announced on 3 March 2014.
* Announced on 25 April 2014.
* Announced on 10 May 2014.
* Announced on 12 May 2014.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Bayern Munich (C) | 34 | 25 | 4 | 5 | 80 | 18 | +62 | 79 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | VfL Wolfsburg | 34 | 20 | 9 | 5 | 72 | 38 | +34 | 69 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 34 | 19 | 9 | 6 | 53 | 26 | +27 | 66 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 4 | Bayer Leverkusen | 34 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 62 | 37 | +25 | 61 | Qualification for the Champions League play-off round |
| 5 | FC Augsburg | 34 | 15 | 4 | 15 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 49 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
| 6 | Schalke 04 | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 42 | 40 | +2 | 48 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
| 7 | Borussia Dortmund | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 46 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 8 | 1899 Hoffenheim | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 49 | 55 | −6 | 44 | |
| 9 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 56 | 62 | −6 | 43 | |
| 10 | Werder Bremen | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 50 | 65 | −15 | 43 | |
| 11 | FSV Mainz 05 | 34 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 45 | 47 | −2 | 40 | |
| 12 | 1. FC Köln | 34 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 34 | 40 | −6 | 40 | |
| 13 | Hannover 96 | 34 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 40 | 56 | −16 | 37 | |
| 14 | VfB Stuttgart | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 42 | 60 | −18 | 36 | |
| 15 | Hertha BSC | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 36 | 52 | −16 | 35 | |
| 16 | Hamburger SV (O) | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 50 | −25 | 35 | Qualification for the relegation play-offs |
| 17 | SC Freiburg (R) | 34 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 36 | 47 | −11 | 34 | Relegation to 2. Bundesliga |
| 18 | SC Paderborn 07 (R) | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 31 | 65 | −34 | 31 | Relegation to 2. Bundesliga |
* 1 2 Since the winners of the 2014–15 DFB-Pokal, VfL Wolfsburg, qualified for the Champions League based on league position, the Europa League group stage spot was passed to the sixth-placed team, Schalke 04; and the Europa League third qualifying round spot was passed to the seventh-placed team, Borussia Dortmund.

## Results

| Home \ Away | FCA | BSC | SVW | BVB | SGE | SCF | HSV | H96 | TSG | KOE | B04 | M05 | BMG | FCB | SCP | S04 | VFB | WOB |
| FC Augsburg | — | 1–0 | 4–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Hertha BSC | 1–0 | — | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–5 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–0 |
| Werder Bremen | 3–2 | 2–0 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 3–5 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | — | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 0–1 | 4–4 | 5–2 | 2–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 4–5 | 1–1 |
| SC Freiburg | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 4–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 1–2 |
| Hamburger SV | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Hannover 96 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | — | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 3–0 | 4–3 | — | 3–4 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| 1. FC Köln | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 1–0 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 5–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 4–5 |
| Mainz 05 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | — | 2–2 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 1–3 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Bayern Munich | 0–1 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 8–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | — | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| SC Paderborn | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–6 | — | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 |
| Schalke 04 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 3–2 | 3–2 |
| VfB Stuttgart | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | — | 0–4 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | — |

## Relegation play-offs

The team which finishes 16th, will face the third-placed 2014–15 2. Bundesliga side for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches earns entry into the 2015–16 Bundesliga. Hamburger SV prevailed for the second year in a row, avoiding their possible first relegation.

### First leg

| Hamburger SV | Karlsruher SC |
| GK | 15 | René Adler |
| RB | 4 | Heiko Westermann | 26' | 56' |
| CB | 5 | Johan Djourou (c) |
| CB | 32 | Slobodan Rajković |
| LB | 22 | Matthias Ostrzolek |
| CM | 40 | Gojko Kačar | 83' |
| CM | 20 | Marcelo Díaz |
| RW | 8 | Ivica Olić | | 89' |
| AM | 18 | Lewis Holtby | 59' | 69' |
| LW | 11 | Ivo Iličević |
| CF | 10 | Pierre-Michel Lasogga |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 30 | Alexander Brunst |
| DF | 2 | Dennis Diekmeier | 83' | 56' |
| DF | 3 | Cléber |
| MF | 17 | Zoltán Stieber | | 69' |
| MF | 23 | Rafael van der Vaart |
| MF | 27 | Nicolai Müller |
| FW | 9 | Maximilian Beister | | 89' |
| Manager: ||
| Bruno Labbadia ||
| GK | 1 | Dirk Orlishausen (c) |
| RB | 22 | Enrico Valentini | 13' |
| CB | 3 | Daniel Gordon |
| CB | 14 | Manuel Gulde |
| LB | 31 | Philipp Max |
| CM | 13 | Dominic Peitz | 78' |
| CM | 23 | Jonas Meffert |
| RW | 18 | Manuel Torres Jiménez |
| AM | 8 | Reinhold Yabo | | 76' |
| LW | 11 | Dimitrij Nazarov |
| CF | 17 | Rouwen Hennings | | 90+3' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 24 | René Vollath |
| DF | 4 | Martin Stoll |
| DF | 5 | Dennis Kempe |
| DF | 20 | Ylli Sallahi |
| MF | 15 | Boubacar Barry |
| MF | 21 | Gaëtan Krebs | | 76' |
| FW | 19 | Iliyan Mitsanski | | 90+3' |
| Manager: ||
| Markus Kauczinski ||
| Assistant referees: Benjamin Brand Markus Hacker Fourth official: Michael Weiner | Match rules 90 minutes. Seven named substitutes. Maximum of three substitutions. |

### Second leg

| Karlsruher SC | Hamburger SV |
| GK | 1 | Dirk Orlishausen (c) |
| RB | 22 | Enrico Valentini |
| CB | 3 | Daniel Gordon | | 118' |
| CB | 14 | Manuel Gulde | 90+2' |
| LB | 31 | Philipp Max | | 86' |
| CM | 21 | Gaëtan Krebs | 87' | 89' |
| CM | 23 | Jonas Meffert | 90' |
| RW | 18 | Manuel Torres Jiménez |
| AM | 9 | Hiroki Yamada | | 72' |
| LW | 11 | Dimitrij Nazarov | 120+1' |
| CF | 17 | Rouwen Hennings |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 24 | René Vollath |
| DF | 4 | Martin Stoll | | 89' |
| DF | 5 | Dennis Kempe | | 86' |
| DF | 20 | Ylli Sallahi |
| MF | 8 | Reinhold Yabo | | 72' |
| MF | 15 | Boubacar Barry |
| FW | 19 | Iliyan Mitsanski |
| Manager: ||
| Markus Kauczinski ||
| GK | 15 | René Adler |
| RB | 2 | Dennis Diekmeier |
| CB | 5 | Johan Djourou |
| CB | 32 | Slobodan Rajković | 63' |
| LB | 22 | Matthias Ostrzolek |
| CM | 20 | Marcelo Díaz | 55' |
| CM | 23 | Rafael van der Vaart (c) | 48' |
| RW | 8 | Ivica Olić | | 77' |
| AM | 18 | Lewis Holtby | | 66' |
| LW | 11 | Ivo Iličević | | 86' |
| CF | 10 | Pierre-Michel Lasogga |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 30 | Alexander Brunst |
| DF | 3 | Cléber | 101' | 86' |
| DF | 31 | Ronny Marcos |
| MF | 17 | Zoltán Stieber | | 66' |
| MF | 19 | Petr Jiráček | 115' |
| MF | 27 | Nicolai Müller | | 77' |
| FW | 9 | Maximilian Beister | 90+2' |
| Manager: ||
| Bruno Labbadia ||
| Assistant referees: Guido Kleve René Rohde Fourth official: Marco Fritz | Match rules 90 minutes of regular time. 30 minutes of extra time if tied on aggregate. Penalty shoot-out if no further goals are scored. Seven named substitutes. Maximum of three substitutions. |
Hamburger SV won 3–2 on aggregate.