# 2010–11 3. Liga

The 2010–11 3. Liga was the third season of the 3. Liga, Germany's third tier of its football league system. The season commenced on the weekend of 23 July 2010 and ended with the last games on 14 May 2011. The winter break was in effect between weekends around 18 December 2010 and 29 January 2011.

## Teams

As in the previous year, the league comprised the teams placed fourth through seventeenth of the 2009–10 season, the worst two teams from the 2009–10 2. Bundesliga, the losers of the 2. Bundesliga relegation play-off between the 16th-placed 2. Bundesliga team and the third-placed 3rd Liga team and the champions from the three 2009–10 Regionalliga divisions.
2009–10 3. Liga champions VfL Osnabrück and runners-up Erzgebirge Aue were promoted to the 2. Bundesliga. They were replaced by TuS Koblenz and Rot Weiss Ahlen who finished 17th and 18th respectively in the 2009–10 2. Bundesliga season.
Borussia Dortmund II, Holstein Kiel and Wuppertaler SV Borussia were relegated after the 2009–10 season. They were replaced by the three 2009–10 Regionalliga champions SV Babelsberg 03, 1. FC Saarbrücken and VfR Aalen.
A further spot was available through relegation/promotion play-offs, which was eventually taken by 16th placed 2nd Bundesliga team FC Hansa Rostock after losing on aggregate score against FC Ingolstadt 04.

### Stadia and locations

No major changes happened to the capacities of the team's stadia during the off-season.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Stadium capacity |
| VfR Aalen | Aalen | Scholz-Arena | 11,183 |
| SV Babelsberg 03 | Potsdam | Karl-Liebknecht-Stadion | 10,499 |
| FC Bayern Munich II | Munich | Stadion an der Grünwalder Straße | 10,240 |
| FC Carl Zeiss Jena | Jena | Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld | 12,990 |
| Dynamo Dresden | Dresden | Glücksgas-Stadion | 32,066 |
| Eintracht Braunschweig | Braunschweig | Eintracht-Stadion | 25,540 |
| Hansa Rostock | Rostock | DKB-Arena | 29,000 |
| 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 | Heidenheim | Voith-Arena$^1$ | 10,000 |
| SSV Jahn Regensburg | Regensburg | Jahnstadion | 11,800 |
| Kickers Offenbach | Offenbach | Stadion am Bieberer Berg | 26,500 |
| TuS Koblenz | Koblenz | Stadion Oberwerth | 15,000 |
| Rot Weiss Ahlen | Ahlen | Wersestadion | 12,500 |
| FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt | Erfurt | Steigerwaldstadion | 17,500 |
| 1. FC Saarbrücken | Saarbrücken | Ludwigspark | 35,303 |
| SV Sandhausen | Sandhausen | Hardtwald | 10,231 |
| VfB Stuttgart II | Stuttgart | Gazi-Stadion auf der Waldau | 10,100 |
| SpVgg Unterhaching | Unterhaching | Generali Sportpark | 15,053 |
| SV Wacker Burghausen | Burghausen | Wacker-Arena | 10,000 |
| SV Wehen Wiesbaden | Wiesbaden | BRITA-Arena | 12,250 |
| SV Werder Bremen II | Bremen | Weserstadion Platz 11 | 5,500 |
Notes $^1$ Voith-Arena was named GAGFAH-Arena until mid-February 2011.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Eintracht Braunschweig (C, P) | 38 | 26 | 7 | 5 | 81 | 22 | +59 | 85 | Promotion to 2. Bundesliga and qualification for DFB-Pokal |
| 2 | Hansa Rostock (P) | 38 | 24 | 6 | 8 | 70 | 36 | +34 | 78 | Promotion to 2. Bundesliga and qualification for DFB-Pokal |
| 3 | Dynamo Dresden (O, P) | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 55 | 37 | +18 | 65 | Qualification to promotion play-offs and DFB-Pokal |
| 4 | Wehen Wiesbaden | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 55 | 39 | +16 | 64 | Qualification for DFB-Pokal |
| 5 | Rot-Weiß Erfurt | 38 | 18 | 7 | 13 | 63 | 45 | +18 | 61 | |
| 6 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 61 | 51 | +10 | 59 | |
| 7 | Kickers Offenbach | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 52 | 45 | +7 | 57 | |
| 8 | Jahn Regensburg | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 35 | 41 | −6 | 52 | |
| 9 | 1. FC Heidenheim | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 59 | 58 | +1 | 51 | |
| 10 | VfB Stuttgart II | 38 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 48 | 48 | 0 | 51 | |
| 11 | TuS Koblenz (R) | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 38 | 46 | −8 | 49 | Relegation to Regionalliga |
| 12 | SV Sandhausen | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 43 | 46 | −3 | 46 | |
| 13 | SV Babelsberg 03 | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 46 | |
| 14 | SpVgg Unterhaching | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 39 | 55 | −16 | 45 | |
| 15 | Carl Zeiss Jena | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 43 | 62 | −19 | 44 | |
| 16 | VfR Aalen | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 40 | 52 | −12 | 41 | |
| 17 | Wacker Burghausen | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 46 | 66 | −20 | 37 | |
| 18 | Werder Bremen II | 38 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 33 | 56 | −23 | 36 | |
| 19 | Bayern Munich II (R) | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 30 | 54 | −24 | 30 | Relegation to Regionalliga |
| 20 | Rot Weiss Ahlen (R) | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 45 | 69 | −24 | 39 | Relegation to NRW-Liga |
* 1 2 3 Reserve teams are ineligible for promotion or DFB-Pokal qualification.
* ↑ Koblenz voluntarily withdrew their participation following being unable to generate an adequate budget for the season.
* ↑ Rot Weiss Ahlen were docked three points for violations within the licensing process.
* ↑ Rot Weiss Ahlen filed for administration after the conclusion of the season and therefore were automatically demoted and put into last place. Shortly afterwards, the club announced that it will enter the fifth-tier NRW-Liga for the 2011–12 season.

## Results

| Home \ Away | AAL | RWA | SVB | EBS | BR2 | WBU | SGD | ERF | FCH | JEN | KOB | MU2 | KOF | JRE | ROS | FCS | SVS | ST2 | UNT | WEH |
| VfR Aalen | — | 3–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Rot Weiss Ahlen | 4–2 | — | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 |
| SV Babelsberg | 3–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–4 | 0–0 |
| Eintracht Braunschweig | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 6–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 |
| Werder Bremen II | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–5 | — | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–4 |
| Wacker Burghausen | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 3–4 | 1–4 | 3–4 | 1–3 | 1–1 |
| Dynamo Dresden | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 |
| Rot-Weiß Erfurt | 1–0 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 |
| 1. FC Heidenheim | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 0–2 |
| Carl Zeiss Jena | 0–0 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | — | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–7 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| TuS Koblenz | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 |
| Bayern Munich II | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Kickers Offenbach | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 4–1 | — | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Jahn Regensburg | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | — | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| Hansa Rostock | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 5–0 | — | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 7–2 | 3–1 |
| 1. FC Saarbrücken | 3–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 3–4 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | — | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 |
| SV Sandhausen | 1–3 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | — | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| VfB Stuttgart II | 1–1 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 3–3 |
| SpVgg Unterhaching | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 0–1 |
| Wehen Wiesbaden | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | — |

## Top goalscorers

Source: kicker (German)

### 19 goals

* Dominick Kumbela (Eintracht Braunschweig)
* Patrick Mayer (1. FC Heidenheim)

### 17 goals

* Alexander Esswein (Dynamo Dresden)
* Matthew Taylor (Rot Weiss Ahlen)

### 16 goals

* Dennis Kruppke (Eintracht Braunschweig)
* Olivier Occean (Kickers Offenbach)

### 14 goals

* Björn Ziegenbein (Hansa Rostock)

### 13 goals

* Eric Agyemang (Wacker Burghausen)
* Frank Löning (SV Sandhausen)

### 12 goals

* Zlatko Janjić (SV Wehen Wiesbaden)
* Marcel Reichwein (FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt)
* Marc Schnatterer (1. FC Heidenheim)

## Season awards
### Player of the month

* August: Tobias Jänicke (Hansa Rostock)
* September: Alexander Esswein (Dynamo Dresden)
* October: Björn Ziegenbein (Hansa Rostock)
* November: Björn Ziegenbein (Hansa Rostock)
* December: Deniz Dogan (Eintracht Braunschweig)
* February: Marjan Petković (Eintracht Braunschweig)
* March: Dennis Kruppke (Eintracht Braunschweig)
* April: Alexander Esswein (Dynamo Dresden)

### Player of the season

The following players were nominated as the 3. Liga Player of the season, with Alexander Esswein announced as the winner on 3 June after a public vote.
* Alexander Esswein (Dynamo Dresden)
* Dennis Kruppke (Eintracht Braunschweig)
* Patrick Mayer (1. FC Heidenheim)
* Marjan Petkovic (Eintracht Braunschweig)
* Björn Ziegenbein (Hansa Rostock)