# 2009–10 3. Liga

The 2009–10 3. Liga season was the second season for the newly formed tier III of the German football league system. The season began on 25 July 2009 and ended on 8 May 2010.

## Team changes from 2008–09
### Exchange between 2. Bundesliga and 3. Liga

2008–09 3. Liga champions 1. FC Union Berlin and runners-up Fortuna Düsseldorf were directly promoted to the 2. Bundesliga. They were replaced by FC Ingolstadt 04 and SV Wehen Wiesbaden, who finished in the bottom two places after the previous season.
Third-placed team SC Paderborn 07 were also promoted after defeating the 16th-placed team from last year's 2nd Bundesliga, VfL Osnabrück, in a relegation playoff. As a result, Osnabrück would play in 3. Liga.

### Exchange between 3. Liga and Regionalliga

VfR Aalen and Stuttgarter Kickers were relegated after finishing the 2008–09 season in the bottom two places. 18th-placed SV Wacker Burghausen were eventually spared from relegation after 5th-placed Kickers Emden voluntarily retracted their application for a license because of financial issues. Emden will play in the fifth-tier Oberliga Niedersachsen.
The three relegated teams were replaced by the champions of the three Regionalliga divisions, Holstein Kiel (North), Borussia Dortmund II (West) and 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 (South).

## Team overview
### Stadia and locations

| Team | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| FC Bayern Munich II | Munich | Stadion an der Grünwalder Straße | 10,200 |
| Borussia Dortmund II | Dortmund | Stadion Rote Erde | 25,000 |
| FC Carl Zeiss Jena | Jena | Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld | 12,750 |
| Dynamo Dresden | Dresden | Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion | 32,296 |
| Eintracht Braunschweig | Braunschweig | Eintracht-Stadion | 23,500 |
| FC Erzgebirge Aue | Aue | Erzgebirgsstadion | 16,397 |
| 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 | Heidenheim | Gagfah-Arena | 10,000 |
| Holstein Kiel | Kiel | Holstein-Stadion | 11,386 |
| FC Ingolstadt 04 | Ingolstadt | Tuja-Stadion | 11,418 |
| SSV Jahn Regensburg | Regensburg | Jahnstadion | 11,800 |
| Kickers Offenbach | Offenbach am Main | Stadion am Bieberer Berg | 26,500 |
| VfL Osnabrück | Osnabrück | Osnatel-Arena | 16,125 |
| FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt | Erfurt | Steigerwaldstadion | 17,500 |
| SV Sandhausen | Sandhausen | Hardtwald | 10,231 |
| VfB Stuttgart II | Stuttgart | GAZi-Stadion auf der Waldau | 11,436 |
| SpVgg Unterhaching | Unterhaching | Generali Sportpark | 15,053 |
| SV Wacker Burghausen | Burghausen | Wacker-Arena | 10,000 |
| SV Wehen Wiesbaden | Wiesbaden | BRITA-Arena | 13,144 |
| SV Werder Bremen II | Bremen | Weserstadion Platz 11 | 5,500 |
| Wuppertaler SV Borussia | Wuppertal | Stadion am Zoo | 23,067 |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| VfL Osnabrück | Claus-Dieter Wollitz | FC Energie Cottbus purchased rights | 30 June 2009 | Karsten Baumann | 1 July 2009 | Pre-Season |
| FC Carl Zeiss Jena | Marc Fascher | End of contract | 30 June 2009 | René van Eck | 1 July 2009 | Pre-Season |
| FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt | Henri Fuchs | End of tenure as caretaker | 30 June 2009 | Rainer Hörgl | 1 July 2009 | Pre-Season |
| VfB Stuttgart II | Rainer Adrion | New coach of Germany U-21 | 30 June 2009 | Reiner Geyer | 1 July 2009 | Pre-Season |
| SV Wacker Burghausen | Ralf Santelli | End of contract | 30 June 2009 | Jürgen Press | 1 July 2009 | Pre-Season |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | VfL Osnabrück (C, P) | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 55 | 37 | +18 | 69 | Promotion to 2. Bundesliga and qualification for DFB-Pokal |
| 2 | Erzgebirge Aue (P) | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 57 | 41 | +16 | 68 | Promotion to 2. Bundesliga and qualification for DFB-Pokal |
| 3 | FC Ingolstadt (P) | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 72 | 46 | +26 | 64 | Qualification to promotion play-offs and DFB-Pokal |
| 4 | Eintracht Braunschweig | 38 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 55 | 37 | +18 | 62 | Qualification for DFB-Pokal |
| 5 | Carl Zeiss Jena | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 54 | 44 | +10 | 60 | |
| 6 | 1. FC Heidenheim | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 66 | 56 | +10 | 59 | |
| 7 | Kickers Offenbach | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 55 | 35 | +20 | 57 | |
| 8 | Bayern Munich II | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 55 | 65 | −10 | 54 | |
| 9 | Rot-Weiß Erfurt | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 53 | |
| 10 | VfB Stuttgart II | 38 | 16 | 4 | 18 | 53 | 50 | +3 | 52 | |
| 11 | SpVgg Unterhaching | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 52 | 52 | 0 | 50 | |
| 12 | Dynamo Dresden | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 39 | 46 | −7 | 50 | |
| 13 | Werder Bremen II | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 49 | 54 | −5 | 47 | |
| 14 | SV Sandhausen | 38 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 54 | 63 | −9 | 47 | |
| 15 | Wehen Wiesbaden | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 52 | 64 | −12 | 47 | |
| 16 | Jahn Regensburg | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 43 | 48 | −5 | 46 | |
| 17 | Wacker Burghausen | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 45 | 64 | −19 | 46 | |
| 18 | Borussia Dortmund II (R) | 38 | 11 | 6 | 21 | 43 | 58 | −15 | 39 | Relegation to Regionalliga |
| 19 | Holstein Kiel (R) | 38 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 43 | 61 | −18 | 38 | Relegation to Regionalliga |
| 20 | Wuppertaler SV (R) | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 40 | 61 | −21 | 38 | Relegation to Regionalliga |
* 1 2 3 4 Reserve teams are ineligible for promotion or DFB-Pokal qualification.

## Results

| Home \ Away | AUE | EBS | BR2 | WBU | DO2 | SGD | ERF | FCH | FCI | JEN | KSV | MU2 | KOF | OSN | JRE | SVS | ST2 | UNT | WEH | WUP |
| Erzgebirge Aue | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| Eintracht Braunschweig | 3–0 | — | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 4–3 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 |
| Werder Bremen II | 2–1 | 0–3 | — | 3–4 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 6–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 0–1 |
| Wacker Burghausen | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 4–3 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 4–2 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Borussia Dortmund II | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Dynamo Dresden | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | — | 1–0 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 |
| Rot-Weiß Erfurt | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| 1. FC Heidenheim | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | — | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 2–2 |
| FC Ingolstadt | 5–1 | 3–3 | 4–1 | 6–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 4–3 | — | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 0–2 |
| Carl Zeiss Jena | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–0 | — | 3–0 | 6–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Holstein Kiel | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | — | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Bayern Munich II | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Kickers Offenbach | 0–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 4–1 | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| VfL Osnabrück | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Jahn Regensburg | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–0 |
| SV Sandhausen | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 |
| VfB Stuttgart II | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 3–0 | — | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 |
| SpVgg Unterhaching | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1–0 | — | 4–3 | 1–0 |
| Wehen Wiesbaden | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 2–1 | — | 2–3 |
| Wuppertaler SV Borussia | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 5–3 | 5–3 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | — |

## Top goalscorers

Source: Kicker magazine (in German)

### 22 goals

* Régis Dorn (SV Sandhausen)

### 21 goals

* Moritz Hartmann (FC Ingolstadt 04)

### 17 goals

* Orlando (FC Carl Zeiss Jena)

### 15 goals

* Dennis Kruppke (Eintracht Braunschweig)
* Andreas Spann (1. FC Heidenheim)

### 14 goals

* Michael Holt (Holstein Kiel)
* Sven Schipplock (VfB Stuttgart II)
* Tobias Schweinsteiger (SpVgg Unterhaching)

### 13 goals

* Carsten Kammlott (FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt)
* Deniz Yılmaz (FC Bayern Munich II)

## Player of the month

* August: Björn Lindemann (VfL Osnabrück)
* September: Roberto Pinto (SV Sandhausen)
* October: Tobias Schweinsteiger (SpVgg Unterhaching)
* November: Björn Lindemann (VfL Osnabrück)
* December: Najeh Braham (Erzgebirge Aue)
* February: Tore Andreas Gundersen (Dynamo Dresden)
* March: Andreas Spann (1. FC Heidenheim)
* April: Björn Lindemann (VfL Osnabrück)
Björn Lindemann was named as player of the season