# 2015–16 Bundesliga

The 2015–16 Bundesliga was the 53rd season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. The season started on 14 August 2015 and ended on 14 May 2016. Bayern Munich were the defending champions, after winning their 24th Bundesliga title and 25th German championship overall in the previous season.
Bayern Munich won the 2015–16 title in the second-last round on 7 May 2016, thereby becoming the first club in the history of the Bundesliga and the German football championship to win four consecutive championships.

## Teams

A total of 18 teams were participating in this year's edition of the Bundesliga. Of these, 15 sides qualified directly from the 2014–15 season and the two sides were directly promoted from the 2014–15 2. Bundesliga season: FC Ingolstadt, the champions, and Darmstadt 98, the runners-up. The final participant was decided by a two-legged play-off, in which the 16th-placed Bundesliga club, Hamburger SV, defeated the third-place finisher in the 2. Bundesliga, Karlsruher SC.

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| FC Augsburg | Augsburg | WWK ARENA | 30,660 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | Leverkusen | BayArena | 30,210 |
| Bayern Munich | Munich | Allianz Arena | 75,000 |
| Borussia Dortmund | Dortmund | Signal Iduna Park | 81,359 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | Mönchengladbach | Stadion im Borussia-Park | 54,010 |
| Darmstadt 98 | Darmstadt | Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor | 17,000 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Frankfurt | Commerzbank-Arena | 51,500 |
| Hamburger SV | Hamburg | Volksparkstadion | 57,000 |
| Hannover 96 | Hanover | HDI-Arena | 49,000 |
| Hertha BSC | Berlin | Olympiastadion | 74,475 |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | Sinsheim | Wirsol Rhein-Neckar-Arena | 30,150 |
| FC Ingolstadt | Ingolstadt | Audi Sportpark | 15,000 |
| 1. FC Köln | Cologne | RheinEnergieSTADION | 50,000 |
| Mainz 05 | Mainz | Coface Arena | 34,000 |
| Schalke 04 | Gelsenkirchen | Veltins-Arena | 62,271 |
| 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 | WWK |
| Bayer Leverkusen | Roger Schmidt | Lars Bender | Adidas | LG Electronics |
| Bayern Munich | Pep Guardiola | Philipp Lahm | Adidas | Deutsche Telekom |
| Borussia Dortmund | Thomas Tuchel | Mats Hummels | Puma | Evonik |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | André Schubert | Granit Xhaka | Kappa | Postbank |
| Darmstadt 98 | Dirk Schuster | Aytaç Sulu | Jako | Software AG |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Niko Kovač | Alexander Meier | Nike | Alfa Romeo |
| Hamburger SV | Bruno Labbadia | Johan Djourou | Adidas | Fly Emirates |
| Hannover 96 | Daniel Stendel | Christian Schulz | Jako | Heinz von Heiden |
| Hertha BSC | Pál Dárdai | Fabian Lustenberger | Nike | bet-at-home.com |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | Julian Nagelsmann | Pirmin Schwegler | Lotto | SAP |
| FC Ingolstadt | Ralph Hasenhüttl | Marvin Matip | Adidas | Media Markt |
| 1. FC Köln | Peter Stöger | Matthias Lehmann | Erima | REWE |
| Mainz 05 | Martin Schmidt | Julian Baumgartlinger | Lotto | Kömmerling |
| Schalke 04 | André Breitenreiter | Benedikt Höwedes | Adidas | Gazprom |
| VfB Stuttgart | Jürgen Kramny | 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 | 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. |
| Borussia Dortmund | Jürgen Klopp | Resigned | 15 April 2015 | 30 June 2015 | Pre-season | Thomas Tuchel | 19 April 2015 | 1 July 2015 | |
| VfB Stuttgart | Huub Stevens | End of contract | 24 May 2015 | 30 June 2015 | Pre-season | Alexander Zorniger | 25 May 2015 | 1 July 2015 | |
| Schalke 04 | Roberto Di Matteo | Resigned | 26 May 2015 | 30 June 2015 | Pre-season | André Breitenreiter | 12 June 2015 | 1 July 2015 | |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Thomas Schaaf | Resigned | 26 May 2015 | 30 June 2015 | Pre-season | Armin Veh | 14 June 2015 | 1 July 2015 | |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | Lucien Favre | Resigned | 20 September 2015 | 20 September 2015 | 18th | André Schubert | 21 September 2015 | 21 September 2015 | |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | Markus Gisdol | Sacked | 26 October 2015 | 26 October 2015 | 17th | Huub Stevens | 26 October 2015 | 26 October 2015 | |
| VfB Stuttgart | Alexander Zorniger | Sacked | 24 November 2015 | 24 November 2015 | 16th | Jürgen Kramny | 24 November 2015 | 24 November 2015 | |
| Hannover 96 | Michael Frontzeck | Resigned | 21 December 2015 | 21 December 2015 | 17th | Thomas Schaaf | 28 December 2015 | 4 January 2016 | |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | Huub Stevens | Resigned | 10 February 2016 | 10 February 2016 | 17th | Julian Nagelsmann | 11 February 2016 | 11 February 2016 | |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Armin Veh | Sacked | 6 March 2016 | 6 March 2016 | 16th | Niko Kovač | 8 March 2016 | 8 March 2016 | |
| Hannover 96 | Thomas Schaaf | Sacked | 3 April 2016 | 3 April 2016 | 18th | Daniel Stendel | 3 April 2016 | 3 April 2016 | |
* ↑ Schubert was initially appointed as interim coach, but the move was made permanent on 13 November 2015.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Bayern Munich (C) | 34 | 28 | 4 | 2 | 80 | 17 | +63 | 88 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Borussia Dortmund | 34 | 24 | 6 | 4 | 82 | 34 | +48 | 78 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Bayer Leverkusen | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 56 | 40 | +16 | 60 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 4 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 34 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 67 | 50 | +17 | 55 | Qualification for the Champions League play-off round |
| 5 | Schalke 04 | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 51 | 49 | +2 | 52 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
| 6 | Mainz 05 | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 46 | 42 | +4 | 50 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
| 7 | Hertha BSC | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 50 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 8 | VfL Wolfsburg | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 47 | 49 | −2 | 45 | |
| 9 | 1. FC Köln | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 38 | 42 | −4 | 43 | |
| 10 | Hamburger SV | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 40 | 46 | −6 | 41 | |
| 11 | FC Ingolstadt | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 33 | 42 | −9 | 40 | |
| 12 | FC Augsburg | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 42 | 52 | −10 | 38 | |
| 13 | Werder Bremen | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 50 | 65 | −15 | 38 | |
| 14 | Darmstadt 98 | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 38 | 53 | −15 | 38 | |
| 15 | 1899 Hoffenheim | 34 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 39 | 54 | −15 | 37 | |
| 16 | Eintracht Frankfurt (O) | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 34 | 52 | −18 | 36 | Qualification for the relegation play-offs |
| 17 | VfB Stuttgart (R) | 34 | 9 | 6 | 19 | 50 | 75 | −25 | 33 | Relegation to 2. Bundesliga |
| 18 | Hannover 96 (R) | 34 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 31 | 62 | −31 | 25 | Relegation to 2. Bundesliga |
* 1 2 Since the winners of the 2015–16 DFB-Pokal, Bayern Munich, qualified for the Champions League based on league position, the Europa League group stage spot was passed to the sixth-placed team, Mainz 05; and the Europa League third qualifying round spot was passed to the seventh-placed team, Hertha BSC.

## Results

| Home \ Away | FCA | BSC | SVW | D98 | BVB | SGE | HSV | H96 | TSG | FCI | KOE | B04 | M05 | BMG | FCB | S04 | VFB | WOB |
| FC Augsburg | — | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Hertha BSC | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Werder Bremen | 1–2 | 3–3 | — | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 6–2 | 3–2 |
| Darmstadt 98 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 2–1 | — | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 5–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | — | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 5–1 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 6–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–5 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 3–2 |
| Hamburger SV | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | — | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 |
| Hannover 96 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 0–3 | — | 1–0 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–4 |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| FC Ingolstadt | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–3 | 0–0 |
| 1. FC Köln | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | — | 1–0 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 3–0 |
| Mainz 05 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 4–2 | 5–0 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | — | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| Bayern Munich | 2–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | 3–0 | 4–0 | 5–1 |
| Schalke 04 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 | 3–0 |
| VfB Stuttgart | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–1 | — | 3–1 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 0–2 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | — |

## Relegation 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.

## Awards
### Player of the Month

| Month | Player | Team |
| August | Douglas Costa | Bayern Munich |
| September | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich |
| October | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Borussia Dortmund |
| November | Javier Hernández | Bayer Leverkusen |
| December | Javier Hernández | Bayer Leverkusen |
| January | Javier Hernández | Bayer Leverkusen |
| February | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich |
| March | André Schürrle | VfL Wolfsburg |
| April | Henrikh Mkhitaryan | Borussia Dortmund |
| May | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich |

## Attendances

| Rank | Team | Home games | Average attendance |
| 1 | Borussia Dortmund | 17 | 81,178 |
| 2 | Bayern München | 17 | 75,000 |
| 3 | Schalke 04 | 17 | 61,386 |
| 4 | Hamburger SV | 17 | 53,700 |
| 5 | VfB Stuttgart | 17 | 51,983 |
| 6 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 17 | 51,715 |
| 7 | Hertha BSC | 17 | 49,704 |
| 8 | 1. FC Köln | 17 | 48,676 |
| 9 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 17 | 46,676 |
| 10 | Hannover 96 | 17 | 41,246 |
| 11 | Werder Bremen | 17 | 40,935 |
| 12 | Mainz 05 | 17 | 31,053 |
| 13 | Bayer Leverkusen | 17 | 29,085 |
| 14 | FC Augsburg | 17 | 29,017 |
| 15 | VfL Wolfsburg | 17 | 28,945 |
| 16 | TSG Hoffenheim | 17 | 27,615 |
| 17 | Darmstadt 98 | 17 | 16,647 |
| 18 | FC Ingolstadt | 17 | 14,834 |