# 2017–18 2. Bundesliga

The 2017–18 2. Bundesliga was the 44th season of the 2. Bundesliga, the second highest German football league. It began on 28 July 2017 and concluded on 13 May 2018 with the match between VfL Bochum and FC St. Pauli (0:1) and ended with the 34th match day on 13 May 2018. From 19 December 2017 to 23 January 2018, the season was interrupted by a winter break.
The fixtures were announced on 29 June 2017.
Fortuna Düsseldorf secured the direct promotion to the Bundesliga after 32 days of play,1. FC Nürnberg secured promotion one match day later; 1. FC Nürnberg set a new record with its eighth Bundesliga promotion. The championship was decided on the last match day in a direct duel between the two upstarts, which Fortuna Düsseldorf won. Holstein Kiel was able to reach the autumn championship as a starter and placed third one match day before the end, but lost in the relegation games to VfL Wolfsburg. In the relegation battle, after 32 days of play, the first decision was made relatively late with the relegation of 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Until the end, six clubs were at risk of relegation, in the end Eintracht Braunschweig, who was still a participant in the promotion delegation last year, had to be relegated to the 3rd division. FC Erzgebirge Aue had to go into the relegation playoff against Karlsruher SC and were able to secure their stay in the 2. Bundesliga.

## Teams
### Team changes

| Promoted from 2016–17 3. Liga | Relegated from 2016–17 Bundesliga | Promoted to 2017–18 Bundesliga | Relegated to 2017–18 3. Liga | Relegated to Regionalliga Bayern |
| MSV Duisburg Holstein Kiel Jahn Regensburg | FC Ingolstadt Darmstadt 98 | VfB Stuttgart Hannover 96 | Würzburger Kickers Karlsruher SC | 1860 Munich |

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Erzgebirge Aue | Aue | Erzgebirgsstadion | 15,711 |
| Arminia Bielefeld | Bielefeld | Schüco-Arena | 27,300 |
| VfL Bochum | Bochum | Vonovia-Ruhrstadion | 29,299 |
| Eintracht Braunschweig | Braunschweig | Eintracht-Stadion | 23,325 |
| Darmstadt 98 | Darmstadt | Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor | 17,000 |
| Dynamo Dresden | Dresden | DDV-Stadion | 32,066 |
| MSV Duisburg | Duisburg | MSV-Arena | 31,500 |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | Düsseldorf | Esprit Arena | 54,600 |
| SpVgg Greuther Fürth | Fürth | Sportpark Ronhof | 18,500 |
| 1. FC Heidenheim | Heidenheim | Voith-Arena | 15,000 |
| FC Ingolstadt | Ingolstadt | Audi Sportpark | 15,000 |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Kaiserslautern | Fritz-Walter-Stadion | 49,780 |
| Holstein Kiel | Kiel | Holstein-Stadion | 11,386 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | Nuremberg | Max-Morlock-Stadion | 50,000 |
| Jahn Regensburg | Regensburg | Continental Arena | 15,224 |
| SV Sandhausen | Sandhausen | BWT-Stadion am Hardtwald | 12,100 |
| FC St. Pauli | Hamburg | Millerntor-Stadion | 29,546 |
| Union Berlin | Berlin | Alte Försterei | 22,012 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsors | Shirt sponsors |
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Main | Sleeve |
| Erzgebirge Aue | Hannes Drews | Martin Männel | Nike | WätaS Wärmetauscher Sachsen | Leonhardt Group |
| Arminia Bielefeld | Jeff Saibene | Julian Börner | Joma | Schüco | JAB Anstoetz Textilien |
| VfL Bochum | Robin Dutt | Stefano Celozzi | Nike | Trivago | Viactiv Betriebskrankenkasse |
| Eintracht Braunschweig | Torsten Lieberknecht | Ken Reichel | Erima | SEAT | Flex Gang |
| Darmstadt 98 | Dirk Schuster | Aytaç Sulu | Jako | Software AG | ROWE Mineralölwerk |
| Dynamo Dresden | Uwe Neuhaus | Marco Hartmann | Erima | Feldschlößchen | AOK Plus |
| MSV Duisburg | Iliya Gruev | Kevin Wolze | Capelli | XTiP | Rhein Power |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | Friedhelm Funkel | Oliver Fink | Uhlsport | Orthomol | Toyo Tires |
| SpVgg Greuther Fürth | Damir Burić | Balázs Megyeri | Hummel | Hofmann Personal | BVUK |
| 1. FC Heidenheim | Frank Schmidt | Marc Schnatterer | Nike | Hartmann Gruppe | Voith |
| FC Ingolstadt | Stefan Leitl | Marvin Matip | Adidas | MediaMarkt | Audi Schanzer Fußballschule |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Michael Frontzeck | Daniel Halfar | Uhlsport | Top12.de | KSC Reifen Stephan |
| Holstein Kiel | Markus Anfang | Rafael Czichos | Puma | Famila | Lotto Schleswig-Holstein |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | Michael Köllner | Hanno Behrens | Umbro | Nürnberger Versicherung | Godelmann Betonstein |
| Jahn Regensburg | Achim Beierlorzer | Marco Grüttner | Saller | Netto | Dallmeier Electronic |
| SV Sandhausen | Kenan Kocak | Stefan Kulovits | Puma | Verivox | BWT |
| FC St. Pauli | Markus Kauczinski | Bernd Nehrig | Under Armour | Congstar | Astra Brauerei |
| 1. FC Union Berlin | André Hofschneider | Felix Kroos | Macron | Layenberger | Koch Automobile |
    1. ^ On the sleeves.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| FC St. Pauli | Ewald Lienen | Moved to technical director | 30 June 2017 | Preseason | Olaf Janßen | 1 July 2017 |
| Jahn Regensburg | Heiko Herrlich | Signed by Bayer Leverkusen | 30 June 2017 | Preseason | Achim Beierlorzer | 1 July 2017 |
| Erzgebirge Aue | Domenico Tedesco | Signed by Schalke 04 | 30 June 2017 | Preseason | Thomas Letsch | 1 July 2017 |
| VfL Bochum | Gertjan Verbeek | Sacked | 11 July 2017 | Preseason | Ismail Atalan | 11 July 2017 |
| Erzgebirge Aue | Thomas Letsch | Sacked | 14 August 2017 | 18th | Robin Lenk (interim) | 14 August 2017 |
| FC Ingolstadt | Maik Walpurgis | Sacked | 22 August 2017 | 18th | Stefan Leitl | 22 August 2017 |
| SpVgg Greuther Fürth | János Radoki | Sacked | 28 August 2017 | 18th | Mirko Dickhaut (interim) | 28 August 2017 |
| SpVgg Greuther Fürth | Mirko Dickhaut | End of caretaker | 9 September 2017 | 18th | Damir Burić | 9 September 2017 |
| Erzgebirge Aue | Robin Lenk | End of caretaker | 8 September 2017 | 10th | Hannes Drews | 8 September 2017 |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Norbert Meier | Sacked | 20 September 2017 | 18th | Manfred Paula (interim) | 20 September 2017 |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Manfred Paula | End of caretaker | 27 September 2017 | 18th | Jeff Strasser | 27 September 2017 |
| VfL Bochum | Ismail Atalan | Sacked | 9 October 2017 | 13th | Jens Rasiejewski | 9 October 2017 |
| Union Berlin | Jens Keller | Sacked | 4 December 2017 | 4th | André Hofschneider | 4 December 2017 |
| FC St. Pauli | Olaf Janßen | Sacked | 7 December 2017 | 14th | Markus Kauczinski | 7 December 2017 |
| Darmstadt 98 | Torsten Frings | Sacked | 9 December 2017 | 16th | Dirk Schuster | 11 December 2017 |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Jeff Strasser | Resigned | 1 February 2018 | 18th | Michael Frontzeck | 1 February 2018 |
| VfL Bochum | Jens Rasiejewski | Sacked | 7 February 2018 | 14th | Heiko Butscher (interim) | 7 February 2018 |
| VfL Bochum | Heiko Butscher | End of caretaker | 11 February 2018 | 14th | Robin Dutt | 11 February 2018 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Fortuna Düsseldorf (C, P) | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 57 | 43 | +14 | 63 | Promotion to Bundesliga |
| 2 | 1. FC Nürnberg (P) | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 61 | 39 | +22 | 60 | Promotion to Bundesliga |
| 3 | Holstein Kiel | 34 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 71 | 44 | +27 | 56 | Qualification to promotion play-offs |
| 4 | Arminia Bielefeld | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 51 | 47 | +4 | 48 | |
| 5 | Jahn Regensburg | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 53 | 53 | 0 | 48 | |
| 6 | VfL Bochum | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 37 | 40 | −3 | 48 | |
| 7 | MSV Duisburg | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 52 | 56 | −4 | 48 | |
| 8 | Union Berlin | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 54 | 46 | +8 | 47 | |
| 9 | FC Ingolstadt | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 47 | 45 | +2 | 45 | |
| 10 | Darmstadt 98 | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 47 | 45 | +2 | 43 | |
| 11 | SV Sandhausen | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 35 | 33 | +2 | 43 | |
| 12 | FC St. Pauli | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 35 | 48 | −13 | 43 | |
| 13 | 1. FC Heidenheim | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 42 | |
| 14 | Dynamo Dresden | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 42 | 52 | −10 | 41 | |
| 15 | Greuther Fürth | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 37 | 48 | −11 | 40 | |
| 16 | Erzgebirge Aue (O) | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 35 | 49 | −14 | 40 | Qualification to relegation play-offs |
| 17 | Eintracht Braunschweig (R) | 34 | 8 | 15 | 11 | 37 | 43 | −6 | 39 | Relegation to 3. Liga |
| 18 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern (R) | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 42 | 55 | −13 | 35 | Relegation to 3. Liga |

## Results

| Home \ Away | AUE | BER | BIE | BOC | BRA | DAR | DRE | DUI | DÜS | FÜR | HEI | ING | KAI | KIE | NÜR | REG | SAN | STP |
| Erzgebirge Aue | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Union Berlin | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Arminia Bielefeld | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 5–0 |
| VfL Bochum | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| Eintracht Braunschweig | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Darmstadt 98 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 4–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | 3–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–4 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 |
| Dynamo Dresden | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | — | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 1–3 |
| MSV Duisburg | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | — | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 1–6 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | 2–1 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Greuther Fürth | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 |
| 1. FC Heidenheim | 2–1 | 4–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 3–2 | 3–5 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| FC Ingolstadt | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | — | 1–3 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 0–2 | 4–3 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Holstein Kiel | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 6–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | — | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Jahn Regensburg | 1–3 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 4–3 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | 3–1 |
| SV Sandhausen | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 |
| FC St. Pauli | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | — |
* ↑ The Darmstadt 98 v 1. FC Kaiserslautern match from 24 January 2018 was suspended after 45 minutes (half-time) and a score of 0–0 due to a medical emergency involving 1. FC Kaiserslautern manager Jeff Strasser. The replay took place on 21 February 2018 and finished with a score of 1–2.

## Promotion play-offs

All times are UTC+2.

### Second leg

VfL Wolfsburg won 4–1 on aggregate and therefore both clubs remain in their respective leagues.

## Relegation play-offs

All times are UTC+2.

### Second leg

Erzgebirge Aue won 3–1 on aggregate and therefore both clubs remain in their respective leagues.

## Statistics
### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Marvin Ducksch | Holstein Kiel | 18 |
| 2 | Hanno Behrens | 1. FC Nürnberg | 14 |
| 2 | Lukas Hinterseer | VfL Bochum | 14 |
| 2 | Steven Skrzybski | Union Berlin | 14 |
| 5 | Marco Grüttner | Jahn Regensburg | 13 |
| 5 | Rouwen Hennings | Fortuna Düsseldorf | 13 |
| 5 | Andreas Voglsammer | Arminia Bielefeld | 13 |
| 8 | Sebastian Andersson | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 12 |
| 8 | Dominick Drexler | Holstein Kiel | 12 |
| 8 | Mikael Ishak | 1. FC Nürnberg | 12 |
| 8 | Sebastian Polter | Union Berlin | 12 |
| 8 | Kingsley Schindler | Holstein Kiel | 12 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Marcel Schuhen | SV Sandhausen | 12 |
| 2 | Stefan Ortega | Arminia Bielefeld | 11 |
| 3 | Robin Himmelmann | FC St. Pauli | 10 |
| 3 | Ørjan Nyland | FC Ingolstadt | 10 |
| 5 | Jasmin Fejzić | Eintracht Braunschweig | 9 |
| 5 | Mark Flekken | MSV Duisburg | 9 |
| 7 | Daniel Heuer Fernandes | Darmstadt 98 | 8 |
| 7 | Kenneth Kronholm | Holstein Kiel | 8 |
| 9 | Seven players | Seven players | 7 |

### Number of teams by state

| Position | State | Number of teams | Teams |
| 1 | Bavaria | 4 | FC Ingolstadt, Greuther Fürth, 1. FC Nürnberg and Jahn Regensburg |
| 1 | North Rhine-Westphalia | 4 | Arminia Bielefeld, VfL Bochum, Fortuna Düsseldorf and MSV Duisburg |
| 3 | Baden-Württemberg | 2 | 1. FC Heidenheim and SV Sandhausen |
| 3 | Saxony | 2 | Dynamo Dresden and Erzgebirge Aue |
| 5 | Berlin | 1 | Union Berlin |
| 5 | Hamburg | 1 | FC St. Pauli |
| 5 | Hesse | 1 | Darmstadt 98 |
| 5 | Lower Saxony | 1 | Eintracht Braunschweig |
| 5 | Rhineland-Palatinate | 1 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern |
| 5 | Schleswig-Holstein | 1 | Holstein Kiel |

## Highs of the season

* The highest wins were all with 5 goals difference:
** The 6:1 between 1. FC Nürnberg at MSV Duisburg on the 6th matchday
** The 5:0 between 1. FC Union Berlin against 1. FC Kaiserslautern on the 8th matchday
** The 5:0 of Arminia Bielefeld against FC St. Pauli on the 16th matchday
** The 5:0 of Holstein Kiel against MSV Duisburg on the 25th matchday
* The games with the most goals scored was with 8 goals:
** The 3:5 of 1. FC Heidenheim against Holstein Kiel on the 10th matchday
** The 6:2 between Holstein Kiel against Eintracht Braunschweig on the 34th matchday
* The highest goal undecided games were:
** The 3:3 between SV Darmstadt 98 against Dynamo Dresden on the 8th matchday
** The 3:3 of 1. FC Union Berlin against the SV Darmstadt 98 on the 15th matchday
** The 3:3 of MSV Duisburg against 1. FC Heidenheim on the 20th marchday
* The highest goal scoring match day was 36 goals on the 27th matchday from 16. To 19. March 2018.