German Soccer

Top Flight Soccer in Germany – Der Bundesliga

The cream of German soccer teams are found in Der Bundesliga, which was formed in 1963. Technically the term refers to both levels both first and second division but the common media term for the top flight is simply Bundesliga. There is a third division of professional soccer in Germany but it has yet to become affiliated with the other two.

The Germans were late to organize their soccer teams into anything but regional leagues. It wasn’t until after the Second World War that anybody even seriously considered the idea of a centralized national system. More changes occurred when the East German teams were integrated into the leagues after the reunification of the country. After years of ups and downs, there are currently 18 teams in the 1.Bundesliga.

Teams are relegated and promoted between 1.Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga in the same manner as the EPL and Serie A, with the bottom 2 teams relegated automatically and playoffs are held to decide the third team to go down. 3 teams then replace them via the same format.

Competition in the Bundesliga has been surprisingly even over the years but Bayern Munich have dominated, having won the top flight title 20 times.

The 2009/2010 1.Bundesliga consists of the following teams:  Bayer 04 Leverkusen, FC Bayern Munich, VfL Bochum, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt, SC Freiburg, Hamburger SV, Hannover 96, Hertha Berlin, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, 1. FC Köln, 1. FSV Mainz 05, 1. FC Nuremberg, FC Schalke 04, VfB Stuttgart, SV Werder Bremen and  VfL Wolfsburg