The 2011–12 3. Liga was the fourth season of the 3. Liga, Germany's third tier of its football league system. The season commenced on 22 July 2011, two weeks earlier than the 2011–12 Bundesliga season and one week after the 2011–12 2. Bundesliga season, and ended with the last games on 5 May 2012. The traditional winter break was held between the weekends around 18 December 2011 and 22 January 2012.[1]

3. Liga
Season2011–12
PromotedSV Sandhausen
VfR Aalen
Jahn Regensburg
RelegatedRot-Weiß Oberhausen
Carl Zeiss Jena
Werder Bremen II
Matches played380
Goals scored956 (2.52 per match)
Top goalscorerMarcel Reichwein
(17 goals)
Biggest home winU'haching 6–0 CZ Jena
Biggest away winW. Bremen II 0–4 K. Offenbach
A. Bielefeld 0–4 Saarbrücken
W. Bremen II 0–4 Aalen
Wehen 0–4 Sandhausen
W. Bremen II 0–4 Darmstadt
Aalen 0–4 Osnabrück
Highest scoringCZ Jena 4–3 A. Bielefeld
Saarbrücken 5–2 RW Oberhausen
Stuttgart II 2–5 A. Bielefeld

The league comprises fourteen teams from the 2010–11 season, the last two teams from the 2010–11 2. Bundesliga, the losers of the promotion play-off between the 16th-placed 2. Bundesliga team and the third-placed 3. Liga team as well as the three champions of the three 2010–11 Regionalliga divisions.

Teams

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Eintracht Braunschweig as 2010–11 champions and runners-up Hansa Rostock were directly promoted to the 2011–12 2. Bundesliga. Braunschweig, who were a member of the league since the inaugural season, will return to the 2. Bundesliga after a total of four seasons in the third tier of the German football pyramid, while Rostock only had a cameo appearance in the league.

The two promoted teams will be replaced by the two worst-placed teams of the 2010–11 2. Bundesliga season, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen and Arminia Bielefeld. Pending license approvals (see below), both clubs will make their debut in the league; Oberhausen will drop to the third level after three years, while Arminia will return to the third tier after sixteen seasons.

On the other end of the table, Bayern Munich II were relegated to their respective 2011–12 Fußball-Regionalliga divisions after finishing the 2010–11 season at the bottom of the table, thus ending a run which saw them being part of a German third-tier league since 1973.[2] Wacker Burghausen and Werder Bremen II, who were originally going to be relegated as well, were eventually spared as Rot Weiss Ahlen and TuS Koblenz would not enter the league for the 2011–12 season. Ahlen were automatically demoted after the club had to file for administration after the completion of the 2010–11 season,[3] while Koblenz voluntarily withdrew their participation following being unable to generate an adequate budget for the season.[4]

The three relegated teams will be replaced by the champions of the three 2010–11 Regionalliga divisions, Chemnitzer FC, SV Darmstadt 98 and SC Preußen Münster. All three clubs will make their debuts in the 3. Liga, but nevertheless have played in a third-tier league before. Both Regionalliga Nord champions Chemnitz and Regionalliga West winners Preußen Münster returned to this level after an absence of five seasons, while Darmstadt 98 completed a four-year tenure at the fourth tier.

A further spot in the league was contested in a two-legged relegation/promotion playoff between the 16th-placed team of the 2010–11 2. Bundesliga, VfL Osnabrück, and the third-placed team of the 2010–11 3. Liga, Dynamo Dresden. Dynamo won 4–2 on aggregate and thus returned to the 2. Bundesliga after a five-year absence, while Osnabrück, 3. Liga champions in 2009–10, immediately returned to the 3. Liga, having lost their second relegation/promotion playoff series in three years. This will be the first time a previous champion has played in the 3. Liga.

Stadia and locations

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Team Location Stadium Stadium capacity[5]
VfR Aalen Aalen Scholz-Arena 11,169
Arminia Bielefeld Bielefeld Schüco-Arena 27,300
SV Babelsberg 03 Potsdam Karl-Liebknecht-Stadion 10,786
FC Carl Zeiss Jena Jena Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld 12,990
Chemnitzer FC Chemnitz Stadion an der Gellertstraße 18,700
SV Darmstadt 98 Darmstadt Böllenfalltor Stadion 19,600
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 Heidenheim Voith-Arena 10,000
SSV Jahn Regensburg Regensburg Jahnstadion 10,724
Kickers Offenbach Offenbach Stadion am Bieberer Berg 13,0001
VfL Osnabrück Osnabrück Osnatel-Arena 16,667
SC Preußen Münster Münster Preußenstadion 15,050
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt Erfurt Steigerwaldstadion 17,500
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen Oberhausen Niederrheinstadion 21,318
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 Stadion am 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 Stadion am Bieberer Berg is being rebuilt during the 2011–12 season, resulting in a significantly reduced capacity during this time.

Personnel and sponsorships

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Team Head coach Team captain Kitmaker Shirt sponsor
VfL Osnabrück   Claus-Dieter Wollitz   Claus Costa Puma Sparkasse Osnabrück
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen   Mario Basler   Dimitrios Pappas Uhlsport Vatro
Arminia Bielefeld   Stefan Krämer   Markus Schuler Saller Vacant
SV Wehen Wiesbaden   Peter Vollmann   Marco Christ Nike no shirt sponsor
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt   Stefan Emmerling   Rudolf Zedi Jako E.ON Thüringen
1. FC Saarbrücken   Jürgen Luginger   Stephan Sieger Nike Victor's Residenz-Hotels
Kickers Offenbach   Arie van Lent   Elton da Costa Nike EVO (Energieversorgung Offenbach)
SSV Jahn Regensburg   Markus Weinzierl   Tobias Schweinsteiger Jako FG.de
1. FC Heidenheim 1846   Frank Schmidt   Martin Klarer Nike Hartmann Gruppe
VfB Stuttgart II   Jürgen Kramny   Tobias Rathgeb Puma GAZI
SV Sandhausen   Gerd Dais   Frank Löning Puma Nippon
SV Babelsberg 03   Dietmar Demuth   Marian Unger Umbro EWP (Energie und Wasser Potsdam)
SpVgg Unterhaching   Heiko Herrlich   Stefan Riederer Adidas Vacant
FC Carl Zeiss Jena   Petrik Sander   Alexander Maul Adidas ReiCo Logistikgruppe
VfR Aalen   Ralph Hasenhüttl   Benjamin Barg Adidas Imtech
SV Wacker Burghausen   Reinhard Stumpf   Youssef Mokhtari Hummel OMV
SV Werder Bremen II   Thomas Wolter   Sandro Stallbaum Nike Targobank
SV Darmstadt 98   Kosta Runjaić   Jan Zimmermann Nike Software AG
Chemnitzer FC   Gerd Schädlich   Carsten Sträßer Saller aetka Communication Center
SC Preußen Münster   Pavel Dochev   Stefan Kühne Nike Tuja Zeitarbeit

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced by Date of appointment
Kickers Offenbach   Thomas Gerstner Sacked 30 April 2011[6] Off-season   Arie van Lent 10 May 2011[7]
VfB Stuttgart II   Jürgen Seeberger Sacked 15 May 2011[8]   Jürgen Kramny 1 July 2011[9]
VfL Osnabrück   Heiko Flottmann End of tenure as caretaker 31 May 2011   Uwe Fuchs 31 May 2011[10]
SpVgg Unterhaching   Klaus Augenthaler Resigned 3 June 2011[11]   Heiko Herrlich 16 June 2011[12]
Arminia Bielefeld   Ewald Lienen Mutual consent 30 June 2011[13]   Markus von Ahlen 1 July 2011[14]
Arminia Bielefeld   Markus von Ahlen Sacked 20 September 2011[15] 19th   Stefan Krämer 20 September 2011[15]
Rot-Weiss Oberhausen   Theo Schneider Sacked 4 October 2011[16] 17th   Mario Basler 24 October 2011[17]
FC Carl Zeiss Jena   Heiko Weber Sacked 30 October 2011[18] 20th   Petrik Sander 7 November 2011[19]
VfL Osnabrück   Uwe Fuchs Sacked 8 December 2011[20] 12th   Claus-Dieter Wollitz 15 December 2011[21]
SV Wacker Burghausen   Rudi Bommer Signed by Energie Cottbus 31 December 2011[22] 9th   Reinhard Stumpf 5 January 2012[23]
SC Preußen Münster   Marc Fascher Sacked 23 January 2012[24] 14th   Pavel Dochev 24 January 2012[25]
SV Wehen Wiesbaden   Gino Lettieri Sacked 15 February 2012[26] 13th   Peter Vollmann 16 February 2012[27]

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 SV Sandhausen (C, P) 38 19 9 10 57 42 +15 66 Promotion to 2. Bundesliga and qualification for DFB-Pokal
2 VfR Aalen (P) 38 18 10 10 50 42 +8 64
3 Jahn Regensburg (O, P) 38 16 13 9 55 41 +14 61 Qualification to promotion play-offs and DFB-Pokal
4 1. FC Heidenheim 38 16 12 10 48 36 +12 60 Qualification for DFB-Pokal
5 Rot-Weiß Erfurt 38 15 14 9 54 41 +13 59
6 Wacker Burghausen 38 13 18 7 55 47 +8 57
7 VfL Osnabrück 38 14 13 11 46 35 +11 55
8 Kickers Offenbach 38 15 10 13 49 41 +8 55
9 Chemnitzer FC 38 15 10 13 47 43 +4 55
10 1. FC Saarbrücken 38 13 15 10 61 51 +10 54
11 VfB Stuttgart II[a] 38 12 14 12 44 47 −3 50
12 Preußen Münster 38 12 14 12 40 44 −4 50
13 Arminia Bielefeld 38 12 14 12 51 57 −6 50
14 SV Darmstadt 98 38 12 13 13 51 47 +4 49
15 SpVgg Unterhaching 38 12 8 18 63 59 +4 44
16 SV Wehen Wiesbaden 38 10 14 14 40 48 −8 44
17 SV Babelsberg 03 38 11 11 16 44 59 −15 44
18 Carl Zeiss Jena (R) 38 9 12 17 39 59 −20 39 Relegation to Regionalliga
19 Rot-Weiß Oberhausen (R) 38 8 14 16 33 47 −14 38
20 Werder Bremen II[a] (R) 38 4 10 24 29 70 −41 22
Source: kicker
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Reserve teams are ineligible for promotion or DFB-Pokal qualification.

Results

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Home \ Away AAL SVB DSC BR2 WBU CFC D98 ERF FCH JEN PRM RWO KOF OSN JRE FCS SVS ST2 UNT WEH
VfR Aalen 1–3 3–1 2–0 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–0 0–0 4–1 1–0 0–0 2–1 0–4 2–1 1–1 2–0 2–2 1–0 2–0
SV Babelsberg 2–0 1–0 2–3 0–2 0–0 1–1 3–0 2–2 0–0 0–2 1–0 0–1 2–1 0–0 1–3 1–2 1–4 1–2 3–2
Arminia Bielefeld 0–1 1–0 1–0 2–2 3–1 3–2 0–0 0–1 2–1 2–2 3–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–4 1–3 1–2 2–1 0–1
Werder Bremen II 0–4 1–2 2–3 1–1 0–2 0–4 1–1 2–1 2–2 0–0 0–1 0–4 0–2 1–4 2–2 0–2 3–1 1–1 1–1
Wacker Burghausen 0–0 1–1 2–2 3–1 3–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 4–2 1–0 3–2 2–3 2–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 3–1 2–2
Chemnitzer FC 0–1 2–1 1–1 2–0 2–1 0–0 0–2 3–0 1–1 1–2 1–0 2–0 3–1 0–3 1–0 1–3 1–1 5–1 1–1
Darmstadt 98 1–2 3–1 5–1 2–0 2–3 2–1 1–1 2–1 3–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 4–1 2–2 0–0 0–1
Rot-Weiß Erfurt 0–1 2–3 1–1 1–0 3–3 0–0 2–0 2–0 3–0 1–1 4–0 0–0 0–0 2–2 1–1 4–2 3–1 2–1 2–2
1. FC Heidenheim 3–1 5–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 3–2 2–1 0–1 0–0 4–1 1–0 2–1 0–2 0–0 1–1 2–1 1–0 3–1 1–1
Carl Zeiss Jena 2–3 1–2 4–3 3–1 1–0 1–2 2–1 1–0 0–0 1–3 0–0 1–2 2–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–2 2–0 1–0
Preußen Münster 1–0 1–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–2 1–2 3–2 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–1
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 0–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 2–0 2–2 1–1 0–1 0–3 1–2 2–2 1–1 1–1 1–2 0–0 4–1 2–1 1–0 2–1
Kickers Offenbach 2–1 1–1 0–1 3–0 2–2 0–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 3–0 1–0 3–0 2–1 2–3 2–0 2–0 1–4 0–2
VfL Osnabrück 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 4–1 2–3 0–0 2–2 1–0 1–1 1–0 0–1 2–0 2–1 0–1 4–1 2–0
Jahn Regensburg 4–0 1–1 2–2 3–2 0–1 1–0 2–1 2–2 1–1 1–1 2–1 0–0 1–3 0–3 4–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–1
1. FC Saarbrücken 4–2 2–2 2–4 2–0 0–0 1–1 4–0 0–2 0–0 2–1 2–2 5–2 3–1 2–2 1–0 2–1 0–0 4–2 2–1
SV Sandhausen 2–0 4–0 0–0 2–0 3–1 0–3 2–0 2–1 1–2 1–0 2–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 3–1 0–0
VfB Stuttgart II 2–2 3–1 2–5 1–0 2–3 0–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 3–0 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 2–1 0–0
SpVgg Unterhaching 1–1 1–2 5–0 0–2 4–0 3–0 1–0 1–3 1–1 6–0 2–1 1–2 2–0 1–1 2–3 3–2 2–2 4–0 5–1
Wehen Wiesbaden 1–3 2–2 0–0 2–1 0–0 2–0 0–1 0–1 1–2 0–0 3–0 1–0 3–1 2–1 1–2 3–2 0–4 1–1 0–0
Source: DFB
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top goalscorers

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Source: kicker (German)
Including matches played on 5 May 2012

17 goals
14 goals
13 goals
12 goals
11 goals

Player awards

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The following players were named as player of the month throughout the season.[28] Fabian Klos won the player of the year award after a poll.

References

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  1. ^ "Der Rahmenterminkalender 2011/12" [The Preliminary Calendar 2011/12] (in German). Kicker. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
  2. ^ Kirschner, Klaus. "Bye, bye Bayern" (in German). kicker Sportmagazin. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  3. ^ "Ahlen verabschiedet sich aus der 3. Liga!" (in German). kicker Sportmagazin. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  4. ^ "Werder weiter in der 3. Liga". website. kicker Sportmagazin. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  5. ^ Smentek, Klaus; et al. (18 July 2011). "kicker Bundesliga Sonderheft 2011/12". kicker Sportmagazin (in German). Nuremberg: Olympia Verlag. ISSN 0948-7964.
  6. ^ "Chaos in Offenbach: Gerstner beurlaubt, Möller tritt zurück" [Chaos in Offenbach: Gerstner sacked, Möller resigns] (in German). Spiegel. 30 April 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  7. ^ "Arie van Lent wird OFC-Trainer" [Arie van Lent becomes OFC-manager] (in German). Kicker. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  8. ^ "Trainer Jürgen Seeberger muss gehen" [Coach Jürgen Seeberge must go] (in German). Stuttgarter Zeitung. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  9. ^ "Jürgen Kramny beerbt Jürgen Seeberger" [Jürgen Kramny inherits Jürgen Seeberger] (in German). Kicker. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  10. ^ "Uwe Fuchs neuer Trainer beim VfL Osnabrück" [Uwe Fuchs new manager at VfL Osnabrück] (in German). NDR. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  11. ^ "Augenthaler und Grosser weg" [Augenthaler and Grosser gone] (in German). Kicker. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  12. ^ "Unterhaching: Heiko Herrlich wird Cheftrainer" [Unterhaching: Heiko Herrlich becomes head coach] (in German). Munich: Abendzeitung. 16 June 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  13. ^ "Lienen will nicht mit Bielefeld in die 3. Liga" [Lienen will not follow Bielefeld into the 3rd Liga] (in German). Sportschau. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  14. ^ "Von Ahlen wird Lienens Nachfolger" [Von Ahlen becomes Lienen's successor] (in German). Kicker. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  15. ^ a b "Trennung von Markus von Ahlen" [Separation of Markus von Ahlen] (in German). Arminia Bielefeld. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
  16. ^ "Oberhausen entlässt Schneider" [Oberhausen sack Schneider] (in German). fussball.de. 30 October 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  17. ^ "Mario Basler ist neuer Oberhausen-Trainer" [Mario Basler is new Oberhausen manager] (in German). Bild. 24 October 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  18. ^ "FC Carl Zeiss Jena beurlaubt Heiko Weber" [FC Carl Zeiss Jena sack Heiko Weber] (in German). FC Carl Zeiss Jena. 30 October 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  19. ^ "Petrik Sander übernimmt Traineramt in Jena" [Peterik Sander takes over the head coach job in Jena] (in German). FC Carl Zeiss Jena. 7 November 2011. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  20. ^ "VfL stellt Trainer Fuchs frei" [VfL releases coach Fuchs] (in German). VfL Osnabrück. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  21. ^ "Pele Wollitz kommt zurück" [Pele Wollitz returns] (in German). VfL Osnabrück. 15 December 2011. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  22. ^ "FC Energie verpflichtet Rudi Bommer" [FC Energie signs Rudi Bommer] (in German). DFL. 9 December 2011. Archived from the original on 9 December 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  23. ^ "Reinhard Stumpf neuer Trainer in Burghausen" [Reinhard Stumpf new manager in Burghausen] (in German). Bayerische Fussball-Verband. 5 January 2012. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  24. ^ "Sofortige Trennung von Chef-Trainer Marc Fascher" [Immediate sacking of manager Marc Fascher] (in German). SC Preußen Münster. 23 January 2012. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  25. ^ "Pavel Dotchev ist der neue Trainer" [Pavel Dochev is new manager] (in German). SC Preußen Münster. 24 January 2012. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  26. ^ "SV Wehen Wiesbaden stellt Trainer Lettieri frei" [SV Wehen Wiesbaden releases coach Lettieri] (in German). SV Wehen Wiesbaden. 15 February 2012. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  27. ^ "Peter Vollmann neuer SV Wehen Wiesbaden-Trainer" [Peter Vollmann new SV Wehen Wiesbaden manager] (in German). SV Wehen Wiesbaden. 16 February 2012. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  28. ^ "Spieler des Monats". Deutscher Fußball Bund. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
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