{"id":87790,"date":"2024-12-30T15:32:53","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T15:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.getfootballnewsgermany.com\/?p=87790"},"modified":"2024-12-30T15:32:56","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T15:32:56","slug":"feature-2-bundesliga-mid-season-review-grading-every-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getfootballnewsgermany.com\/2024\/feature-2-bundesliga-mid-season-review-grading-every-club\/","title":{"rendered":"FEATURE | 2. Bundesliga mid-season review: Grading every club"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

As all the 2. Bundesliga clubs rest over the Christmas break in preparation for the beginning of the r\u00fcckrunde (<\/span>start of the second half of the season<\/span><\/i>) in January, we look back on the first half of the season and assess how each club\u2019s campaign is going so far.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here is the GGFN\u2019s mid-season 2. Bundesliga review and grades.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1.FC K\u00f6ln<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>1st\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Tim Lemperle (8)<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>B<\/span><\/p>\n

Even a few weeks ago, it wasn\u2019t clear who would be sitting top at Christmas but after four consecutive wins, K\u00f6ln lead what is already an incredibly contested 2. Bundesliga. It\u2019s a fantastic achievement for the club considering they have been under a transfer ban and under new leadership this season in Gerhard Struber. K\u00f6ln had a rough start to life in the second tier and didn\u2019t really find any momentum until late October. Since then, they\u2019re unbeaten in nine and also find themselves in the quarter-finals of the DFB Pokal. Expect K\u00f6ln to be active in the January transfer window (finally) and add to their already solid squad. There have been rumours surrounding the future of top goalscorer Tim Lemperle, but if they can keep him until at least the summer, K\u00f6ln may just find themselves back in the Bundesliga. Overall, reasons to be cheerful for K\u00f6ln!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Karlsruher SC<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>2nd<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Budu Zivzivadze (12)<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>B+<\/span><\/p>\n

Consistency has always been an issue for KSC, a poor Hinrunde would be rescued by a great R\u00fcckrunde but it would always leave them mid-table. This season is different, Karlsruhe were unbeaten until late October and despite a one win in six-game run, the nature of the 2.Bundesliga this season meant they lose touch with the top three. Two wins to end the year meant KSC find themselves in the promotion places heading into the Ruckrunde. The pressure surrounding the bigger clubs around them in the table may play into their favour when it comes to the later stages of the season. It also helps that Karslruhe\u2019\u2019s captain Marvin Wanitzek is one of the best players in the league so far with eight assists and six goals, while Georgia striker Budu Zivzivadze is the league\u2019s top goalscorer. Unlikes other teams (see below), Karlsruhe have stuck by head coach Christian Eichner, while he has stuck by the club, despite his rising stock and the pair are now reaping the rewards. KSC\u2019s main issue heading into the second half of the season will be sureing up their defence as they have the joint worst goal difference in the top 10.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hamburger SV<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>3rd<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Davie Selke (10)<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>C+\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Again for HSV, it\u2019s been about the lack of consistency. It\u2019s been their history for the past seven years and whether history will repeat itself, we will most likely be left waiting until the final day of the campaign. HSV have only lost three times this season but it\u2019s the 7 draws that has been their downfall so far. HSV went four games without a win during late October and early November which led to Steffen Baumgart getting the sack. Merlin Polzin now leads the side on an interim basis and it\u2019s been a mixed bag with draws against Ulm and Darmstadt and wins against F\u00fcrth and Karlsruher. HSV\u2019s first game back in the new year is against league-leaders K\u00f6ln. You feel the outcome of this game will really determine whether HSV are looking for the trophy or just any form of promotion. Of course there’ll be many twists and turns to come but it\u2019s a massive opportunity they can\u2019t afford to miss. In a league where consistency is half the battle, HSV have some work to do. They\u2019re in striking distance but will they make the final hurdle in a few months time?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Elversberg\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>4th<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Fisnik Asllani (10)<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>A<\/span><\/p>\n

Elversberg are in their second season in the 2.Bundesliga and are within touching distance of the promotion places. A win on their final matchday of the year would have meant they ended the Hinrunde top of the table. The secret to Elversberg\u2019s rise is their defence, they have the third least amount of goals conceded in the league and have also kept six clean sheets. They have built this side with consistency in the dugout with Horst Steffen in his seventh year in charge, leading the club from the Regionalliga to their current positioning, as well as smart recruiting with Fisnik Asllani, Muhmammed Damar (both Hoffenheim) and Elias Baum (Eintracht Frankfurt) all joining on loan and playing important roles. Elversberg have experience in winning league titles as they won the 3.Liga in 2022\/23 so they know how to keep their cool, but the question is, in the chaos of the 2.Bundesliga, can they keep their cool and do the unthinkable and get promoted to the Bundesliga? The dream of Regionalliga to Bundesliga in four seasons is definitely on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Magdeburg<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>5th\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Martijn Kaars (7)<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>C+\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A point within second place, it\u2019s been a fantastic hinrunde for Magdeburg. Similar to others around them, FCM have struggled for consistency and dropped points against clubs at the other end of the table. Having said that, they\u2019ve only lost three times this season and finished 2024 with a fabulous 5-2 win against table-rivals Fortuna D\u00fcsseldorf. The big alarm for Magdeburg is they have the worst home record in the league. From 8 home matches, they won none, drew six, and lost two. In contrast, they have the best away record winning seven, drew one, and lost one. It\u2019s a statistic which is almost hard to get your head around. If just a couple of those home draws were converted into wins, Magdeburg would be flying high in first. Overall, Magdeburg have put themselves in a brilliant position for promotion; they just need to drastically improve their hom form.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SC Paderborn<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>6th<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Filip Bilbja (5)<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>B<\/span><\/p>\n

Paderborn finished last season in 7th and have quite clearly kicked on from then. 6th place and\u00a0 one of four teams just a point from 2nd, Paderborn are well in the mix for automatic promotion this season. The squad may not have many recognisable names when looking at other 2. Bundesliga clubs, however, they\u2019ve recruited well and are playing good football. Paderborn have been solid at home and even more impressive away from home having only lost once on their travels. They haven\u2019t had the best of records against those around them and that\u2019ll be key as the season comes to a close. So far, an impressive campaign for Paderborn who are mixing it with the so-called big boys of the 2. Bundesliga.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hannover 96<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>7th<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Nicolo Tresoldi (4)<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>C<\/span><\/p>\n

Hannover are within two points of the promotion places, so all they would need is a good start to the year and they would be in the top three. Despite this, this was not good enough for Die Roten and they sacked Stefan Leitl replacing him with former head coach and player Andre Bretenreiter. Breitenreiter has experience winning promotion as he led Paderborn to their first-ever season in the Bundesliga as well as helping Hannover back into the Bundesliga in 2017. Hannover will have to hope this gamble pays off, as if it doesn’t it will be another long summer with star striker Nicolo Tresolid likely to depart.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortuna D\u00fcsseldorf<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>8th\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Isak Bergmann Johannesson (6)<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>C<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortuna D\u00fcsseldorf are capable of sneaking into third position at the end of the season but like many around them it\u2019s consistency that is harming their chances. D\u00fcsseldorf are a team that are capable of winning 5-0 and two weeks later losing 5-2, just as they did before the end of 2024. D\u00fcsseldorf went on a dreadful run at the tail-end of October and didn\u2019t win another game until early December. Up until then, they were looking like one of the top candidates for automatic promotion. Going into the r\u00fcckrunde, the squad will have to channel the form they showed earlier in the season. So far, it\u2019s been a rollercoaster of a season and it\u2019s showing no signs of slowing down for D\u00fcsseldorf. Buckle up!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kaiserslautern<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>9th<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Ragnar Ache (9)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>C<\/span><\/p>\n

You win some, you lose some; that\u2019s been Kaiserlautern\u2019s season so far. FCK are a team that can play out a boring goalless draw against Regensburg before playing out a thrilling 4-3 victory against D\u00fcsseldorf. Just on the outskirts of the chasing pack, it remains to be seen whether Kaiserslautern have the legs to keep up with the rest of them. They start 2025 with a run of three games they should be expected to win (on paper at least).\u00a0 If they can get seven points for their opening nine, FCK\u2019s season may just spark into life. Another team to keep your eye on, particularly in the early months of 2025.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Darmstadt\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>10th<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Isac Lindberg (9)<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>C<\/span><\/p>\n

Things could have been a lot worse for Darmstadt in their return to the 2.Bundesliga. In September the club were languishing around the relegation zone and looked like they were going to copy Arminia Bielefeld with a back-to-back relegation. However, they would sack Torsten Lieberknecht and replace him with Florian Kohfeldt. Since taking over \u2018FloKo\u2019 has only lost twice (a 2-1 loss to bottom Jahn Regensburg on the final matchday before the winter break and his second game in charge against Magdeburg), away from those losses Darmstadt have thrown the cat amongst the pigeons for teams chasing promotion with big wins against K\u00f6ln and Kaiserslautern while also taking points off of Karlsruhe and Hamburg in draws. The highlight of Darmstadt\u2019s season so far has been their 5-3 win against Schalke in Kohfeldt\u2019s first game in charge when they were 3-0 down at half-time. Darmstadt are only four points off of promotion, so it is not out of the question but they will definitely be out to cause trouble once again for promotion chasers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1.FC N\u00fcrnberg<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>11th<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Stefanos Tzimas (8)<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>C-<\/span><\/p>\n

Average is the best way to describe N\u00fcrnberg at the moment. However, it is not all doom and gloom for Die Club as they only find themselves six points off of a promotion spot all while having the youngest squad in the league. Led by legendary German striker Miroslav Klose the likes of Finn Jeltsch, Berkay Yilmaz, Casper Jander, Jens Castrop and Stefanos Tzimas have all played important roles for N\u00fcrnberg this season. The young manager and young team combo will likely not work in the first season (as seen with Dino Toppm\u00f6ller at Eintracht Frankfurt) but N\u00fcrnberg can continue to use this season to grow together as a team. The only downside is that they will lose their best player in the summer once again with Tzimas set to leave the team after they activate his \u20ac18m buy option and sell him for profit. With the money, N\u00fcrnberg can build a squad good enough for promotion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hertha Berlin<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>12th<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Florian Niederlechner (5)<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>C-\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Roughly mid-table on 22 points and a goal difference of 0, it\u2019s been a frustrating watch at times for Hertha fans so far this season. The club were hoping to push on this season and be in with the mix for promotion but it hasn\u2019t quite materialised as of yet. Form has been a big issue with Hertha winning a few before going winless for a couple of matches. Having lost their last three matches before the end of the year, Hertha\u2019s task of pushing for promotion is looking more distant. However, the squad are capable of doing just that and in a league which is so close, all it takes is a run of four fixtures and Hertha could be right up there again. Hertha could be one to watch for a late push in the second half of the season. Overall, it hasn\u2019t been great so far but Hertha\u2019s season is far from over.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Schalke 04<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>13th<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Moussa Sylla (11)<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>D<\/span><\/p>\n

Drama is never far away from the Veltins Arena nowadays, but most of is is happening off the pitch. On it, Schalke looks closer to 3.Liga level than Bundesliga level and constantly rely on Moussa Sylla (11) and Kenan Karaman (10) for their goals. Manager Kees van Wonderen claims he is not Harry Potter when it comes to helping the club, but die Konigsblau need more than a magician to help them have any chance of returning to the Bundesliga. Their financial issues off the pitch put restrictions on who they can sign and hire, and the fact that there are rumours of selling Sylla in the winter to help ease these issues shows the state Schalke are currently in. They will need a miracle to even try and challenge for promotion this season and it wouldn\u2019t be unlikely if they end the season with a different manager as they prepare for another year in the second division.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Greuther F\u00fcrth<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>14th<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Noel Futkeu (7) <\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Grade:<\/b> C-<\/span><\/p>\n

Having finished 8th last season, this isn\u2019t exactly where Greuther F\u00fcrth want to be going into the r\u00fcckrunde. Currently on 20 points, F\u00fcrth will be nervously looking behind them rather than up unless they can pull consecutive wins together. The team went on a dreadful run in November before winning against Hertha and Hannover which has made their league position slightly better. Their home and away record is nearly identical and it\u2019s clear that F\u00fcrth are capable of putting in a performance against some top teams. They don\u2019t have the ability to push for promotion but should be good enough to avoid a relegation scrap.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Preu\u00dfen M\u00fcnster<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>15th<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Joshua Mees (4)<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>C+\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Having won back-to-back promotions, M\u00fcnster have catapulted themselves into one hell of a division against some of Germany\u2019s most historic and traditional clubs. 15th heading into the new year is a fantastic achievement for the club. The aim for the season is to survive and that\u2019s exactly what they\u2019re doing so far. They\u2019re three points ahead of automatic relegation and four points from 14th. M\u00fcnster\u2019s aim in the new year will be to close the gap on those above them whilst keeping their noses in front of the chasing pack behind them. M\u00fcnster are a low scoring side (18) but at the same time don\u2019t concede many (23). They\u2019ve had some memorable victories against Hertha Berlin and D\u00fcsseldorf but will need to get more against the teams around them. M\u00fcnster\u2019s season hangs in the balance but they\u2019re doing all they can to survive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SSV Ulm<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>16th\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Semir Telalovi\u0107 (5)<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>C-<\/span><\/p>\n

Ulm are exactly where you\u2019d expect them to be having just come up from the 3. Liga. They knew they\u2019d be fighting for survival and the fact that they\u2019re not bottom and two points from safety, they\u2019ll be somewhat content with that so far. Ulm have become masters of the draw recently having shared the spoils in four of their last five league matches. It\u2019s a good sign if they can see out games against the likes of Hertha and HSV but they\u2019ll still need to turn some games from one point to all three if they want to survive. That\u2019s the big task in the r\u00fcckrunde for Ulm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eintracht Braunschweig<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>17th<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Rayan Philippe (9)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>D<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s another season of battling for survival at Braunschweig having just avoided the drop in their last campaign. Going into the new year, the side have lost their last three and failed to score in their previous four; during this time they\u2019ve also conceded nine goals. Simply put, Braunschweig can\u2019t score goals and can\u2019t keep them out. They have a poor record against the teams around them but occasionally pull the rabbit out the hat and somehow beat Hamburg, Hannover, and Greuther F\u00fcrth at home. Top goalscorer Rayan Phillippe is responsible for 56% of all Braunschweig\u2019s goals this campaign. You fear that should he get injured, the club would find themselves in the third division next term.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jahn Regensburg<\/span><\/h2>\n

Current position: <\/b>18th\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Current top goalscorer: <\/b>Kai Pr\u00f6ger (2)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: <\/b>D-\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a miserable hinrunde for Regensburg who are now odds on to go straight back down into the third tier. Their season already looked dead and buried when they lost 8-3 away at N\u00fcrnberg back in late October. This prompted the manager to be sacked and for Andreas Patz to come in. Remarkably, Regensburg went on to win their next two in all competitions and finished 2024 with a win at home to Darmstadt. They\u2019ve been through some tough moments this season but avoiding relegation is still possible. They\u2019re three points from Ulm in 16th and play them in late January. Is the great escape on for Regensburg?<\/span><\/p>\n

GGFN |\u00a0Jamie Allen<\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0Jack Meenan<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As all the 2. Bundesliga clubs rest over the Christmas break in preparation for the beginning of the r\u00fcckrunde (start of the second half of the season) in January, we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12312413,"featured_media":87793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,352,350,814,363,356,374,337,343,361,341,6,811,364,18,369,813,1498,386,1499,255,865],"tags":[1366,450,484,1372,1861,775,674,694,1502,1456,462,658,464,1272,941,1862,1741,967,896,1258],"class_list":["post-87790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2-bundesliga","category-1-fc-kaiserslautern","category-1-fc-koln","category-1-fc-magdeburg","category-1-fc-nurnburg","category-eintracht-braunschweig","category-fc-schalke-04","category-fortuna-dusseldorf","category-hamburger-sv","category-hannover-96","category-hertha-berlin","category-highlighted","category-jahn-regensburg","category-karlsruher-sc","category-news","category-opinion","category-sc-paderborn-07","category-sc-preusen-munster","category-greuther-furth","category-ssv-ulm-1846","category-sv-darmstadt-98","category-sv-elversberg","tag-1-fc-kaiserslautern","tag-2-bundesliga","tag-darmstadt","tag-eintracht-braunschweig","tag-elversberg","tag-fc-koln","tag-fc-nurnburg","tag-fc-schalke-04","tag-fortuna-dusseldoref","tag-greuther-furth","tag-hamburger-sv","tag-hannover-96","tag-hertha-berlin","tag-karlsruher-sc","tag-magdeburg","tag-regensburg","tag-review","tag-sc-paderborn","tag-sc-preusen-munster","tag-ssv-ulm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getfootballnewsgermany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getfootballnewsgermany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getfootballnewsgermany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getfootballnewsgermany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12312413"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getfootballnewsgermany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87790"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.getfootballnewsgermany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87795,"href":"https:\/\/www.getfootballnewsgermany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87790\/revisions\/87795"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getfootballnewsgermany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getfootballnewsgermany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getfootballnewsgermany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getfootballnewsgermany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}