3rd league
Magdeburg (dpa) – 1. FC Magdeburg is returning to the 2nd Bundesliga after two years. Coach Christian Titz’s team won 3-0 (2-0) against FSV Zwickau and secured the championship in the 3rd division just three games before the end.
Magdeburg crowned an outstanding season with the premature promotion, in which the team was never worse than third and since the beginning of September has been the leader of the table.
Before kick-off, the late club legend Joachim Streich was remembered. Books of condolence were laid out at the entrances, and the center circle was filled with a huge jersey with the number nine on the back. The team played with black ribbons, and the supporters in the fan stands formed the number nine out of black and white balloons. Streich died at the age of 71 after a serious illness.
Jason Ceka (23rd minute) gave FCM a deserved lead in front of 26,340 spectators. Zwickau’s Davy Frick (40th) scored an own goal for FCM shortly before the break. After the change, Magdeburg missed numerous chances for the third goal, only Kai Brünker (88th) put the final point.
The father of success is coach Titz. The 51-year-old took over the team in February last year and saved the FCM from relegation with a strong second half of the season. This season, the team, led by the outstanding Baris Atik, continued their performance and did not let themselves be dissuaded from their goal of promotion even through small phases of weakness. Most recently, Magdeburg was relegated to the second division in the 2017/18 season, but only stayed there for a year.