In the Bundesliga, two teams are far ahead of the rest, in which the 2nd league plays half of the teams for promotion. What does that say about the quality of the leagues? Coach Alexander Zorniger, who trained in both leagues, answers this question.
FC Bayern Munich has the best cards to become German champions. However, he must not hope for one thing: competitors will not take each other’s points. The leaders of the Bundesliga league leaves only one competitor in Bayer Leverkusen.
In the 2nd league it looks very different for Hamburger SV. If there were only one competitor in the championship race, the champagne bottles in the Volkspark could already be cold, because second place is also enough to climb.
But the 2nd league gives a completely different table than the Bundesliga. If SV Elversberg, currently tabular tennis, won at the HSV on Friday (March 28, 2025, 6.30 p.m.), the two clubs would only separate five points, more than before the 27th matchday between FC Bayern and Bayer Leverkusen.
Four direct duels among the best nine teams in the 2nd league
However, the Hamburgers have the certainty that the competitors will take each other away, and not too scarce. Of the seven teams located in the 2nd league between Hamburg and Elversberg, six meet in direct duels. The SC Paderborn as the third receives the second, 1. FC Köln. At the same time on Saturday from 1 p.m., Hannover 96 will play against 1. FC Magdeburg.
In the evening from 8.30 p.m. there is still the duel between 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Fortuna Düsseldorf. A league can hardly offer more excitement in the race for the climb.
The closer the master race, the weaker the league?
A data analysis of the “Global Soccer Network” (GSN) by the NDR came to the conclusion that this table constellation goes back to the lack of quality in the league. Among other things, the thesis is set up that a league is of less quality if there are no teams that are significantly apart from the persecutors.
The Bundesliga would bring this into a seal of approval, because FC Bayern is 17 points ahead of 1st FSV Mainz 05 and Eintracht Frankfurt as third or fourth, Bayer Leverkusen at least eleven.
Alexander Zorniger: “No sign of quality”
Alexander Zorniger has had experience as a trainer in the two upper German leagues. He worked for VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, in the 2nd league for RB Leipzig and last until October 2024 for SpVgg Greuther Fürth. “No, this is not a sign of quality,” says Zorniger in an interview with the sports show regarding the small distances in the upper half of the 2nd league. Many data would be similar to those in the Bundesliga, even if the comparison was difficult and often lags about it as in the 2nd league.
A striking difference can be determined in the way of how goals are achieved. In the Bundesliga, 79 percent of all goals fall out of the game, only 74 percent in the 2nd league. Accordingly, the proportion in the second highest class in the goals is higher after standard situations, the predominantly cornerstones, free kicks and also penalty.
| Bundesliga | Season 2024/25 | 2. League |
|---|---|---|
83.4 | Pass rate in % | 83.0 |
57.7 | Net game time in min | 55.6 |
189 | Double fights per game | 202 |
21 | Fouls per game | 23 |
733 (3.1) | Goals (per game) | 706 (3.0) |
79 | Share gates from game (in %) | 74 |
21 | Share standard gates | 26 |
25.5 | Gate shots per game | 26.6 |
8.4 | Gate shots per goal | 9.0 |
In the tactical approach of his trainer colleagues, Zorniger also sees no big differences. But there are some points in which the Bundesliga clubs are far ahead of the second division clubs, or rather: the players of the Bundesliga clubs. Because for angry, the individual quality is the biggest difference, which in turn touches from the completely different financial possibilities, and on this point “the scissors are gaping further and more”.
More than a phrase: “At this level you must not allow yourself any mistakes”
For angry, players of the Bundesliga have significant differences compared to the professionals in the 2nd division, especially in the “first contact from the pressure”, the “recognition of open rooms” and the “consequence in the duels”.
Alexander Zorniger: “Scissors keep clapping”
From a team, the 57 -year -old football teacher sees the Bundesliga clubs in the “exploitation of errors” much more consistently and successful than the teams a class deeper. The saying that is often revealed as a phrase “You must not allow yourself any errors at this level” is filled with life.
Defeats are more easily forgiven
The second division forgives a lot more, including defeats. The 1. FC Köln has already lost seven times this season, but only one point behind the leaders HSV. Even the 1. FC Nürnberg with nine defeats has only seven points behind the point of the pie and only four on the third in the table from Paderborn.
There is a team in the Bundesliga that has nine defeats. This is the VfB Stuttgart in tenth place. From the second place in the table, which they reached last season, the Swabians are 19 points away.
But with a win on Saturday evening at the current fourth Eintracht Frankfurt, they would shorten the gap to the Hesse to five points. You also have the certainty that competitors will take a qualification for a European competition to take points away. Borussia Mönchengladbach plays against RB Leipzig. It is the only direct duel between two teams from the top half of the Bundesliga on the 27th matchday.