2. Bundesliga Standings Recap 2022-23: Hamburg Lose Playoff to Stuttgart

Heidenheim and Darmstadt Clinch Automatic Promotion

June 6, 2023 456 2 minutes readBundesliga News

Hamburg Lose Playoff to Stuttgart

Each season, two teams earn automatic promotion from the second tier of German soccer, the 2. Bundesliga, to the Bundesliga. In 2022-23, Heidenheim and Darmstadt finished first and second in the 2. Bundesliga standings, respectively. As a result, they’ll both play in the Bundesliga in the 2023-24 season, teams competed fiercely for success in European tournaments. Meanwhile, third-placed club Hamburger SV advanced to the two-legged playoff, where they took on 16th-placed Bundesliga side Stuttgart. Hamburg lost 6-1 on aggregate and will stay in the 2. Bundesliga.

Heidenheim Promoted to Bundesliga for First Time Ever

Forward Tim Kleindienst scored over a third of Heidenheim’s goals in 2022-23 en route to their first-ever 2. Bundesliga title. Kleindienst scored a 99th-minute winner at Jahn Regensburg on the season’s final day to give Heidenheim their first-ever 2. Bundesliga title.

Heidenheim entered the final matchday three points behind first-placed Darmstadt. With Darmstadt’s 4-0 loss at Furth and Heidenheim’s win, Heidenheim earned promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in club history.

Heidenheim’s first-place finish in the 2. Bundesliga standings was well-deserved, as they finished with the best goal difference in the league. They’ll face Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund on their Bundesliga schedule in 2023-24. Heidenheim entered the new millennium in the fifth tier and have managed a steady rise to the pinnacle of German soccer.

Darmstadt Do it With Defense

Even though Darmstadt lost 4-0 on the season’s final day, they still finished the season with the 2. Bundesliga’s best defensive record. Despite averaging just under 1.5 goals per game, no team won more games than Darmstadt in 2022-23.

They’re back in the Bundesliga for the first time since the 2016-17 season. However, Darmstadt have not historically fared well in their Bundesliga matches. In four previous Bundesliga seasons, Darmstadt have been relegated in three of them.

In the 2022-23 DFB-Pokal, Darmstadt did manage to knock out Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach. Expect Darmstadt to add some attacking talent in the Summer as they try to compete with the Bundesliga’s big boys. Only Phillip Tietz scored more than 10 goals for Darmstadt this season.

However, Ghanaian Braydon Manu and Tobias Kempe managed over 10 goal contributionsBraydon Manu and Tobias Kempe did manage over 10 goal contributions. The level of competition is much higher in the Bundesliga, but goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen did manage to keep 13 clean sheets this season.

Hamburg Stay Put Among Divisional Movements

Hamburger SV finished in third place in the 2. Bundesliga standings for a second straight season but once again failed to win the playoff. They conceded three goals in both legs to Bundesliga club Stuttgart and lost 6-1 on aggregate.

Hamburg finished eight points ahead of Dusseldorf and FC St. Pauli and could all be in the promotion picture next season. Despite putting together the third-best goal difference in the league and scoring 68 goals in just 34 games, Paderborn couldn’t finish higher than sixth.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the table, SV Sandhausen won just seven matches all season. They’ll go down to the III. Liga, along with 17th-placed Jahn Regensburg.

Arminia Bielefeld could be joining them, as they lost the first leg of the relegation playoff 4-0 to Wehen Wiesbaden.

The two teams from the 2022-23 Bundesliga going down to the 2. Bundesliga for the 2023-24 season are Hertha BSC and Schalke 04.

Can’t get enough? Here’s more!

June 6, 2023

456 2 minutes read