Crisis-stricken clubs benefit most from relegation.
In the soccer world, starting from the 2008/09 season, there's been a tradition where the third-last team in the Bundesliga faces off against the third team in the second division to decide who gets to stay and who gets relegated. And guess who always manages to stay? You got it, the first division teams!
On May 11, 2024, it was Holstein Kiel's time to shine. The team from Schleswig-Holstein entered the record books as the 58th club ever to join the Bundesliga. Thanks to the relegation play-offs, Kiel was given another opportunity to make it to the top division. But it wasn't Kiel who received the title of 56th club. That honor went to Union Berlin. They're on number 56 because the reintroduction of relegation play-off matches between the Bundesliga and the second division resulted in two teams being directly relegated and two directly promoted. The third team's fate would be decided through these play-offs. And it was this play-off that cost Kiel their chance at a direct promotion in the 2017/18 season and denied Schleswig-Holstein its first-ever first-division soccer team.
Funny enough, the relegation play-offs have saved VfL Wolfsburg's skin in the first division for two consecutive years. Ever since these play-offs were introduced, the relegation stats favor the first division clubs. Out of the 15 matches that have taken place, only three times has the lower-league team won and been promoted. The first division teams have managed to stay in the Bundesliga 12 times, with one recent example being VfB Stuttgart, which came back from the brink and secured second place in the 2023/24 season.
Stuttgart managed to avoid relegation against Hamburger SV, who are now infamously known as the relegation dinosaurs with four appearances. Their record reads two wins and two defeats. Both victories, of course, were achieved by Hamburg - while they were still in the first division. But remember, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. And for now, they're finishing at the bottom.
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The traditional relegation play-offs in German football have often provided an advantage to first division football teams, such as VfL Wolfsburg, who have managed to stay in the Bundesliga multiple times due to these matches. The disadvantage of the relegation play-offs is evident for teams like Holstein Kiel, who missed out on a direct promotion despite entering the play-offs. Many crisis clubs, seeking relief from the First Division, find solace in relegation, only to face challenging conditions in the Soccer second division.
Source: www.ntv.de
