| Competition: | 2. Bundesliga |
| Season: | 2012–13 |
| Winners: | Hertha BSC |
| Promoted: | Hertha BSC Eintracht Braunschweig |
| Relegated: | MSV Duisburg Jahn Regensburg |
| League Topscorer: | Dominick Kumbela (19 goals) |
| Biggest Home Win: | Erzgebirge Aue 6–1 VfL Bochum[1] |
| Biggest Away Win: | SV Sandhausen 1–6 Hertha BSC[2] |
| Highest Scoring: | Erzgebirge Aue 6–1 VfL Bochum SV Sandhausen 1–6 Hertha BSC VfL Bochum 5–2 SV Sandhausen[3] Eintracht Braunschweig 4–3 1. FC Union Berlin[4] |
| Matches: | 306 |
| Total Goals: | 790 |
| Average Attendance: | 17,240 |
| Prevseason: | 2011–12 |
| Nextseason: | 2013–14 |
The 2012–13 2. Bundesliga was the 39th season of the 2. Bundesliga, Germany's second-level football league. The season began on 3 August 2012 and ended with the last games on 19 May 2013, with a winter break held between the weekends around 15 December 2012 and 2 February 2013.[5]
The league comprised eighteen teams: The teams placed fourth through fifteenth of the 2011–12 season, the worst two teams from the 2011–12 Bundesliga, the best two teams from the 2011–12 3. Liga, the losers of the relegation play-off between the 16th-placed Bundesliga team and the third-placed 2. Bundesliga team and the winners of the relegation play-off between the 16th-placed 2. Bundesliga team and the third-placed 3. Liga team.
At the end of the 2011–12 season, SpVgg Greuther Fürth and Eintracht Frankfurt were directly promoted to the 2012–13 Bundesliga. Greuther Fürth left the second level after fifteen seasons and will make debut for top level, while Eintracht only made a cameo appearance in the league. The two promoted teams were replaced by 1. FC Köln and 1. FC Kaiserslautern, who were relegated at the end of the 2011–12 Bundesliga season. Köln re-entered the second level after four consecutive Bundesliga seasons, while Kaiserslautern returned to the 2. Bundesliga after two years.
On the other end of the table, Alemannia Aachen and Hansa Rostock were directly relegated to the 2012–13 3. Liga. Aachen dropped to the third tier for the first time since the 1998–99 season, while Rostock concluded a cameo appearance in the league. The two relegated clubs will be replaced with 2011–12 3. Liga champions SV Sandhausen and runners-up VfR Aalen, who earned direct promotion spots are thus both made their debut on this level of the league system.
Two further spots were available via two-legged play-offs. The playoff between 16th-placed 2011–12 Bundesliga sides Hertha BSC and third-placed 2011–12 2. Bundesliga team Fortuna Düsseldorf ended 4–3 on aggregate for the latter. Consequently, Fortuna finished a three-year spell at second level and returned to the Bundesliga after fifteen years in lower leagues; in turn, Hertha concluded a cameo appearance at the top level and returned to the 2. Bundesliga. However, this decision is provisional since Hertha have appealed against the result of the second leg, which was marred by several incidents of crowd disturbance.[6]
Elsewhere, the playoff between 16th-placed 2011–12 2. Bundesliga sides Karlsruher SC and third-placed 2011–12 3. Liga team Jahn Regensburg ended 3–3 on aggregate and saw Jahn promoted via the away goal rule. The Bavarian club returned to the second level after eight years; in turn, Karlsruhe finished a three-year spell at the second level and returned to the third level for the first time since the 2000–01 season.
Five clubs expanded the seating capacities of their stadiums. Following their promotion, Aalen, Jahn Regensburg and Sandhausen all increased the capacity of their stadiums to 12,500, 13,251 and 12,100 spectators, respectively.[7] Elsewhere, St. Pauli's Millerntor-Stadion was undergoing reconstruction during the autumn as the entire Back Straight was being rebuilt.[8] Finally, 1860 Munich will benefit from an expansion of Allianz Arena by co-tenants and city rivals Bayern Munich, who increased the total capacity of the ground to 71,000 people in late August 2012.[9]
An additional three clubs will have a slightly decreased capacity, as Eintracht Braunschweig, FSV Frankfurt and Union Berlin all are rebuilding a stand of their stadiums. Braunschweig will thus be able to host 22,100 spectators, while Frankfurt and Union can accommodate 10,470 and 16,750 people, respectively, during reconstruction.[7]
| Team | Location | Stadium | Stadium capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VfR Aalen | Aalen | Scholz-Arena | 13,251 | |
| VfL Bochum | Bochum | rewirpowerSTADION | 29,299 | |
| MSV Duisburg | Duisburg | Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena | 31,500 | |
| Dynamo Dresden | Dresden | Glücksgas-Stadion | 32,066 | |
| Eintracht Braunschweig | Braunschweig | Eintracht-Stadion | 22,100Note 2 | |
| Energie Cottbus | Cottbus | Stadion der Freundschaft | 22,528 | |
| Aue | Sparkassen-Erzgebirgsstadion | 15,711 | ||
| FSV Frankfurt | Frankfurt am Main | Frankfurter Volksbank Stadion | 10,470Note 3 | |
| Hertha BSC | Berlin | Olympiastadion | 74,244 | |
| FC Ingolstadt 04 | Ingolstadt | Audi Sportpark | 15,445 | |
| Jahn Regensburg | Regensburg | Jahnstadion | 12,500 | |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Kaiserslautern | Fritz-Walter-Stadion | 49,780 | |
| 1. FC Köln | Cologne | RheinEnergieStadion | 50,000 | |
| 1860 Munich | Munich | Allianz Arena | 71,000Note 1 | |
| SC Paderborn 07 | Paderborn | Energieteam Arena | 15,000 | |
| SV Sandhausen | Sandhausen | Hardtwald | 12,100 | |
| FC St. Pauli | Hamburg | Millerntor-Stadion | 29,063 | |
| 1. FC Union Berlin | Berlin | Alte Försterei | 16,750Note 2 |
Notes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. FC Köln | Frank Schaefer | End of tenure as caretaker | 30 June 2012[12] | Pre-season | Holger Stanislawski | 1 July 2012 | |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Krasimir Balakov | Sacked | 30 June 2012[13] | Franco Foda | 1 July 2012[14] | ||
| Hertha BSC | Otto Rehhagel | End of contract | 30 June 2012[15] | Jos Luhukay | 1 July 2012 | ||
| Jahn Regensburg | Markus Weinzierl | FC Augsburg purchased rights | 30 June 2012[16] | Oscar Corrochano | 1 July 2012[17] | ||
| SC Paderborn 07 | Roger Schmidt | FC Red Bull Salzburg purchased rights | 30 June 2012[18] | Stephan Schmidt | 10 July 2012[19] | ||
| MSV Duisburg | Oliver Reck | Sacked | 25 August 2012[20] | 18th | Kosta Runjaić | 3 September 2012[21] | |
| FC St. Pauli | André Schubert | Sacked | 26 September 2012[22] | 13th | Michael Frontzeck | 3 October 2012[23] | |
| VfL Bochum | Andreas Bergmann | Mutual consent | 28 October 2012[24] | 17th | Karsten Neitzel (caretaker) | 28 October 2012 | |
| Jahn Regensburg | Oscar Corrochano | Sacked | 4 November 2012[25] | 16th |  Franciszek Smuda | 2 January 2013[26] | |
| 1860 Munich | Reiner Maurer | Sacked | 18 November 2012[27] | 7th | Alexander Schmidt | 18 November 2012 | |
| SV Sandhausen | Gerd Dais | Sacked | 19 November 2012[28] | 17th | Hans-Jürgen Boysen | 20 November 2012[29] | |
| Dynamo Dresden | Ralf Loose | Sacked | 9 December 2012[30] | 16th |  Peter Pacult | 3 January 2013[31] | |
| VfL Bochum | Karsten Neitzel | End of tenure as caretaker | 8 April 2013[32] | 16th | Peter Neururer | 8 April 2013 | |
| FC Erzgebirge Aue | Karsten Baumann | Sacked | 28 April 2013[33] | 15th | Falko Götz | 29 April 2013[34] | |
| SC Paderborn 07 | Stephan Schmidt | Sacked | 5 May 2013[35] | 12th | René Müller (caretaker) | 5 May 2013 |
Dynamo Dresden, who finished 16th, faced VfL Osnabrück, the third-placed 2012–13 3. Liga side for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches will earn a spot in the 2013–14 2. Bundesliga. The two sides met in the same fixture two seasons ago, although this time the roles are reversed.
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Dynamo Dresden won 2–1 on aggregate and retained its 2. Bundesliga spot for the 2013–14 season.
