| Competition: | 2. Bundesliga |
| Season: | 2008–09 |
| Winners: | SC Freiburg |
| Promoted: | SC Freiburg 1. FSV Mainz 05 1. FC Nürnberg (via playoff) |
| Relegated: | VfL Osnabrück (via playoff) FC Ingolstadt 04 SV Wehen Wiesbaden |
| League Topscorer: | Benjamin Auer (16) Cédric Makiadi (16) Marek Mintál (16) |
| Biggest Home Win: | Rostock 9–0 Koblenz |
| Biggest Away Win: | Oberhausen 0–4 Greuther Fürth |
| Highest Scoring: | Rostock 9–0 Koblenz |
| Matches: | 306 |
| Total Goals: | 852 |
| Prevseason: | 2007–08 |
| Nextseason: | 2009–10 |
The 2008–09 2. Bundesliga was the 35th season of the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of Germany's football league. The season began on 15 August 2008 and ended on 24 May 2009.
SC Freiburg were the first team to win promotion to Bundesliga 2009–10 after securing the 2. Bundesliga championship on 10 May 2009.[1] 1. FSV Mainz 05 were also directly promoted as runners-up after a 4–0 home victory over Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. 1. FC Nürnberg defeated Bundesliga sides Energie Cottbus in a two-legged playoff for one spot in 2009–10 Bundesliga and thus earned promotion as well.
Starting with the 2008–09 season, only two teams are promoted automatically. Two-leg relegation playoffs between the third last team of the Bundesliga and the third team of the 2. Bundesliga at the end of the regular season will be reintroduced.
Likewise, instead of formerly four teams only the two bottom teams are relegated to the new 3. Liga automatically. The third last team plays a two-leg playoff against the third team of the third tier over the remaining place in the 2. Bundesliga.
Borussia Mönchengladbach, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and 1. FC Köln were promoted to Bundesliga after finishing 1st through third in 2. Bundesliga in 2007–08. They were replaced by 1. FC Nürnberg, Hansa Rostock and MSV Duisburg, which were relegated at the end of the 2007–08 Bundesliga season.
Kickers Offenbach, Erzgebirge Aue, FC Carl Zeiss Jena and SC Paderborn 07 were relegated to the newly formed 3. Liga following the 2007–08 season due to finishing 15th through 18th. They were replaced by the champions and runners-up of both divisions of the 2007–08 Regionalliga. Rot Weiss Ahlen and Rot-Weiss Oberhausen earned promotion in the Regionalliga Nord while FSV Frankfurt and FC Ingolstadt 04 were promoted from the Regionalliga Süd.
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. FC Nürnberg | Thomas von Heesen | Resigned | 28 August 2008[2] | Michael Oenning | 5 September 2008[3] | |
| MSV Duisburg | Rudolf Bommer | Sacked | 9 November 2008[4] | Peter Neururer | 16 November 2008[5] | |
| FC Hansa Rostock | Frank Pagelsdorf | Sacked | 10 November 2008[6] | Dieter Eilts | 21 November 2008[7] | |
| SV Wehen Wiesbaden | Christian Hock | Sacked | 17 December 2008[8] | Wolfgang Frank | 19 December 2008[9] | |
| TSV 1860 Munich | Marco Kurz | Sacked | 24 February 2009[10] | Uwe Wolf (Interim) | 24 February 2009 | |
| Rot Weiss Ahlen | Christian Wück | Sacked | 3 March 2009[11] | Stefan Emmerling | 16 April 2009[12] | |
| FC Hansa Rostock | Dieter Eilts | Sacked | 6 March 2009[13] | Andreas Zachhuber | 8 March 2009[14] | |
| SV Wehen Wiesbaden | Wolfgang Frank | Sacked | 23 March 2009[15] | Sandro Schwarz (Interim) | 23 March 2009[16] | |
| FC Augsburg |  Holger Fach | Sacked | 13 April 2009[17] | Jos Luhukay | 14 April 2009[18] | |
| FC Ingolstadt 04 | Thorsten Fink | Sacked | 21 April 2009[19] | Horst Köppel | 26 April 2009[20] | |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Milan Šašić | Sacked | 4 May 2009[21] | Alois Schwartz (interim) | 4 May 2009 | |
| TSV 1860 Munich | Uwe Wolf (Interim) | Released from duties | 13 May 2009[22] | Ewald Lienen | 13 May 2009 |
VfL Osnabrück as 16th-placed team had to face third-placed 3. Liga team SC Paderborn 07 for a two-legged playoff. Paderborn won both matches on an aggregated score of 2–0 and thus secured promotion to 2. Bundesliga 2009–10, while Osnabrück were relegated to 3. Liga 2009–10.
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Aristide Bancé (1. FSV Mainz 05)
Erik Jendrišek (1. FC Kaiserslautern)
Dorge Kouemaha (MSV Duisburg) Michael Thurk (FC Augsburg)Source:www.kicker.de
