The 2009–10 3. Liga season was the second season for the newly formed tier III of the German football league system. The season began on 25 July 2009 and ended on 8 May 2010.
Team changes from 2008–09
Exchange between 2. Bundesliga and 3. Liga 2008–09 3. Liga champions 1. FC Union Berlin and runners-up Fortuna Düsseldorf were directly promoted to the 2. Bundesliga. They were replaced by FC Ingolstadt 04 and SV Wehen Wiesbaden, who finished in the bottom two places after the previous season.
Third-placed team SC Paderborn 07 were also promoted after defeating the 16th-placed team from last year's 2nd Bundesliga, VfL Osnabrück, in a relegation playoff. As a result, Osnabrück would play in 3. Liga.
Exchange between 3. Liga and Regionalliga VfR Aalen and Stuttgarter Kickers were relegated after finishing the 2008–09 season in the bottom two places. 18th-placed SV Wacker Burghausen were eventually spared from relegation after 5th-placed Kickers Emden voluntarily retracted their application for a license because of financial issues. Emden will play in the fifth-tier Oberliga Niedersachsen.
The three relegated teams were replaced by the champions of the three Regionalliga divisions, Holstein Kiel (North), Borussia Dortmund II (West) and 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 (South).
Team overview
Stadia and locations
Team Location VenueCapacity FC Bayern Munich II Munich Stadion an der Grünwalder Straße 10,200 Borussia Dortmund II Dortmund Stadion Rote Erde 25,000 FC Carl Zeiss Jena Jena Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld 12,750 Dynamo Dresden Dresden Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion 32,296 Eintracht Braunschweig Braunschweig Eintracht-Stadion 23,500 FC Erzgebirge Aue Aue Erzgebirgsstadion 16,397 Heidenheim Gagfah-Arena 10,000 Holstein Kiel Kiel Holstein-Stadion 11,386 Ingolstadt Tuja-Stadion 11,418 SSV Jahn Regensburg Regensburg Jahnstadion 11,800 Kickers Offenbach Offenbach am Main Stadion am Bieberer Berg 26,500 Osnabrück Osnatel-Arena 16,125 FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt Erfurt Steigerwaldstadion 17,500 Sandhausen Hardtwald 10,231 Stuttgart GAZi-Stadion auf der Waldau 11,436 Unterhaching Generali Sportpark 15,053 SV Wacker Burghausen Burghausen Wacker-Arena 10,000 Wiesbaden BRITA-Arena 13,144 SV Werder Bremen II Bremen Weserstadion Platz 11 5,500 Wuppertaler SV Borussia Wuppertal Stadion am Zoo 23,067
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in tableVfL Osnabrück Claus-Dieter WollitzFC Energie Cottbus purchased rights30 June 2009 Karsten Baumann1 July 2009Pre-SeasonFC Carl Zeiss Jena Marc FascherEnd of contract30 June 2009 René van Eck1 July 2009Pre-SeasonFC Rot-Weiß Erfurt Henri FuchsEnd of tenure as caretaker30 June 2009 Rainer Hörgl1 July 2009Pre-SeasonVfB Stuttgart II Rainer AdrionNew coach of Germany U-2130 June 2009 Reiner Geyer1 July 2009Pre-SeasonSV Wacker Burghausen Ralf SantelliEnd of contract30 June 2009 Jürgen Press1 July 2009Pre-Season
League table
Results
Top goalscorers Source: Kicker magazine
22 goals Régis Dorn (SV Sandhausen)
21 goals Moritz Hartmann (FC Ingolstadt 04)
17 goals Orlando (FC Carl Zeiss Jena)
15 goals Dennis Kruppke (Eintracht Braunschweig) Andreas Spann (1. FC Heidenheim)
14 goals Michael Holt (Holstein Kiel) Sven Schipplock (VfB Stuttgart II) Tobias Schweinsteiger (SpVgg Unterhaching)
13 goals Carsten Kammlott (FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt) Deniz Yılmaz (FC Bayern Munich II)
Player of the month
August: Björn Lindemann (VfL Osnabrück) September: Roberto Pinto (SV Sandhausen) October: Tobias Schweinsteiger (SpVgg Unterhaching) November: Björn Lindemann (VfL Osnabrück) December: Najeh Braham (Erzgebirge Aue) February: Tore Andreas Gundersen (Dynamo Dresden) March: Andreas Spann (1. FC Heidenheim) April: Björn Lindemann (VfL Osnabrück)
Björn Lindemann was named as player of the season
References
External links 3rd Liga at the official German FA website