Volland, Niederlechner and Co.: So much Bundesliga is in the 3rd division

Bringing plenty of Bundesliga experience to the 3rd division: Kevin Volland, Florian Niederlechner, and Dietmar Hirsch. imago images (2)

When the 1955 German champions host the 1966 German champions at Hafenstrasse for the season opener on Friday, a Bundesliga-worthy crowd is guaranteed. However, it's been a long time since fans of both camps were able to enjoy Bundesliga football.

Rot-Weiss Essen played seven seasons in the top flight, but failed to make a comeback since being relegated in 1977. TSV 1860 Munich has been waiting for its 21st season in the upper echelons of German football since 2004. Instead, the Lions are now entering their eighth consecutive season in the 3. Liga.

The two clubs are among the ten third-division clubs that have already played in the top flight. However, neither RWE nor TSV have completed the most seasons in the top flight, but rather a club that wasn't even in a German professional league in 2024/25: newly promoted Duisburg. The Zebras have spent 28 seasons in the top flight, longer than eight current Bundesliga teams.

MSV coach Dietmar Hirsch also once played for his club for four Bundesliga seasons. However, the MSV coach did not live to see Duisburg's seventh and final relegation from the top flight, which was sealed with a 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich on Matchday 33 of the 2007/08 season.

The last third-division team to taste Bundesliga football was from Ingolstadt. FCI surprisingly achieved promotion in 2015 and surprisingly avoided relegation in 2016, before being relegated in 2017, which was not exactly a surprise. One player who shared the Schanzer's path back then is Max Christiansen , who played for the Danube-based club from January 2015 to summer 2018 and can now look forward to a reunion with his former club in the 3. Liga.

Christiansen is one of five new signings for the Munich Lions, along with Kevin Volland , Florian Niederlechner , Thomas Dähne , and Kilian Jakob, who have already made appearances in the top flight. However, Christiansen doesn't have as many first-division appearances as his new teammates Volland and Niederlechner. With 277 Bundesliga appearances, the former is the most experienced third-division player in the coming season, while the latter follows in second place with 197. It's a first for a player with as many Bundesliga appearances as Volland to join a third-division club.

Of the players who were in the Sixties' squad last season, only Soichiro Kozuki had previously played in the top flight. Lions coach Patrick Glöckner can therefore look forward to a wealth of Bundesliga experience in his new squad. He himself, however, has never played in the top flight either as a professional or as a coach. However, three new coaching colleagues from other third-division clubs have a history in the top flight.

Nico Willig took over VfB Stuttgart 's reserve team from Markus Fiedler . He replaced Markus Weinzierl on an interim basis in the 2018/19 season, but despite picking up seven points from the last four matches of the season, he was unable to avoid the relegation play-offs. There, he lost to Union Berlin, drawing two points due to fewer away goals scored.

Michael Wimmer joined relegated Jahn Regensburg . Like Willig, he had also coached the Stuttgart first team in the Bundesliga on an interim basis. That was in 2022/23 following the departure of Pellegrino Matarazzo , whom he had previously deputized for. After just six more matches, he was forced to make way for Bruno Labbadia .

Timo Schultz , who now takes charge at Bremer Brücke, has the most Bundesliga experience. The new Osnabrück coach not only made four Bundesliga appearances for St. Pauli , but also sat on the bench for 18 Bundesliga matches at 1. FC Köln in the 2023/24 season before parting ways after the club failed to avoid relegation.

He now faces his next move two leagues down. He doesn't see the move to the 3. Liga as a relegation, as he revealed to kicker : "The competition is extremely balanced there, there are many traditional clubs, and there are fantastic stadiums." And not only on Friday at the opening match does this competition exude plenty of Bundesliga flair.