The promotion race in the 3. Liga offers so much that the non-existent title race in the Bundesliga could use. A commentary.

Cottbus, Duisburg, Osnabrück, Verl, Essen, Rostock, Wiesbaden: At first glance, these seven cities have little to nothing in common; at second glance, quite a lot. For they are the protagonists of an exciting 3rd Division promotion race. Thank you for that.

As a fan of a Bundesliga team, I naturally follow a league intensely in which Bayern has almost always been champion for over a decade and faces the same more or less interesting opponents every year. The Bundesliga has degenerated into a boring product with teams, two-thirds of which—from my personal, romantic perspective—have no business being in the top flight.

As an aside: There is no question that they have earned their place through purely sporting achievements. Because that is what it comes down to in the end.

The real spectacle, however, is taking place in the 2nd and 3rd divisions. The third division, in particular, is thrilling. Five powerful, traditional clubs are battling for promotion there and swapping places every week. Then there’s SC Verl and Wehen Wiesbaden, who are also in the mix.

The third-division promotion race is thrilling every weekend. Just take last weekend, for example. On Saturday, league leader Energie Cottbus set the stage for an exciting Sunday with a 0-0 draw at FC Ingolstadt. VfL Osnabrück did its part with a 2-0 win over TSV Havelse and is now also watching to see what Hansa Rostock, Rot-Weiss Essen, and—in a direct matchup—MSV Duisburg and SC Verl will do.

Hansa squandered a 2-0 lead in their opener against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim II. This gives Rot-Weiss Essen the chance to end their Tivoli curse starting at 4:30 p.m. and then watch as MSV Duisburg and SC Verl take points away from each other.

The story is familiar: Alemannia Aachen had Rot-Weiss Essen under control for a long time before Dickson Abiama ensured that Essen would at least take a point back to Hafenstraße.

This was the chance for MSV Duisburg and SC Verl to become the big winners of the matchday with a victory in their head-to-head clash. Alongside VfL Osnabrück, it was MSV Duisburg who emerged victorious thanks to their 4-2 win. The Zebras sit in second place, one point behind league leaders Energie Cottbus.

A six-point lead, similar to the one Bayern holds over second-place Dortmund, separates Cottbus from Wehen Wiesbaden in seventh place. Twelve points—the same margin by which Bayern leads TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (third place)—separate Cottbus from FC Ingolstadt (tenth place), the TSG reserve team (eleventh place), and VfB Stuttgart II (twelfth place). Three cheers for the 3. Liga, which delivers year after year what the Bundesliga lacks.