What the long-time Bundesliga manager thinks about the start of the 2nd division, traditional clubs like Schalke 04 and the access to Generation Z.

Big club names, a whole lot of tradition and a feeling of Bundesliga in almost every matchday fixture: Andreas Rettig is eagerly watching the start of the 2nd Bundesliga. “For me, the 2nd Bundesliga is even more unpredictable than Friedrich Merz is at the moment,” the long-time manager told WAZ (Friday edition). “For me, the unpredictability and the performance density are the big differences from the First to the Second League. The Bundesliga suffers from the lack of excitement,” the 60-year-old said. The season opens this Friday (8:30 p.m./Sat 1) with the top match between Hamburger SV and first-division relegated FC Schalke 04.

The fact that more Bundesliga founding members are playing in the 2nd Bundesliga this season than one division above it was made clear by Andreas Rettig: “This second division is rightly hyped. (…) Take a look at the first matchday: Only the kickoff time of 1 p.m. on Saturday reminds me of the Zweite Liga.” But the attractiveness of the 2nd Bundesliga also makes the challenges for the candidates for promotion more difficult, he said: “The fact that anyone can beat anyone hardly applies in the Bundesliga anymore.”

With a wink, Rettig therefore said in the direction of Hans-Joachim Watzke: “I very much hope that the Second League will not have to support the Bundesliga through solidarity campaigns because of its increased popularity.” BVB managing director Watzke, as chairman of the supervisory board of the German Football League (DFL), had said after the failed investor plans for the professional leagues, which second-division clubs in particular had opposed, that he “no longer needed to be approached with solidarity issues. “

Rettig does not consider an independent marketing of the second league, as was once considered, “to be a wise decision. On the contrary, the 2nd Bundesliga may now have the opportunity to make a higher solidarity contribution to overall marketing due to its increased attractiveness.”

For the former DFL managing director, Schalke 04 is the top favorite because the Königsblauen have “managed everything well recently.” “The fact that the coach hasn’t already been burned, even after relegation at such an emotional venue, speaks volumes. For Thomas Reis, but also for the level-headedness and calm. After all, that was different at Schalke before,” said Thomas Reis. He does not trust co-relegated Hertha BSC to make an immediate return. In contrast, “it reads more normal to have HSV in the Bundesliga instead of the second division.” Fortuna Düsseldorf, Hannover 96 and FC St. Pauli could provide surprises in the promotion race.

What Andreas Rettig doesn’t like at all at the moment, however, is “this supposed dwarfing of the Bundesliga in comparison to the 2nd Bundesliga, i.e. playing each other off against each other.” First division clubs like the promoted Darmstadt 98 and 1. FC Heidenheim on the one hand, traditional clubs with large fan bases on the other, one league below.

Rettig: “For me, the hardest and most important currency in professional soccer is still sporting performance and not the raising of marketing potential; I’m not interested in the competition between the clubs’ followers and social media potential. After all, you saw last season what good it did HSV against Heidenheim at kickoff. “

We have to give professional soccer a new DNA.

Andreas Rettig

It was therefore “disrespectful to the Heidenheims and Darmstadts of this world. There, they work continuously, competently, and with significantly fewer resources than their competitors. And then in the end they get to hear that they are actually dwarfs and contribute nothing to the marketing success of the Bundesliga. They’ve been promoted, they’ve earned it.”

When it comes to the battle for young fans, Andreas Rettig sees German soccer facing a major task that requires a rethink: “I was laughed at years ago when I said: We have to give professional soccer a new DNA, social responsibility has to be given a much higher priority. Not simply to do good, but also for reasons of self-preservation. Or do you think Generation Z will take to the streets on Fridays with Friday for Future, only to cheer the gold steaks on the pitch at the stadium on Saturdays? So, if we are right to stop the (economic) nonsense for once in order to be able to keep the Haalands, we have to emotionalize and bind the target groups differently. Generation Z might then say: It may not be the best soccer being played there – but I can identify with the issues surrounding this soccer. We need to focus much more on this approach than on competing for stars who are here today and there tomorrow. “