The 2021/22 Bundesliga season will be the 59th season of the German top flight. It will begin on the 13th of August 2021 and end on the 14th of May 2022.
Last season, Bayern Munich won the league for the 30th time (9th consecutive title).
Unlike in most of the major leagues in the world, 18 teams compete in the Bundesliga, which means only two teams get relegated, and another two will replace them from the 2.Bundesliga (2nd division).
Last season, two heavyweights (Werder Bremen and Schalke 04) shockingly got relegated, while VfL Bochum and Greuther Furth got promoted.
Here, we take a look at the two newly promoted teams for the 2021/22 Bundesliga season.
1. VFL BOCHUM
Bochum secured promotion to the Bundesliga after emerging as Champions of the 2nd division.
Fully known as VEREIN FÜR LEIBESÜBUNGEN BOCHUM 1848 FUßBALLGEMEINSCHAFT, the club was founded in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is nicknamed Die Unabsteigbaren. It plays its home matches at the 27,599 capacity Vonovia-Ruhrstadion.
The club’s chairman is Hans-Peter Villis while Thomas Reis is the head coach.
Bochum is one of the oldest football clubs in the world (173 years old). It was banned in 1852 due to political reasons and was re-established in 1860.
After the Bundesliga was founded in 1963, Bochum got promoted to the top flight for the first time in 1971, and subsequently stayed there for 20 seasons. After then, it began moving between the first and second divisions. It has played in the Bundesliga 34 times.
The club’s highest finish in the top flight was 5th-place which it achieved twice in 1996/97 and 2003/04.
It has won the second division four times, reached the final of the Dfb-Pokal twice, and qualified for the UEFA Cup twice.
Amazingly, Bochum has had its players finish as Bundesliga’s top scorer three times.
Its fiercest rivals are Schalke 04.
VfL Bochum’s players to watch out for: Simon Zoller, Robert Zulj, Manuel Riemann, Robert Tesche, Anthony Losilla and Danilo Soares.
VfL Bochum also have teams who compete in other sports like Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Dance, Fencing, Gymnastics, Handball, Field Hockey, Swimming, Table tennis, Tennis, and Volleyball.
2. SpVgg GREUTHER FÜRTH
Greuther Fürth gained promotion after finishing 2nd in the 2.Bundesliga.
The club’s full name is SPIELVEREINIGUNG GREUTHER FÜRTH. It was founded in 1903 in Furth, Bavaria. Its nickname is Kleeblatter (Cloverleaves) and plays its home matches at the 16,626 SportPark Ronhof.
The club’s President is Fred Hofler, while the coach is Stefan Leitl.
Before the establishment of the Bundesliga in 1963, Greuther Fürth was one of the most successful clubs in Germany as it won the German championship 3 times then.
The club got promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in history in 2012 and immediately got relegated after just a single season.
On the 23rd of May 2021, Greuther Fürth won promotion back to the top flight for the second time ever after finishing 2nd in the 2.Bundesliga.
The club’s highest achievement in modern times was winning the 2.Bundesliga in 2012.
Its fiercest rivals are FC Nurnberg, with whom it competes in the “Frankenderby”.
Greuther Fürth’s players to watch out for: Branimir Hrgota, David Raum, Marco Meyerhofer, Paul Seguin and Antony Stach.
Greuther Fürth has a Nigerian player in their squad who goes by the name, Dickson Abiama. Tellingly, on the last match of the season, Abiama scored the goal that earned Fürth promotion to the Bundesliga.
