THE BUNDESLIGA MIRACLE
Relegated to the fourth tier in 2017, Paderborn are back in the big time
When Paderborn were relegated to Germany’s Regionalliga West two years ago, only the bravest of loyal fans would have predicted a Bundesliga return by 2019.
But this month, they’ll step out at the Bayarena to face Bayer Leverkusen for their opening game of the season, back in the top flight.
No club in Europe has experienced drama quite like Paderborn in the past five years. Promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history in 2014, by that September they were top of the league after a 2-0 win over Hannover – secured thanks to Moritz Stoppelkamp’s goal from 90 yards, firing into an open net from just outside his own penalty area after Hannover’s goalkeeper had gone up for a free-kick.
The success didn’t last. By the end of that season, they were relegated. Manager Andre Breitenreiter departed for Schalke, and the second-division club soon installed Stefan Effenberg (below, in his pomp) as boss. It didn’t work: Effenberg was gone by March, Paderborn finished bottom.
Things got no better in the third tier: the club slipped to a third successive relegation and by late May 2017, they were contemplating a future in the regional amateur leagues.
Then, a lucky break. Relegated from the 2. Bundesliga, 1860 Munich failed to secure a licence to play in the third tier because of off-field problems. They dropped into the Regionalliga, as Paderborn were granted a relegation reprieve. They made the most of it – instantly turning around their fortunes to seal promotion to the second division in 2017-18. Incredibly, they went up again in 2018-19, securing a remarkable return to the top flight. They’ll be joined by fellow promoted club Union Berlin, the first side from East Berlin to play in the Bundesliga. But Paderborn aren’t the only European club to have made a seemingly impossible return to the big time this season. In Portugal, Gil Vicente are back in the Primeira Liga, despite playing in the third tier last term. The odd turn of events stems back to a controversy fully 13 years ago: finishing mid-table in the top flight in 2005-06, the Roosters were accused of improperly registering Angolan international Mateus, months before he represented his country at that summer’s World Cup. A legal row ensued, resulting in Gil Vicente being thrown out of the top division. A full decade later, that decision was overturned in court, as Gil Vicente were granted the right to return to the Primeira Liga. By the time it was confirmed that their return would be in 2019-20, they’d just been relegated to the third division. Then followed the most irrelevant campaign ever: Gil Vicente fared strongly in the third tier last term, but it really didn’t matter. Whatever happened, they were on their way back to the top flight. Hopefully they escape any player registration rows this time around – we don’t want this rumbling on until 2032...