1. FC Kaiserslautern starts the 2025/26 season in Hannover on Sunday (Facebook/1.FC Kaiserslautern)
The German second division soccer season starts off tonight with a bang when Schalke 04 hosts Hertha BSC in Gelsenkirchen.
The two former Bundesliga stalwarts are looking for promotion back to the top division after disappointing campaigns last year. Both teams have won the German title, but that was before the Bundesliga was established in 1963.
On Sunday, two other former German champions will face off when 1. FC Kaiserslautern travels to Hannover to take on the 96ers.
The Red Devils are hoping to better last year’s seventh place finish. Long in the mix for promotion, they faltered towards the season’s end but still played a good campaign.
To do better this season, they need to hope two of their newcomers, Mahir Emreli and Ivan Prtajin, can fill the hole left by goal-getter Ragnar Ache’s departure to Cologne.
Coach Torsten Lieberknecht and the club management also have high hopes for Semih Sahin. The midfielder, a transfer from Elversberg, has been out with an injury, but is expected to be ready to play soon.
Fabian Kunze, another midfielder with second division experience comes to the Red Devils from Hannover.
Kaiserslautern is looking to strengthen its Swiss cheese-like defense with newcomers Maxwell Gyamfi and Ji-Soo Kim.
About 4,500 fans are expected to be in Hannover to support their team. They will find a couple of familiar faces in former FCK players Boris Tomiak and Daisuke Yokota, who joined the 96ers instead of transferring to St. Pauli in the Bundesliga, as expected.
The Hannover team under new coach Christian Titz is expected to be one of the many contenders for promotion this season, in a very balanced Bundesliga 2.
The second game of the season, on Aug. 9 at Fritz Walter Stadium against Schalke, is already sold out. As usual, the Red Devils will have a lot of support at home.
The club sold 32,682 season tickets this year, 4,312 more than last season.
August 1, 2025 10:35
