The 2013–14 Bundesliga was the 51st season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season began on 9 August 2013 and the final matchday was on 10 May 2014. The winter break started on 23 December 2013 and ended on 24 January 2014.[2]
Bayern Munich were the defending champions and officially clinched the championship on 25 March 2014 after defeating Hertha BSC, on the 27th matchday of the season. This broke their previous record from last season, where Bayern clinched the Bundesliga on matchday 28.[3]
Teams
A total of 18 teams were contesting the league, including 15 sides from the 2012–13 season and two sides promoted directly from the 2012–13 2. Bundesliga season. Fortuna Düsseldorf and Greuther Fürth were relegated from the Bundesliga after a single season and were replaced by Hertha Berlin, 2. Bundesliga champions and runners-up Eintracht Braunschweig. Hertha made an immediate return to the top level, but Eintracht made their first appearance after 28 years in the second and third levels. The final participant was determined in the two-legged play-off, in which 16th placed Bundesliga side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim defeated 1. FC Kaiserslautern, who finished third in 2. Bundesliga.
Source: DFB Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated Notes:
^ abcThe 2013–14 DFB-Pokal finalists (Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich) qualified for the UEFA Champions League, thus the three Europa League places were distributed through league positions.
^Smentek, Klaus; et al. (8 August 2012). "kicker Bundesliga Sonderheft 2012/13". kicker Sportmagazin (in German). Nuremberg: Olympia Verlag. ISSN0948-7964.
^"Slomka neuer HSV-Coach" [Slomka new HSV-Coach] (in German). bundesliga.de. 17 February 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.