Osnabrück: Who are the team returning to Bundesliga 2 for 2026/27?
Two years after suffering relegation from the second tier, Osnabrück are back in Bundesliga 2 after third-placed Rot-Weiss Essen failed to beat VfB Stuttgart II on Saturday afternoon.
Essen’s 6-1 defeat in Stuttgart confirmed the Lower Saxony outfit’s promotion - but how did they do it?
The story of 2025/26
Having finished only five points above the 3. Liga relegation zone last term, Osnabrück struggled to hit the ground running in 2025/26, drawing 0-0 at home to Alemannia Aachen and losing 3-1 at 1860 Munich in their opening two league games.
However, eight wins and four draws from their subsequent 13 games propelled Timo Schultz’s side into the promotion mix, leaving them level on points with leaders Duisburg and second-placed Energie Cottbus at the top of the standings after Matchday 15.
Defeats to Verl, Wehen Wiesbaden and Stuttgart II before Christmas threatened to knock Schultz’s men off their stride, but a magnificent 12-match unbeaten run between Matchdays 20 and 31 helped open up a seven-point cushion over the 3. Liga promotion play-off spot with only seven games remaining.
A 1-0 reverse at Duisburg on Matchday 32 came too late for Osnabrück’s promotion rivals, with subsequent wins over Cottbus, Ingolstadt and Verl - coupled with Essen’s result on Saturday - rubber-stamping their place in Bundesliga 2.
Key player: Robin Meißner
While Osnabrück’s ascent to the 3. Liga summit has undoubtedly been a team effort, Meißner’s impact cannot be understated.
The 26-year-old former Germany Under-18 forward, who is currently on loan from Bundesliga 2 side Dynamo Dresden, has registered 22 goal involvements in the third tier this season, with a whopping 15 of those (seven goals, eight assists) coming in 2026 alone.
Coach: Timo Schultz
Schultz came through the youth ranks at Werder Bremen, but his playing career is best remembered for a six-year spell with St. Pauli between 2005 and 2011.
He was part of the Pauli side that gained promotion to the Bundesliga after an eight-year absence in 2010, and made his top-flight debut against Borussia Dortmund in September that year. He then coached the Hamburg cult club between 2020 and 2022 before a short spell in the Bundesliga at Cologne in 2024.
History
Founded in 1899 as Fußball Club Osnabrück before becoming VfL Osnabrück in 1924, the club were members of the top-tier Oberliga Nord until 1963 but have never made it to the Bundesliga.
They won the Regionalliga Nord - Germany’s second tier at the time - in 1970/71, but missed out on a place in the top flight after finishing second to Regionalliga West champions Bochum in their promotion play-off group.
Osnabrück have spent eight seasons in Bundesliga 2 since the turn of the century, with their highest finish (12th) coming in 2007/08 under Claus Dieter Wollitz. They also reached the DFB Cup quarter-finals in 2009/10, losing to Schalke in the last eight.
Stadium
Built in the early 1930s, Osnabrück’s Stadion an der Bremer Brücke currently holds 16,100 people.
The atmospheric arena, which is named after a nearby bridge on the Osnabrück-Bremen railway line, has staged several Germany women’s and youth internationals in recent decades, including the final of the Women's European Championship in 1989.
