Holger Hieronymus, CEO of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH, gives the lowdown on the revived play-off system in the weekly interview.
bundesliga.de: Herr Hieronymus, this will be the first season that play-offs have been held since 1991. Why did the DFL reintroduce them?
Holger Hieronymus: The play-offs were always a source of drama and excitement in the past. We want to make the most of that “excitement factor” from now on, in order to spice up the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga even further.
bundesliga.de: To what extent did the reintroduction of the play-offs influence scheduling for the 2008-2009 season?
Hieronymus: There are a variety of factors every year which complicate the scheduling. To name just a couple of those for this season, alongside the reintroduction of play-offs, we have the two Frankfurt clubs sharing the Commerzbank-Arena, and Bayer Leverkusen moving to the LTU Arena in Düsseldorf after the winter break.
bundesliga.de: Which teams will be involved in the play-offs?
Hieronymus: The side third from bottom of the Bundesliga will play the team placing third in the 2. Bundesliga. The winner gets to play in the Bundesliga, the loser stays, or drops down to, the second flight. The same rule applies between the 2. Bundesliga and the new Third Division.
bundesliga.de: What precise form will the play-offs take?
Hieronymus: They will be played on a home and away basis. The away goals rule familiar from European competition will be used, with away goals counting double in the event of a tied aggregate score. If the clubs are still all-square at the end of the second leg, there will be two 15-minute periods of extra time. If that fails to settle things, the contest will go to a penalty shoot-out.
bundesliga.de: Which side will be at home for the first leg?
Hieronymus: The ruling is that the team which is first to complete its regular season schedule will host the first leg.
bundesliga.de: When will the two games take place?
Hieronymus: We deliberately scheduled the two legs immediately before and after the DFB Cup final on May 30th 2009, in order to maximise the drama. So the end of May will really be, as it were, an all-deciding weekend.
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