Cologne returns to the Bundesliga as second division champion
Cologne's Eric Martel, second left, celebrates after scoring the first goal of the game during the German Bundesliga 2 soccer match between 1. FC Cologne and 1. FC Kaiserslautern at RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, Germany, Sunday May 18, 2025. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)
COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — Cologne clinched its return to the Bundesliga as second division champion on Sunday with a 4-0 rout of Kaiserslautern on the final day of the season.
First-half goals from Eric Martel and Luca Waldschmidt, and two more from Florian Kainz and Mark Uth in the second, lifted Cologne two points above Hamburger SV, which slumped to a 3-2 loss at Greuther Fürth in its first game since clinching promotion the weekend before.
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The top two are automatically promoted to the top division, while Elversberg, which finished third, will face Heidenheim in a two-leg playoff to determine which side will play in the Bundesliga next season. Heidenheim finished third from bottom in the top division on Saturday.
Cologne's promotion after one season in the second division rewards the club's management for bringing back Friedhelm Funkel as coach for the final two games after the team failed to win its previous two.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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