Perhaps unsurprisingly, the stats tend to confirm the suggestion that relegated sides have decent prospects of a swift return to the top flight. Of 102 relegated teams to date, 21 claimed the 2. Bundesliga title the following year, while around a third (34 per cent) gained automatic promotion.
Six-and-a-half-year average
Of course there are no guarantees. On average, relegated sides must wait six and a half years before returning to the top flight. The only way to find out whether Eintracht or St. Pauli have what it takes to bounce back at the first attempt is to catch them in action, starting with Matchday 1 of the 2. Bundesliga this coming weekend!
2011: A year to forget
The year 2011 will go down as one of the darkest in the histories of both Eintracht Frankfurt and FC St. Pauli. Before the turn of the year, St. Pauli were comfortable in 15th and Frankfurt pushing for Europe in seventh. However, the New Year brought just eight points and seven goals in 17 games for Eintracht, who ultimately lost their battle against the drop on the final day. Meanwhile St. Pauli plummeted alarmingly after their derby win over Hamburg and found themselves bottom of the table by the end, seven points adrift of potential safety.
The coaches: Masters of promotion?
Based on experience, Eintracht's Armin Veh has a considerable head start on St. Pauli supremo Andre Schubert having been a professional coach for 15 years now. However, while Schubert is about on embark on only his fourth season in the dugout, his 2. Bundesliga record with Paderborn (5th and 12th) is not to be sniffed at, nor his stewardship of SCP's 3. Liga promotion in 2009. Veh is yet to experience promotion as a coach, though he does know what it feels like to finish top of the league, having led VfB Stuttgart to the Bundesliga title in 2006/07.
The strikers: Lone frontmen again?
If both coaches stick with the 4-2-3-1 systems from last season, expect Theofanis Gekas and Marius Ebbers to once again lead the line for each side respectively. Gekas enjoyed a highly-impressive first half of last season in the Bundesliga, racking up 14 goals for Frankfurt by Christmas. Unfortunately, his form took a dive in the second half of the campaign - similar to Ebbers' throughout St. Pauli's brief Bundesliga sojourn. However, the latter boasts 89 career goals in the 2. Bundesliga and his vast experience of the division may well prove advantageous as Gekas gets to grips with the more physical second-tier defences.
The history: St. Pauli struggle to respond
Historically, both teams have had a hard time bouncing straight back into the top flight. After dropping out of the Bundesliga in 2002, St. Pauli suffered a second straight relegation the following season and required another eight years to finally rise back into the big time. Frankfurt have a slightly better record, though they have only managed to return to the top tier at the first attempt once in three previous cases. After failing to achieve immediate promotion in 1997 and 2001, the 'Eagles' eventually pulled off the feat in 2005.
The transfers: Frankfurt plump for experience
Both sides have undergone a considerable restructuring of their respective squads over the summer. While Frankfurt have seen the likes of Maik Franz (Hertha BSC), Ralf Fährmann (FC Schalke 04) and Patrick Ochs (VfL Wolfsburg) all depart, St. Pauli will be without former stalwarts Bastian Oczipka (Leverkusen) and Thomas Kessler (1. FC Köln), not to mention Matthias Lehmann, who ironically has joined Eintracht. Frankfurt boss Armin Veh has also moved to bring in Erwin Hoffer (Kaiserslautern), Ümit Korkmaz (Bochum), and Karim Matmour (Mönchengladbach), all of whom boast top-level experience. St. Pauli's most prominent new arrivals include striker Mahir Saglik (Bochum) and talented youngster Patrick Funk (Stuttgart).
The fans: Loyal support on both sides
St. Pauli and Frankfurt each attracted bumper crowds throughout last season, with an average of over 24,000 cheering on their side at the Millerntor and around 47,000 packing Eintracht's Commerzbank Arena every second week. Both stadiums are bound to be among the most visited in the 2. Bundesliga next term, but St. Pauli fans are especially renowned for their loyalty through thick and thin. In their promotion year of 2009/10, the 'Pirates'' average gate was almost 21,000. By comparison, Frankfurt welcomed an average of just 24,000 during their last stint in the second tier in 2004/05. Similar figures this year will take some getting used to for Eintracht's Bundesliga-spoilt pros.
