Rachid Azzouzi endorses English-style system for Bundesliga promotion-relegation playoff | OneFootball

The sacking of SpVgg Greuther Fürth sporting director Rachid Azzouzi last November left many Bundesliga lovers heavy-hearted. The eminently likable 54-year-old enjoys enormous respect in German footballing circles as an administrator with genuine passion for German football.

In his position as a Fürth functionary (since the end of his playing career in 2004) has always been an ardent defender of 50+1, a strong advocate for more equitable media rights deals, and an important voice on issues threatening to over-commercialize the German game.

On many occasions, Azzouzi warned of the perils of allowing investors into the Bundesliga; specifically citing the English system as a bad precedent. When it comes to the matter of German football’s stagnant promotion-relegation playoffs, however, Azzouzi recently made clear that he prefers the English model.

The topic of whether the current playoff system -in place since it was reinstated at the end of the 2008/09 season – hasn’t produced a winner from the 2. Bundesliga since Union Berlin defeated VfB Stuttgart at the end of the 2018/19 campaign.

Speaking on one of Germany’s highest volume podcasts (“Kicker meets DAZN“) Azzouzi endorsed a switch to the English model used in the EFL Championship and below: Promotion for the top-two second tier sides and playoffs for the final relegation spot.

Azzouzi’s proposal nevertheless isn’t exactly like that used on the Isle. The bottom three Premiership sides are automatically relegated. In Azzouzi’s plan, the 16th-placed Bundesliga side would still compete in a semi-final round that featured the third, fourth, and fifth placed 2. Bundesliga clubs.

Precisely as is the case in England, the two winners of the semi-final round would then meet in a grand Finale at one of Germany’s most famous venues. Azzouzi even went so far as to suggest a German equivalent of Wembley: Either Köln’s RheinEnergieStadion or HSV’s Volksparkstadion.

Azzouzi’s idea, or similar variants, have been put before the DFL commission in recent years. The fact that Azzouzi used his celebrity to bring the topic back to the forefront may potentially help get things moving. Borussia Dortmund – with Germany’s largest stadium – could also benefit from hosting a Final.

One aspect of the German top division Azzouzi expressed support for concerned last year’s (pejoratively titled) “Schneckenrennen um Europa” (“snail’s race for Europe”). Germans laughed at the fact that the Bundesliga’s eighth-placed team earned a Conference League slot.

Azzouzi took a different take. In his opinion, the fact that mid-table sides have something to strive for enhanced the latter stages of the league campaign. The manner in which things unfolded late last year should, per Azzouzi, be transferred to the second division.

“I think it makes sense,” the 54-year-old said on the pod. ”In the Bundesliga, the team in tenth place might still have a chance of making it to the international stage. In the second division, you don’t have that. That’s a shame.”

GGFN | Peter Weis