Here are the 2.Bundesliga Power Rankings for December!
Movement of the month
- Nordhorn-Lingen turned December into a statement of rhythm and control: the win-streak didn’t survive the month – it grew inside it.
- Bietigheim landed December’s loudest head-to-head message by beating Balingen in the top clash, the kind of result that changes how the league talks about you over the break. N-Lübbecke pressed the red button early: Przybecki out, Dominiković in – not a “project” move, a pressure move.
- At the bottom, close stopped being cute: Oppenweiler/Backnang and Ferndorf lived the month where “nearly” becomes a habit – and habits become a table problem.
1: HSG Nordhorn-Lingen
Current league standing: 5
November ranking: 6
If you want to bottle December in one team, it’s Nordhorn: not because every half was beautiful, but because the month never knocked them off their script. Ferndorf got hit by that early tempo escalation, the kind where you realise you’re defending decisions, not just players – and Nordhorn never let the game drift into chaos. The closing act at Krefeld was the same story in colder air: 29–26 away, ninth straight league win, and the comfort of a team that knows exactly when to squeeze.
2: HC Elbflorenz 2006
Current league standing: 1
November ranking: 3
Elbflorenz’s December wasn’t “hot streak” handball – it was structured offence that travelled. The 42–34 win at Dessau was the kind of away performance that tells the league you can impose rhythm in someone else’s hall, not just survive it. And while this ranking is December-only, the late-month signal matters as context: the club locked in continuity by extending head coach André Haber until 2028 – a strong message at the exact moment promotion races start getting political.
3: 1.VfL Potsdam
Current league standing: 4
November ranking: 5
Potsdam played December like a side that’s learned where matches actually get won: not in the first good run, but in the second response. The headline night was the 28–21 against Bietigheim – a direct rival reduced to a problem they solved, not a storm they endured. Then came Hagen away (31–28), a trip that punishes teams who only look good at home – and Potsdam still left with points. This is Emir Kurtagić handball in its clearest form: clarity over noise, and discipline when the game tries to turn emotional.
4: VfL Lübeck-Schwartau
Current league standing: 7
November ranking: 4
Lübeck’s December was “quiet brutality” – professional wins, no drama required. The draw at Großwallstadt (31–31) could’ve been a wobble, but instead it became a base: 35–27 at Oppenweiler, 38–34 vs Hagen, and then the one that matters for promotion profiles – 39–36 at Dormagen, in a proper hostile-gym, Christmas-week shootout. In that Dormagen win, Einar Nickelsen put up nine goals – not padding, problem-solving.
5: HSC Coburg 2000
Current league standing: 9
November ranking: 7
Coburg were one of the month’s most “adult” teams: not perfect, but consistently hard to move. They punished Krefeld 38–29 away, they handled Essen 32–25, and they went to Großwallstadt after Christmas and still found enough to win 33–30. Then came the one-goal loss to Dormagen (35–36), the exact type of game that tells you: top-five quality is there, but closing sequences still need to become automatic. December gave Coburg points – and also gave them a reminder.
6: SG BBM Bietigheim
Current league standing: 2
November ranking: 1
Bietigheim’s month had a wobble – and then it had a message. Losing 21–28 in Potsdam is what happens in this league when you give a direct rival oxygen. But the response was serious: they beat Balingen 32–27 in the December headliner, and that win landed with extra weight because it kept them unbeaten at home again and reshaped the winter conversation. Iker Romero has them playing like a side that expects to be in the last two weeks of the season with something on the line.
7: HBW Balingen-Weilstetten
Current league standing: 3
November ranking: 8
Balingen’s December was strong – until the derby reminded them how thin the margins are at the very top. They beat Krefeld (25–22), they won in Hagen (32–30), they handled Dessau (36–30) – and then Bietigheim took the head-to-head. In that loss, Sascha Pfattheicher still did Pfattheicher things, because he’s leading the league’s scoring charts on the official numbers – but December was the month where Balingen looked human for a night.
8: Die Eulen Ludwigshafen
Current league standing: 14
November ranking: 12
The Eulen didn’t become a top-four side in December – but they became an opponent nobody wants in January. Two draws (including 27–27 at Hüttenberg) and a couple of wins is the kind of month that stabilises a season. Then Nordhorn arrived and exposed the current ceiling: Ludwigshafen lost the make-up game 20–26 at home. That’s not a shame result – it’s information. It tells you where the gap still is between “tough” and “top”.
9: TuS N-Lübbecke
Current league standing: 11
November ranking: 13
This month split into “before” and “after”, and the split wasn’t subtle. The club dismissed Piotr Przybecki and appointed Davor Dominiković, a decision confirmed officially and widely reported – and that tells you exactly what the internal pressure felt like. On court, December was messy (draws with Essen and Krefeld, plus defeats), but the late win at Oppenweiler (39–32) looked like a team trying to re-lock the basics and stop bleeding points.
10: TV 05/07 Hüttenberg
Current league standing: 10
November ranking: 14
Hüttenberg’s December was a tactical grind: they can drag you into discomfort, slow the game, and make every clean look feel earned – but the month also showed they still need one more reliable scoring phase per match. They beat Ferndorf 24–23, drew Ludwigshafen 27–27, and lost tight games against top opponents (including 25–28 vs Nordhorn). That’s competitive – but December is ruthless: competitive only matters if it becomes points.
11: TSV Bayer Dormagen
Current league standing: 12
November ranking: 10
Dormagen gave you the full mid-table December rollercoaster. They drew Elbflorenz 34–34, won 36–35 at Coburg, and still conceded 39 at home to Lübeck. This is the difference between “dangerous” and “reliable”: Dormagen can punch, but December punished every soft five-minute stretch. If you score 36 and still lose, you don’t need motivation – you need answers.
12: TuSEM Essen
Current league standing: 16
November ranking: 17
Essen’s December was survival handball with one breath of oxygen at the end. They took a vital 34–32 win over Ferndorf in the last round of the month – and in a relegation season, that’s a win you build a training week around. Coach context matters here because it’s verified and meaningful: TUSEM confirmed Kenji Hövels took over in December. But the league also made them pay in other weeks – including the 36–28 loss at Nordhorn, where the gap between “we’re improving” and “we’re safe” was obvious.
13: VfL Eintracht Hagen
Current league standing: 6
November ranking: 9
Hagen had one proper December punch – 28–21 at N-Lübbecke – and then ran into the cold reality of the schedule: Balingen, Lübeck, Potsdam. They competed, they didn’t collapse, but December doesn’t reward “close enough”. What it did show is that Hagen always have threat: Hákon Daði Styrmisson sits right near the top of the league scoring list in the official numbers. Threat isn’t the problem. Converting threat into points, weekly, is.
14: Dessau-Roßlauer HV 06
Current league standing: 8
November ranking: 2
Dessau’s December started like a party (41–36 vs Dormagen) and ended like a warning. The 34–42 home loss to Elbflorenz was the clearest “top teams punish every soft phase” example of the month. That’s not just a scoreboard issue – it’s a control issue: when the opponent finds flow, can you disrupt it? December said: not often enough.
15: TV Großwallstadt
Current league standing: 13
November ranking: 15
One point from four December games is the kind of month that makes everything feel heavier. The 31–31 draw with Lübeck was the “we can build” result – and then came Potsdam (37–40), Elbflorenz (32–41), and Coburg (30–33). You don’t need to romanticise it: too many matches felt like Großwallstadt chasing the game instead of shaping it. And yes, they have elite scoring on the season level – Maxim Schalles is right up there in the league’s scoring ranks – but December is about turning that into points.
16: HSG Krefeld Niederrhein
Current league standing: 17
November ranking: 18
Krefeld’s December looked like the classic promoted-team winter lesson: effort is not enough when opponents raise pace in the middle third. They drew 28–28 with N-Lübbecke, which was a real grip on the month, and then got pulled into the top-team grinder. The 26–29 loss to Nordhorn was competitive – but Nordhorn still closed it like a side that’s done this a hundred times.
17: TuS Ferndorf
Current league standing: 15
November ranking: 11
Ferndorf’s December was a slow accumulation of pain: 28–32 at Nordhorn, 30–31 vs Ludwigshafen, 23–24 vs Hüttenberg, 32–34 at Essen. That’s four losses, most of them close enough to feel like you “nearly” got something – and that’s exactly the trap. Because “nearly” becomes identity, and identity becomes table pressure. January needs one ugly win, not one nice performance.
18: HC Oppenweiler/Backnang
Current league standing: 18
November ranking: 16
Four matches, four losses, and the pattern kept repeating: Bietigheim by one (27–28), then Lübeck pulling away (27–35), then Ludwigshafen controlling (24–30), then N-Lübbecke finishing the month at their place (32–39). December didn’t just take points – it took confidence. The scary part is that the league’s scoring charts show they do have firepower on the season level (with Timm Buck high on the list), but December was about collective control – and they couldn’t stop the runs.
Team of the month: HSG Nordhorn-Lingen
December’s most repeatable identity, and the streak kept growing when others got tired.
Player of the month: Frieder Bandlow (HSG Nordhorn-Lingen)
Not because of one “hero night”, but because he showed up inside Nordhorn’s December control games and their away grind. He was central in the Ferndorf win (explicitly highlighted by the league report), and he led the scoring again in the closing away win at Krefeld.
Autor: Hen Livgot
Hen Livgot is a handball expert and licensed professional players’ agent