Sailing into the international break, we've learned a few things. Reports of Eintrcht Braunschweig's imminent demise were premature, FC St. Pauli have well and truly hit the skids, and Frank Schmidt might well remain coach at FC Heidenheim until 2037. Plenty more going on, of course - Nik, Jasmine, and Maik take you through all the big stories from the 2. Bundesliga and the lower leagues here on the Aufstieg edition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Forgive us if we're feeling woozy. It's been twelve years since FC Bayern München got off to a start this poor, and more than 20 since they went four games without a win. It's a lot to take in, especially with a Revierderby on the docket, as well as a supremely confident performance from table-toppers 1. FC Union Berlin. Borussia Dortmund: A History in Black and Yellow author Terry Duffelen returns to the pod to talk through all the action from Match Day 7. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're offering up something a bit special today - a small taste of what you'll find over on our Patreon page! Our resident Bundesliga history buff Nik Wildhagen has curated another season of Historic Matchday Moments, a series of shorts about some of the biggest happenings in German top flight history, doled out week by week. This week Nik speaks with Michael Pahl of the FC St Pauli museum, who gives us a window on the Hamburg club's development from a fairly sleepy football club to the international symbol of swashbuckling punk-rock progressivism we know today. You could say it all started in 1977, when they got one over on their eternal rivals HSV. We hope you enjoy it - if you do, please become a patron of the pod, for as little as $3 a month! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They said it was a one-team league. If it was, at the moment that one team would be 1. FC Union Berlin, the low-budget side from the capital that's been getting high-end results all season. (With FC Bayern München slightly adrift, someone has to take up the mantle.) This week Matt welcomes a new guest, Jake Payne of the 50 Plus Döner show, to talk over the unfamiliar order at the top, the triumphant return of Marco Rose, and a string of puzzling VAR decisions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Once again, it's only been two weeks since our last peek into the non-elite levels of the German football pyramid, and there's more than enough to talk about. 1. FC Nürnberg lost their assistant coach (Bastian Schweinsteiger's brother Tobias) to VfL Osnabrück, Frank Schmidt and Heidenheim keep hanging around the upper reaches of the table, and Hannover 96 look like they've turned a corner...but have some challenging fixtures ahead. Listen in as Nik, Jasmine and Maik break it all down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices