2008–09 3. Liga

The 2008–09 3. Liga was the inaugural season for the newly formed tier III of the German football league system. The inaugural game was played on 25 July 2008 between FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt and Dynamo Dresden, ending with a 1–0 win for Dresden. The last games were played on 23 May 2009. 1. FC Union Berlin were the inaugural champions, securing first place on 10 May 2009. Runners-up Fortuna Düsseldorf were also promoted. Third-placed team SC Paderborn 07 played a relegation/promotion play-off against the 16th-placed team from 2. Bundesliga, VfL Osnabrück, winning both games and earning promotion. Kickers Emden, VfR Aalen, and Stuttgarter Kickers were relegated to the Regionalliga.

Qualified teams
The following teams were relegated to 3. Liga from 2007–08 2. Bundesliga:
 * Kickers Offenbach
 * FC Erzgebirge Aue
 * SC Paderborn 07
 * FC Carl Zeiss Jena

The following teams qualified through Regionalliga North:
 * Fortuna Düsseldorf
 * 1. FC Union Berlin
 * SV Werder Bremen II
 * Wuppertaler SV Borussia
 * FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt
 * Dynamo Dresden
 * Kickers Emden
 * Eintracht Braunschweig

The following teams qualified through Regionalliga South:
 * VfB Stuttgart II
 * VfR Aalen
 * SV Sandhausen
 * SpVgg Unterhaching
 * SV Wacker Burghausen
 * FC Bayern Munich II
 * SSV Jahn Regensburg
 * Stuttgarter Kickers

Teams, Head Coach, Cities and Stadiums

 * Notes
 * 1) 1. FC Union Berlin played its 2008–09 home matches at Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark because their own ground Alte Försterei was undergoing renovation.

Top scorers
''Source: www.kicker.de
 * 21 goals
 * 🇩🇪 Anton Fink (SpVgg Unterhaching)


 * 17 goals
 * 🇹🇷 Sercan Güvenisik (SC Paderborn 07)
 * 🇩🇪 Torsten Oehrl (SV Werder Bremen II)


 * 16 goals
 * 🇩🇿 Karim Benyamina (1. FC Union Berlin)


 * 15 goals
 * 🇩🇪 Thomas Müller (FC Bayern Munich II)


 * 14 goals
 * 🇩🇪 Frank Löning (SC Paderborn 07)
 * 🇩🇪 Halil Savran (Dynamo Dresden)


 * 12 goals
 * 🇮🇹 Massimo Cannizzaro (FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt)
 * 🇩🇪 Marco Sailer (VfR Aalen)