Tasmania Berlin's 10-Point Season and the Worst Starts in Bundesliga History

Borussia Mönchengladbach's pointless start to 2026/27 has thrust the Foals into the conversation about the worst beginnings to a Bundesliga season — but the record books show several clubs have endured far grimmer runs. The figures below are correct following Matchday 5 of 2026/27, and an asterisk denotes teams tied on points with others.

The worst starts, matchday by matchday

Matchday 1: Schalke, 2020/21 – 0 points*, -8 goal difference
Matchday 2: Schalke, 2020/21 – 0 points*, -10 goal difference
Matchday 3: Schalke, 2020/21 – 0 points*, -14 goal difference
Matchday 4: Karlsruhe, 1963/64 – 0 points*, -13 goal difference
Matchday 5: Karlsruhe, 1963/64 – 0 points*, -15 goal difference
Matchday 6: Bochum, 2022/23 – 0 points*, -14 goal difference
Matchday 7: Eintracht Braunschweig, 2013/14 – 1 point, -15 goal difference
Matchday 8: Bochum, 2022/23 – 1 point*, -18 goal difference
Matchday 9: Bochum, 2024/25 – 1 point*, -20 goal difference
Matchday 10: Saarbrücken, 1963/64 – 1 point*, -21 goal difference
Matchday 11: Greuther Fürth, 2021/22 – 1 point, -21 goal difference
Matchday 12: Greuther Fürth, 2021/22 – 1 point, -25 goal difference
Matchday 13: Greuther Fürth, 2021/22 – 1 point, -28 goal difference
Matchday 14: Greuther Fürth, 2021/22 – 1 point, -34 goal difference
Matchday 15: Cologne, 2017/18 – 3 points, -22 goal difference
Matchday 16: Cologne, 2017/18 – 3 points, -23 goal difference
Matchday 17: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 4 points, -50 goal difference
Matchday 18: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 4 points, -53 goal difference
Matchday 19: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 5 points, -53 goal difference
Matchday 20: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 5 points, -55 goal difference
Matchday 21: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 5 points, -59 goal difference
Matchday 22: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 5 points, -60 goal difference
Matchday 23: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 5 points, -61 goal difference
Matchday 24: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 5 points, -66 goal difference
Matchday 25: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 6 points, -66 goal difference
Matchday 26: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 6 points, -68 goal difference
Matchday 27: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 6 points, -77 goal difference
Matchday 28: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 6 points, -81 goal difference
Matchday 29: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 7 points, -81 goal difference
Matchday 30: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 7 points, -85 goal difference
Matchday 31: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 7 points, -88 goal difference
Matchday 32: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 7 points, -90 goal difference
Matchday 33: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 10 points, -89 goal difference
Matchday 34: Tasmania Berlin, 1965/66 – 10 points, -93 goal difference

Tasmania Berlin: the unwanted gold standard

Tasmania Berlin's 1965/66 campaign remains the benchmark for Bundesliga misery. The club finished the season with just 10 points and a goal difference of -93, the worst campaign in the competition's history. Their record for fewest wins in a single Bundesliga season — two — was matched by Wuppertal in 1974/75.

The longest wait for a first win belongs to Nuremberg in 2013/14, who finally tasted victory on Matchday 18. Across the competition's 64 seasons, 15 teams have reached the five-match mark on zero points, while well over 50 have been winless at that stage.

Gladbach's place in the story

Borussia Mönchengladbach's 2026/27 side is the only team still on zero points after five games this season, sitting bottom of the table. It is the second season in a row the Foals have been winless at this stage, and the seventh time in their Bundesliga history — though only once before, in 2015/16, had they lost their opening five league matches.

That 2015/16 team went on to complete the best turnaround in Bundesliga history, climbing from zero points after five games to finish fourth and qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Their predecessors of 2025/26 also stayed up after a winless start, as did the classes of 1990/91 and 1991/92 — a reminder that a slow beginning need not end in relegation.