The 2011–12 season saw Dynamo Dresden return to the 2. Bundesliga after a five-year absence. Despite the success of the previous season, they had to largely rebuild their squad – the strike partnership of Alexander Esswein and Dani Schahin left the club in the summer, as did captain Thomas Hübener, among others. A total of 19 new players joined, notably a new strike pairing of Zlatko Dedic and Mickaël Poté who scored 25 goals between them.