1970–71 Bundesliga


The 1970–71 Bundesliga was the eighth season of the Bundesliga, West Germany's premier football league. It began on 15 August 1970 and ended on 5 June 1971. Borussia Mönchengladbach were the defending champions.

Competition modus

Every team played two games against each other team, one at home and one away. Teams received two points for a win and one point for a draw. If two or more teams were tied on points, places were determined by goal difference and, if still tied, by goals scored. The team with the most points were crowned champions while the two teams with the fewest points were relegated to their respective Regionalliga divisions.

Team changes to 1969–70

and Alemannia Aachen were relegated to the Regionalliga after finishing in the last two places. They were replaced by Arminia Bielefeld and Kickers Offenbach, who won their respective promotion play-off groups.

Season overview

successfully defended their title. FC Bayern Munich ended up in second place, but not without a title, as they defeated 1. FC Köln in the domestic cup final, thereby qualifying for the Cup Winners' Cup. As a consequence, Bayern's original spot in the newly formed UEFA Cup, to which teams finishing in second to fifth place were permitted to enter, went to Köln. The latter were joined by Hertha BSC, Eintracht Braunschweig and Hamburger SV. The teams demoted to the Regionalliga were Kickers Offenbach and Rot-Weiss Essen.

Bundesliga scandal

Eventually, it was revealed that the decisions in the league had not been determined on the strength of each team alone. On 6 June 1971, Offenbach chairman Horst-Gregorio Canellas played an audio tape to an audience who originally had gathered to celebrate Canellas' 50th birthday. The circle included national team coach Helmut Schön, as well as high DFB representatives and also a few reporters. The tape proved that matches had been sold for money. Soon, the DFB launched its own investigation. It was discovered that a total of 18 games had been fixed, including almost every relevant match in the relegation decision. Over 60 players from ten clubs were involved and nearly one million marks had been paid. Nevertheless, the first verdicts were not spoken until after the start of the following season, meaning that the bribed games officially counted in the final table.

Team overview

ClubGroundCapacity
Olympiastadion100,000
Stadion Alm32,000
Eintracht-Stadion38,000
Weserstadion32,000
Stadion Rote Erde30,000
Wedaustadion38,500
Georg-Melches-Stadion40,000
Waldstadion87,000
Volksparkstadion80,000
Niedersachsenstadion86,000
Stadion Betzenberg42,000
Müngersdorfer Stadion76,000
Bökelbergstadion34,500
Stadion an der Grünwalder Straße44,300
Niederrheinstadion30,000
Bieberer Berg30,000
Glückauf-Kampfbahn35,000
Neckarstadion53,000

League table

Results

Top goalscorers

;24 goals
;22 goals
;20 goals
;19 goals
;18 goals
;15 goals
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Goalkeeper: Wolfgang Kleff.

Defenders: Ludwig Müller ; Berti Vogts ; Klaus-Dieter Sieloff ; Heinz Wittmann ; Hartwig Bleidick.

Midfielders: Günter Netzer ; Peter Dietrich ; Herbert Wimmer ; Rainer Bonhof ; Hans-Jürgen Wloka.

Forwards: Horst Köppel ; Jupp Heynckes ; Herbert Laumen ; Ulrik le Fevre .

'
Manager: Hennes Weisweiler.
On the roster but have not played in a league game:''' Bernd Schrage; Werner Adler.