| Season | 1968–69 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 17 August 1968 – 7 June 1969 |
| Champions | Bayern Munich 1st Bundesliga title 2ndGerman title |
| Relegated | 1. FC Nürnberg Kickers Offenbach |
| European Cup | FC Bayern Munich |
| Cup Winners' Cup | FC Schalke 04 (losing DFB Cup finalists to Bayern) |
| Goals | 873 |
| Average goals/game | 2.85 |
| Top goalscorer | Gerd Müller (30) |
| Biggest home win | FC Bayern 6–0Werder Bremen (29 March 1969) |
| Biggest away win | 1860 Munich 0–4M'gladbach (28 September 1968) |
| Highest scoring | Werder Bremen 6–5M'gladbach (11 goals) (7 June 1969) |
1969–70 → | |
The1968–69 Bundesliga was the sixth season of theBundesliga,West Germany's premier football league. It began on 17 August 1968 and ended on 7 June 1969.[1]1. FC Nürnberg were the defending champions.
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 bygoal average. The team with the most points were crowned champions while the two teams with the fewest points were relegated to their respectiveRegionalliga divisions.
Borussia Neunkirchen andKarlsruher SC were relegated to theRegionalliga after finishing in the last two places. They were replaced byHertha BSC Berlin andKickers Offenbach, who won their respective promotion play-off groups.
The dominant team of the 1968–69 season wasFC Bayern Munich. Bayern were in first place of the standings from the very first matchday and never looked back, continuously increasing their margin to eventually eight points, the biggest so far in league history. They were victorious in theDFB Cup as well, beatingSchalke in the final by a 2–1 score. Keys to their double win were their improved defense and top scorerGerd Müller, who scored 30 goals.
Behind Bayern, the league continued to create surprises.Alemannia Aachen ended up in second place after a campaign which featured almost every position between second and 16th. Other notable astonishments wereEintracht Braunschweig, who finished in fourth place, and1. FC Köln, who ended their season in a dismal 13th position.
Köln even were in danger of being relegated prior to the last matchday, sitting in 15th place with 30 points at that time. They played1. FC Nürnberg at home, who also were in relegation trouble as 16th-placed team, one point behind Köln. Another match on that day was the clash between 17th-placedBorussia Dortmund and 18th-placedKickers Offenbach. Both teams had 28 points prior to the game. After the matches were over, both Nürnberg and Offenbach had received 3–0 defeats, resulting in the demotion of both teams.
The demotion of Nürnberg was especially tragic as they had been Bundesliga champions only 12 months ago. Nevertheless, a pre-season sell-out of their best players and continuous quarrels between coachMax Merkel and his players proved to be costly, and although Merkel was sacked in late March 1969, it was too late to reverse tides. A home draw to Dortmund on matchday 33 and the defeat against Köln one week later eventually sealed their fate.
| Club | Ground[2] | Capacity[2] |
|---|---|---|
| Alemannia Aachen | Tivoli | 30,000 |
| Hertha BSC | Olympiastadion | 100,000 |
| Eintracht Braunschweig | Eintracht-Stadion | 38,000 |
| SV Werder Bremen | Weserstadion | 32,000 |
| Borussia Dortmund | Stadion Rote Erde | 30,000 |
| MSV Duisburg | Wedaustadion | 38,500 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Waldstadion | 87,000 |
| Hamburger SV | Volksparkstadion | 80,000 |
| Hannover 96 | Niedersachsenstadion | 86,000 |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Stadion Betzenberg | 42,000 |
| 1. FC Köln | Müngersdorfer Stadion | 76,000 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | Bökelbergstadion | 34,500 |
| TSV 1860 Munich | Stadion an der Grünwalder Straße | 44,300 |
| FC Bayern Munich | Stadion an der Grünwalder Straße | 44,300 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | Städtisches Stadion | 64,238 |
| Kickers Offenbach | Bieberer Berg | 30,000 |
| FC Schalke 04 | Glückauf-Kampfbahn | 35,000 |
| VfB Stuttgart | Neckarstadion | 53,000 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayern Munich(C) | 34 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 61 | 31 | 1.968 | 46 | Qualification toEuropean Cup first round |
| 2 | Alemannia Aachen | 34 | 16 | 6 | 12 | 57 | 51 | 1.118 | 38 | |
| 3 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 61 | 46 | 1.326 | 37 | |
| 4 | Eintracht Braunschweig | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 46 | 43 | 1.070 | 37 | |
| 5 | VfB Stuttgart | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 60 | 54 | 1.111 | 36 | Qualification toInter-Cities Fairs Cup first round |
| 6 | Hamburger SV | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 55 | 55 | 1.000 | 36 | |
| 7 | Schalke 04 | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 45 | 40 | 1.125 | 35 | Qualification toCup Winners' Cup first round[a] |
| 8 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 46 | 43 | 1.070 | 34 | |
| 9 | Werder Bremen | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 59 | 59 | 1.000 | 34 | |
| 10 | 1860 Munich | 34 | 15 | 4 | 15 | 44 | 59 | 0.746 | 34 | Qualification toInter-Cities Fairs Cup first round |
| 11 | Hannover 96 | 34 | 9 | 14 | 11 | 47 | 45 | 1.044 | 32 | |
| 12 | MSV Duisburg | 34 | 8 | 16 | 10 | 33 | 37 | 0.892 | 32 | |
| 13 | 1. FC Köln | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 47 | 56 | 0.839 | 32 | |
| 14 | Hertha BSC | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 31 | 39 | 0.795 | 32 | Qualification toInter-Cities Fairs Cup first round |
| 15 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 45 | 47 | 0.957 | 30 | |
| 16 | Borussia Dortmund | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 49 | 54 | 0.907 | 30 | |
| 17 | 1. FC Nürnberg(R) | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 45 | 55 | 0.818 | 29 | Relegation toRegionalliga |
| 18 | Kickers Offenbach(R) | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 42 | 59 | 0.712 | 28 |
| Home \ Away | AAC | BSC | EBS | SVW | BVB | DUI | SGE | HSV | H96 | FCK | KOE | BMG | M60 | FCB | FCN | KOF | S04 | VFB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alemannia Aachen | — | 0–0 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–3 |
| Hertha BSC | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Eintracht Braunschweig | 2–0 | 3–3 | — | 0–3 | 4–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 |
| Werder Bremen | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 6–5 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | — | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| MSV Duisburg | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–4 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| Hamburger SV | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–4 | — | 1–4 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 |
| Hannover 96 | 5–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | — | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 4–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| 1. FC Köln | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–4 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 5–2 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 4–4 |
| 1860 Munich | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–4 | — | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 |
| Bayern Munich | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 6–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | — | 3–0 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 1–4 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | — | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Kickers Offenbach | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 4–3 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Schalke 04 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 3–0 | — | 1–1 |
| VfB Stuttgart | 3–1 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 6–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — |
| FC Bayern Munich |
|---|
| Goalkeeper:Sepp Maier (34). Defenders:Werner Olk (34 / 1);Peter Pumm Manager:Branko Zebec On the roster but have not played in a league game:Fritz Kosar;Benno Zellermayer;Peter Stegmann;Albrecht Wachsmann;Reinhard Lippert. |
Source:[3]
| No. | Team | Attendance | Change | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hertha BSC | 44,176 | 925.8% | 70,000 |
| 2 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 26,647 | -33.0% | 50,000 |
| 3 | Bayern München | 25,029 | 15.3% | 40,000 |
| 4 | 1. FC Köln | 24,882 | 7.4% | 53,000 |
| 5 | Schalke 04 | 23,412 | 2.8% | 40,000 |
| 6 | Borussia Dortmund | 22,824 | 4.3% | 38,000 |
| 7 | Hannover 96 | 22,706 | 1.5% | 40,000 |
| 8 | OFC Kickers | 22,353 | 151.7% | 33,000 |
| 9 | Hamburger SV | 21,059 | 9.3% | 50,000 |
| 10 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 20,765 | 2.5% | 60,000 |
| 11 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 20,500 | -6.9% | 32,000 |
| 12 | VfB Stuttgart | 20,482 | -14.6% | 74,700 |
| 13 | Alemannia | 19,059 | -16.3% | 30,000 |
| 14 | Werder Bremen | 18,412 | -11.6% | 35,000 |
| 15 | MSV Duisburg | 17,324 | 3.9% | 37,000 |
| 16 | Eintracht Braunschweig | 15,882 | 1.5% | 38,000 |
| 17 | TSV 1860 | 14,824 | -23.3% | 44,000 |
| 18 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 14,176 | 4.8% | 25,000 |