The 1972–73 Bundesliga was the tenth season of the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

's premier football league. It began on 16 September 1972 and ended on 9 June 1973.

FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which play ...

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 Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

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 The Regionalliga () is the fourth tier in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier in Germany. In 1994, it was introduced as the third tier. Upon the creation of the new nationwide 3. Liga in 2008, it became the four ...

divisions.

Team changes to 1971–72

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

were relegated to the

after finishing in 17th place. They were accompanied by

Arminia Bielefeld DSC Arminia Bielefeld (; full name: ; commonly known as Arminia Bielefeld (), also known as ''Die Arminen'' or ''Die Blauen'' ), or just Arminia (), is a German sports club from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Arminia offers the sports of ...

, who were demoted by the

DFB DFB may refer to: * Deerfield Beach, Florida, a city * Decafluorobutane, a fluorocarbon gas * Dem Franchize Boyz, former hip hop group, Atlanta, Georgia * Dfb, Köppen climate classification for Humid continental climate * Distributed-feedback ...

for playing a key role in the 1971 match fixing scandal (although their playing record would have relegated them anyway). Both teams were replaced by

Wuppertaler SV Wuppertaler SV is a German association football club located in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia. The city was founded in 1929 out of the union of a number of smaller towns including Elberfeld, Barmen, Vohwinkel, Cronenberg and Ronsdorf – e ...

and

Kickers Offenbach Offenbacher Kickers, also known as Kickers Offenbach, is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left established local clubs in ...

, who won their respective promotion play-off groups.

Season overview

Team overview

League table

Results

Top goalscorers

;36 goals *

Gerd Müller Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional footballer. A striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalsco ...

''(

)'' ;28 goals *

Jupp Heynckes Josef "Jupp" Heynckes (; born 9 May 1945) is a German retired professional footballer and manager. The majority of his player career was as a striker for Borussia Mönchengladbach in its golden era of the 1960s and '70s, when they won many nati ...

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Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...

)'' ;21 goals *

Günter Pröpper Günter Pröpper (born 8 December 1941) is a German retired professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in Dorsten, Pröpper started his career in amateur football before joining VfL Osnabrück in 1964. He spent three seasons with the ...

''(

)'' ;19 goals *

Erwin Kostedde Erwin Kostedde (born 21 May 1946) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. Career The son of a German mother and an African-American father, Kostedde was the first black player to play for West Germany, and was the t ...

''(

)'' ;18 goals *

Hans Walitza Hans Walitza (born 26 November 1945) is a German retired professional football player and manager who played as a forward. Career statistics 1 1966–67, 1969–70 and 1970–71 include the Regionalliga promotion playoffs. 1975–76 and 19 ...

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VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seas ...

)'' ;17 goals *

Uli Hoeneß Ulrich "Uli" Hoeneß (, ; born 5 January 1952) is the former president of German football club Bayern Munich and a former footballer for West Germany who played as a forward for club and country. Hoeneß represented Germany at one World Cup and ...

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Klaus Wunder Klaus Wunder (born 13 September 1950 in Erfurt) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. For Bayern Munich, he was part of the club's European Cup victory in 1974–75. He earned one cap for the Germany national t ...

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MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jers ...

)'' ;16 goals *

Reiner Geye Reiner Geye (born 22 November 1949 in Duisburg; died 8 August 2002 in Mainz) was a German football player. His career started with TuS Duisburg 48/99 and Eintracht Duisburg. From 1968 he played for Fortuna Düsseldorf. Between 1971 and 1986 h ...

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Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...

)'' ;14 goals * Klaus Budde ''(

)'' *

Willi Reimann Willi Reimann (born 24 December 1949 in Schwagstorf (Fürstenau)) is a German retired football player and manager. Reimann played as a young boy in a local club in Rheine, later in the Bundesliga for Hannover 96 and Hamburg, appearing in 28 ...

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Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betwe ...

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Champion squad

References

External links

DFB Bundesliga archive 1972/1973
{{DEFAULTSORT:1972-73 Bundesliga Bundesliga seasons 1

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...