The 1977–78 Bundesliga was the 15th 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 6 August 1977 and ended on 29 April 1978. 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 three teams with the fewest points were relegated to their respective

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

divisions.

Team changes to 1976–77

Karlsruher SC Karlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football. Domestically, the club was crowned German champion in 1909, and won the DF ...

Tennis Borussia Berlin Tennis Borussia Berlin is a German football club based in the locality of Westend in Berlin. History The team was founded in 1902 as ''Berliner Tennis- und Ping-Pong-Gesellschaft Borussia'' taking its name from its origins as a tennis and ta ...

and

Rot-Weiss Essen Rot-Weiss Essen is a German association football club based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club currently plays in the 3. Liga, at the Stadion an der Hafenstraße. The team won the DFB-Pokal in 1953, and the German championship in 195 ...

were relegated to the

after finishing in the last three places. They were replaced by

FC St. Pauli Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. The football department is part of a larger sp ...

, winners of the 2. Bundesliga Northern Division,

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...

, winners of the Southern Division and

TSV 1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's football team currently plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of German football. 1860 Munich was one of the founding members o ...

, who won a promotion play-off series against Arminia Bielefeld.

Season overview

The 1977–78 season, which ended earlier than usual due to the upcoming

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

in Argentina, ended with 1. FC Köln winning the title, but the decision had been closer than anybody would have imagined. The team from

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

was level on points with Borussia Mönchengladbach before the final round of matches of the season, but had a ten-goal lead in goal difference over their rivals. Nevertheless, Mönchengladbach managed to close the gap with a 12–0 victory in their last match against

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 fo ...

. However, the team around Jupp Heynckes and Berti Vogts missed out on the title by three goals because Köln won 5–0 against

at the same time.

Team overview

League table

Results

Top goalscorers

;24 goals *

Dieter Müller Dieter Müller (né Kaster; 1 April 1954) is a German former professional footballer who played as a forward. He achieved his greatest success playing for 1. FC Köln in the Bundesliga in the late 1970s. Müller scored 177 goals in 303 games i ...

''( 1. FC Köln)'' * Gerd Müller ''( FC Bayern Munich)'' ;21 goals *

Klaus Toppmöller Klaus Toppmöller (born 12 August 1951) is a German football manager and former professional player. Playing career A forward, Toppmöller scored 108 Bundesliga goals for 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 204 matches in the West German top flight. He e ...

''(

1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern () or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to football, the club also operates in sev ...

)'' ;20 goals * Manfred Burgsmüller ''(

)'' *

Klaus Fischer Klaus Fischer (born 27 December 1949) is a German former professional footballer and coach. He was a key player on the West Germany national team that lost the 1982 World Cup final to Italy. As a forward, he was noted for his bicycle kicks, ...

''( FC Schalke 04)'' ;18 goals * Jupp Heynckes ''( Borussia Mönchengladbach)'' ;17 goals *

Karl-Heinz Granitza Karl-Heinz Granitza (born 1 November 1951) is a German former professional footballer who played as a forward. In the United States, he is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Granitza was born in Lünen, North Rhine-Westphalia. He ...

''( Hertha BSC)'' *

Allan Simonsen Allan Rodenkam Simonsen (born 15 December 1952) is a Danish former footballer and manager. He most prominently played as a striker for German Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, winning the 1975 and 1979 UEFA Cups, as well as for Barc ...

''( Borussia Mönchengladbach)'' ;16 goals *

Franz Gerber Franz Gerber (born 27 November 1953) is a German former professional footballer. Playing career Gerber was born in Munich. He spent most of his teenage years playing in the youth ranks at Bayern Munich, until finally making the senior squad in 1 ...

''(

)'' *

Rudolf Seliger Rudolf "Rudi" Seliger (born 20 September 1951) is a former football striker. References External links * Living people 1951 births Sportspeople from Mülheim German footballers Germany international footballers Germany B internat ...

''(

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

)''

Champion squad

References

External links

DFB Bundesliga archive 1977/1978
{{DEFAULTSORT:1977-78 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 ...