| Competition: | Bundesliga |
| Season: | 1970–71 |
| Dates: | 15 August 1970 – 5 June 1971 |
| Winners: | Borussia Mönchengladbach 2nd Bundesliga title 2nd German title |
| Relegated: | Kickers Offenbach Rot-Weiss Essen |
| Continentalcup1: | European Cup |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Borussia Mönchengladbach |
| Continentalcup2: | Cup Winners' Cup |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | FC Bayern Munich |
| Continentalcup3: | UEFA Cup |
| Continentalcup3 Qualifiers: | Hertha BSC Eintracht Braunschweig Hamburger SV 1. FC Köln (losing DFB Cup finalists to Bayern) |
| League Topscorer: | Lothar Kobluhn (24) |
| Biggest Home Win: | Oberhausen 8–1 Hamburg (26 September 1970) FC Bayern 7–0 Köln (15 May 1971) |
| Biggest Away Win: | Kaiserslautern 0–5 Stuttgart (5 December 1970) |
| Highest Scoring: | Oberhausen 8–1 Hamburg (9 goals) (26 September 1970) Dortmund 7–2 Essen (9 goals) (8 May 1971) |
| Total Goals: | 914 |
| Prevseason: | 1969–70 |
| Nextseason: | 1971–72 |
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.[1] Borussia Mönchengladbach 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 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.
TSV 1860 Munich 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.
Borussia Mönchengladbach 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.
See main article: Bundesliga scandal (1971). 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.[2]
| Club | Ground[3] | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olympiastadion | 100,000 | ||
| Stadion Alm | 32,000 | ||
| Eintracht-Stadion | 38,000 | ||
| Weserstadion | 32,000 | ||
| Stadion Rote Erde | 30,000 | ||
| Wedaustadion | 38,500 | ||
| Georg-Melches-Stadion | 40,000 | ||
| Waldstadion | 87,000 | ||
| Volksparkstadion | 80,000 | ||
| Niedersachsenstadion | 86,000 | ||
| Stadion Betzenberg | 42,000 | ||
| Müngersdorfer Stadion | 76,000 | ||
| Bökelbergstadion | 34,500 | ||
| Stadion an der Grünwalder Straße | 44,300 | ||
| Niederrheinstadion | 30,000 | ||
| Bieberer Berg | 30,000 | ||
| Glückauf-Kampfbahn | 35,000 | ||
| Neckarstadion | 53,000 |
Gerd Müller (FC Bayern Munich) Karl-Heinz Vogt (1. FC Kaiserslautern) Josef Heynckes (Borussia Mönchengladbach) Ferdinand Keller (Hannover 96) Willi Lippens (Rot-Weiss Essen)