| 1978–79 | |
| Country: | Netherlands |
| Num Teams: | 46 |
| Defending Champions: | AZ'67 |
| Winners: | Ajax |
| Second: | FC Twente |
| Prev Season: | 1977–78 |
| Next Season: | 1979–80 |
The 61st edition of the KNVB Cup started on 19 August 1978. The first final was played on 15 May 1979: the match Ajax – FC Twente ended a draw: 1–1 (after extra time). Instead of a penalty shootout, a replay was held on May 29. In that match, Ajax beat FC Twente 3–0 and won the cup for the eighth time. During the quarter and semi-finals of the tournament, two-legged matches were held.
The matches of the first round were played on August 19 and 20, 1978.
| Home team | Result | Away team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| VV Rheden A | 2–1 | Hoogeveen A | |
| SVV 1 | 1–2 | SC Heracles 1 | |
| TOP Oss A | 1–2 | Willem II 1 | |
| SC Veendam 1 | 3–1 | ACV A | |
| FC Vlaardingen 1 | 1–2 | VV Noordwijk A | |
| VUC A | 2–3 | FC Eindhoven 1 | |
| FC Wageningen 1 | 1–0 | FC Groningen 1 |
| Home team | Result | Away team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FC Den Bosch 1 | 5–2 | VV Geldrop/AEK A | |
| FC Dordrecht 1 | 3–0 | SC Amersfoort 1 | |
| Excelsior 1 | 2–0 | SC Cambuur 1 | |
| Fortuna SC 1 | 2–1 | HFC EDO A | |
| De Graafschap 1 | 4–1 | Helmond Sport 1 | |
| sc Heerenveen 1 | 1–0 | Telstar 1 | |
| Jodan Boys A | 0–10 | FC Amsterdam 1 |
1 Eerste Divisie; A Amateur teams
The matches of the second round were played on October 14, 15 and 25, 1978. The Eredivisie clubs entered the tournament this round.
| Home team | Result | Away team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FC Volendam E | 2–1 | Feyenoord E | |
| FC Wageningen | 4–0 | FC Amsterdam | |
| Willem II | 1–2 | Roda JC E | |
| FC Den Haag E | 4–2 | NEC E | |
| NAC E | 2–1 | Go Ahead Eagles E | |
| PEC Zwolle E | 4–1 | MVV E | |
| FC Twente E | 4–1 | SC Veendam | |
| FC Utrecht E | 2–0 | sc Heerenveen |
| Home team | Result | Away team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ajax E | 3–2 | FC Eindhoven | |
| Excelsior | 1–2 | AZ'67 E | |
| Fortuna SC | 4–3 | VV Rheden | |
| De Graafschap | 2–1 (aet) | Vitesse Arnhem E | |
| HFC Haarlem E | 2–2 (p) | VV Noordwijk | |
| SC Heracles | 0–1 | FC Den Bosch | |
| PSV E | 11–1 | FC Dordrecht | |
| Sparta E | 4–1 | FC VVV E |
E Eredivisie
The matches were played on November 18 and 19, 1978.
| Home team | Result | Away team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ajax | 3–0 | Roda JC | |
| AZ'67 | 4–1 | FC Wageningen | |
| FC Den Haag | 2–2 (p) | FC Twente | |
| Fortuna SC | 2–0 | De Graafschap | |
| NAC | 1–0 | FC Utrecht | |
| VV Noordwijk | 1–3 | FC Volendam | |
| PSV | 3–2 | FC Den Bosch | |
| Sparta | 3–0 | PEC Zwolle |
The quarter finals were played on March 14 and April 4, 1979.
| Team 1 | Aggregate | Team 2 | Match 1 | Match 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Twente | 3–1 | AZ'67 | 1–1 | 2–0 | |
| Fortuna SC | 0–4 | Ajax | 0–2 | 0–2 | |
| NAC | 2–3 | PSV | 1–1 | 1–2 | |
| FC Volendam | 2–0 | Sparta | 0–0 | 2–0 |
The semi-finals were played on April 18 and May 2, 1979.
| Team 1 | Aggregate | Team 2 | Match 1 | Match 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Twente | 4–3 | PSV | 4–2 | 0–1 | |
| FC Volendam | 4–4 (a) | Ajax | 3–3 | 1–1 |
Ajax also won the Dutch Eredivisie championship, thereby taking the double. They would participate in the European Cup, so finalists Twente could play in the Cup Winners' Cup.