Season 1967–68 Cup Winners' Cup 1. FC Köln Top goalscorer Johannes Löhr (27) | European Cup 1. FC Nuremberg Average goals/game 3.25 Goals scored 993 | |
 | ||
Champions 1. FC Nuremberg
1st Bundesliga title
9th German title Relegated Borussia Neunkirchen, Karlsruher SC Similar 1970–71 Bundesliga, 1972–73 Bundesliga, 1975–76 Bundesliga, 1963–64 Bundesliga, 1974–75 Bundesliga | ||
The 1967–68 Bundesliga was the fifth season of the Bundesliga, West Germany's premier football league. It began on 18 August 1967 and ended on 28 May 1968. Eintracht Braunschweig were the defending champions.
Contents
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 average. The team with the most points were crowned champions while the two teams with the least points were relegated to their respective Regionalliga divisions.
Team changes to 1966–67
Fortuna Düsseldorf and Rot-Weiss Essen were relegated to the Regionalliga after finishing in the last two places. They were replaced by Alemannia Aachen and Borussia Neunkirchen, who won their respective promotion play-off groups.
Season overview
The 1967–68 season started with an innovation. It was now allowed to substitute one player per team during the game. Although such a move was only permitted in case of an injury, it was soon used by the coaches for tactical changes as well.
The title was won by 1. FC Nuremberg. The team around coach Max Merkel continuously collected points and were seven points clear after half of the games were played. Even a slight collapse near the end of the season could not jeopardize the first Nuremberg Bundesliga title, which also was a record ninth German championship overall for the club.
In European competitions, the Cup Winners' Cup saw both West German teams advance into the semifinals. It needed Italian club AC Milan to prevent a title hat-trick for Bundesliga sides, knocking out title holders Bayern Munich 2–0 on aggregate before beating Hamburger SV, who were the fourth West German team in the final in four consecutive years, at Rotterdam's Feijenoord Stadion by the same score. Hamburg had reached the final by beating Welsh side Cardiff City 4–3 on aggregate. The achievement eased the disappointment on another lackluster season by the club from the North, who finished its campaign only in 13th place.
The bottom side of the table saw an early decision in the relegation race. Borussia Neunkirchen and Karlsruher SC were demoted to the Regionalliga with four rounds to go. Both teams clearly lacked quality players on both sides of the pitch, as they provided the worst attacks and defenses of all clubs.
League table
Source: www.dfb.de
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal average
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
Results
Source: www.dfb.de
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.