1972–73 Bundesliga

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 two teams with the least points were relegated to their respective Regionalliga divisions.

Team changes to 1971–72

Borussia Dortmund were relegated to the Regionalliga after finishing in 17th place. They were accompanied by Arminia Bielefeld, who were demoted by the DFB 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 and Kickers Offenbach, who won their respective promotion play-off groups.

League table

Source: www.dfb.de
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
¹As Borussia Mönchengladbach qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup and DFB-Pokal runners-up 1. FC Köln had already qualified for the UEFA Cup via league placement, M'gladbach's spot was transferred to sixth-placed team VfB Stuttgart.
(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.

Top goalscorers