1997–98 Bundesliga

35th season of the Bundesliga December 2022 Bundesliga 1997–98 1 August 1997 – 9 May 1998 1. FC Kaiserslautern2nd Bundesliga title4th German title Karlsruher SC1. FC KölnArminia Bielefeld Champions League 1. FC KaiserslauternBayern Munich Cup Winners' Cup MSV Duisburg (domestic cup finalists) UEFA Cup Bayer LeverkusenVfB StuttgartSchalke 04 Intertoto Cup Hansa RostockWerder Bremen Ulf Kirsten (22) Leverkusen 6–1 Karlsruhe (23 August 1997)Leverkusen 6–1 Stuttgart (21 December 1997)Leverkusen 5–0 Hamburg (18 April 1998) nine games with a differential of +3 each (2–5 once, 1–4 twice, 0–3 six times) Duisburg 4–5 M'gladbach (9 goals) (31 October 1997) 306 853 1996–97 1998–99 The 1997–98 Bundesliga was the 35th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. It began on 1 August 1997https://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=321598 Schedule Round 1 DFB dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120331173917/https://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=321598 31 March 2012 and ended on 9 May 1998.https://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=321960 Archive 1997/1998 Round 34 DFB dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090709203656/https://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=321960 9 July 2009 FC Bayern Munich were the defending champions. FC Kaiserslautern won the Bundesliga on 1 May 1998 with one match remaining,MSV Duisburg – FC Bayern: Live Score, Stream and H2H results 05/02/1998. https://tribuna.com/en/match/100539709/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20210202041514/https://tribuna.com/en/match/100539709/ 2 February 2021 2021-01-28 Tribuna.com the only time to date that a newly promoted team has won the league. Competition modus Every team played two games against each other team, one at home and one away. Teams received three 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 2. Bundesliga. Team changes to 1996–97 Fortuna Düsseldorf, SC Freiburg and FC St. Pauli were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga after finishing in the last three places. They were replaced by 1. FC Kaiserslautern, VfL Wolfsburg and Hertha BSC. Season overview The 1997–98 Bundesliga battle for the championship was fought between FC Bayern Munich and 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Bayern were the defending champions after having won their 14th German title (their 13th Bundesliga title) in the 1996–97 season while Kaiserslautern were re-promoted to the Bundesliga; they had won the 1996–97 2. Bundesliga season with a ten-point margin after their first Bundesliga relegation at the end of the 1995–96 season. Kaiserslautern was coached by Otto Rehhagel who had been sacked as Bayern coach in the spring of 1996. Coincidentally, the fixture table was such that both clubs met directly at the first match day. At Munich Olympic Stadium, Kaiserslautern achieved a surprising 1–0 away win. After another win (1–0 against Hertha BSC) they were at the top of the league table after matchday two. They regained this top position after matchday four and eventually stayed there until the end of the season. After the end of the first half of the season, Kaiserslautern was four points ahead of Bayern, and while it was expected by many that the second direct encounter at Fritz-Walter-Stadion would be the start of an eventual change at the top, FCK again beat Bayern, this time 2–0, resulting in a seven-point margin between the two teams after matchday 18. Remarkable matchdays in terms of who would win the championship included round 23 and 24, when Bayern lost two matches in a row, while FCK managed to collect four points. Bayern never overtook Kaiserslautern during the whole season, and after matchday 33, with FCK beating VfL Wolfsburg 4–0 at home while Bayern only achieving a 0–0 draw at MSV Duisburg, Kaiserslautern were the early champions, with four points ahead with only one match remaining. They were the first team in Bundesliga history to win the championship as a newly promoted team. Another surprise of the season was FC Hansa Rostock who just missed qualification for the UEFA Cup, and all three newly promoted teams avoided relegation. At the bottom of the table, Arminia Bielefeld was the first team to be relegated, while 1. FC Köln had to go down after a 2–2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen in the final match of the season, ending a consecutive 35-year run of Bundesliga seasons for Cologne and leaving Hamburger SV as the "dinosaur" of the league (that is, the only Bundesliga founding member that had never been relegated until 2018). Karlsruher SC left the league after eleven seasons, while Borussia Mönchengladbach escaped relegation on the last matchday. Team overview Germany 375 right Location of teams in Bundesliga 1997–98 Germany 52.511274 13.242632 Hertha BSC left Germany 52.022833 8.522395 Bielefeld Germany 51.482987 7.211397 Germany 53.065337 8.836722 Bremen left Germany 51.512139 7.463394 Dortmund Germany 51.409033 6.778664 MSV left Germany 53.587095 9.898711 Hamburg left Germany 49.434705 7.776408 Kaiserslautern Germany 49.021176 8.413021 Karlsruhe Germany 50.933224 6.874697 Köln bottom Germany 51.037708 7.002651 Leverkusen Germany 51.208908 6.439549 Mönchengladbach Germany 48.173086 11.545509 1860Bayern Germany 54.084953 12.095144 Rostock Germany 51.559146 7.067248 Schalke left Germany 48.792295 9.232141 Stuttgart Germany 52.425243 10.799942 Wolfsburg bottom Germany TransparentPlaceholder.png 51.559146 7.067248 Bochum top Club Location GroundGrüne Hardy Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs, Band 7: Vereinslexikon AGON Sportverlag Kassel 2001 3-89784-147-9 de Capacity Berlin Hertha BSC Hertha BSC Berlin Olympiastadion 76,000 Bielefeld Arminia Bielefeld Bielefeld Stadion Alm 22,512 Bochum VfL Bochum Bochum Ruhrstadion 36,344 Bremen SV Werder Bremen Bremen Weserstadion 36,000 Dortmund Borussia Dortmund Dortmund Westfalenstadion 55,000 Duisburg MSV Duisburg Duisburg Wedaustadion 30,128 Hamburg Hamburger SV Hamburg Volksparkstadion 62,000 Kaiserslautern 1. FC Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern Fritz-Walter-Stadion 38,500 Karlsruhe Karlsruher SC Karlsruhe Wildparkstadion 33,800 Koln 1. FC Köln Cologne Müngersdorfer Stadion 55,000 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Leverkusen BayArena 22,500 Mönchengladbach Borussia Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach Bökelbergstadion 34,500 München 1860 TSV 1860 Munich Munich Olympiastadion 63,000 München Bayern FC Bayern Munich Munich Olympiastadion 63,000 Rostock FC Hansa Rostock Rostock Ostseestadion 25,850 Schalke FC Schalke 04 Gelsenkirchen Parkstadion 70,000 Stuttgart VfB VfB Stuttgart Stuttgart Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion 53,700 Wolfsburg VfL Wolfsburg Wolfsburg VfL-Stadion am Elsterweg 21,600 League table main WDL 5 QR FCK 1. FC Kaiserslautern FCB Bayern Munich B04 Bayer Leverkusen VFB VfB Stuttgart S04 Schalke 04 ROS Hansa Rostock SVW Werder Bremen DUI MSV Duisburg HSV Hamburger SV BVB Borussia Dortmund BSC Hertha BSC BOC VfL Bochum M60 1860 Munich WOB VfL Wolfsburg BMG Borussia Mönchengladbach KSC Karlsruher SC KOE 1. FC Köln DSC Arminia Bielefeld 19 11 4 63 39 C 19 9 6 69 37 14 13 7 66 39 14 10 10 55 49 13 13 8 38 32 14 9 11 54 46 14 8 12 43 47 11 11 12 43 44 11 11 12 38 46 11 10 13 57 55 12 7 15 41 53 11 8 15 41 49 11 8 15 43 54 11 6 17 38 54 9 11 14 54 59 9 11 14 48 60 R 10 6 18 49 64 R 8 8 18 43 56 R green1 Qualification to Champions League group stage CLGS green2 Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round CL2 blue1 Qualification to UEFA Cup first round UC1 UC1 UC1 #CCCCFF Qualification to Intertoto Cup third round IC3 #DDDDFF Qualification to Intertoto Cup second round IC2 yellow1 Qualification to Cup Winners' Cup first round As domestic cup winners Bayern Munich had qualified for UEFA Champions League, their place in the Cup Winners' Cup was transferred to finalists Duisburg. UCWC1 red1 Relegation to 2. Bundesliga R R R complete 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. www.dfb.de Results main DFB complete FBR BSC Hertha BSC DSC Arminia Bielefeld BOC VfL Bochum SVW Werder Bremen BVB Borussia Dortmund DUI MSV Duisburg HSV Hamburger SV FCK 1. FC Kaiserslautern KSC Karlsruher SC KOE 1. FC Köln B04 Bayer Leverkusen BMG Borussia Mönchengladbach M60 1860 Munich FCB Bayern Munich ROS Hansa Rostock S04 Schalke 04 VFB VfB Stuttgart WOB VfL Wolfsburg 1–1 2–2 0–2 1–1 1–3 0–2 2–0 3–1 1–0 2–2 2–2 2–0 2–1 1–1 1–4 3–0 1–0 1–3 0–2 3–0 3–1 3–3 0–3 2–2 2–1 2–1 2–1 3–1 1–1 4–4 0–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 2–1 1–0 0–1 2–1 0–0 0–0 1–3 3–3 2–1 0–0 3–1 1–0 2–3 1–3 3–0 0–2 2–1 0–2 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–2 0–0 1–1 2–4 3–0 2–1 1–0 3–3 0–3 1–1 2–1 2–2 3–1 3–0 3–2 5–2 2–2 3–0 0–1 2–2 2–2 3–0 0–1 1–2 2–3 0–2 3–2 2–2 3–1 2–1 0–1 2–1 2–0 2–1 0–0 3–0 1–1 1–0 2–2 1–1 4–5 0–2 0–0 0–1 1–0 0–3 2–2 1–1 2–0 2–1 2–1 1–3 1–0 1–1 3–1 2–1 0–1 2–2 1–2 0–2 0–1 1–1 0–0 1–2 1–0 3–1 3–0 1–3 1–1 1–0 2–1 0–0 3–2 0–3 3–2 1–0 2–0 4–3 3–0 4–3 4–0 0–2 3–1 1–1 3–1 0–1 1–2 0–1 2–4 3–1 1–1 2–5 0–0 1–1 3–0 0–0 4–2 2–1 2–0 3–5 2–1 2–0 4–2 3–2 1–2 0–0 0–1 2–2 3–2 2–3 1–3 0–0 0–2 4–2 5–3 0–1 0–0 3–2 4–1 2–2 2–1 5–0 1–1 6–1 4–0 1–1 2–2 4–2 1–1 0–0 6–1 2–1 4–2 0–0 2–1 0–0 1–1 0–3 1–1 1–3 1–1 4–1 2–2 5–1 1–1 5–2 0–1 0–0 0–2 3–1 1–0 0–2 0–1 4–2 0–1 1–1 1–3 2–2 1–0 3–4 2–0 2–2 0–1 1–0 1–3 2–1 3–0 1–0 0–0 2–0 4–0 3–0 3–0 0–1 1–1 0–2 2–1 3–2 3–1 2–0 1–1 3–3 5–2 4–0 2–1 2–2 1–2 3–1 2–1 2–1 2–2 4–2 1–2 1–2 2–0 3–0 1–3 4–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 1–1 2–0 1–0 2–1 2–0 2–0 1–0 0–0 3–4 1–1 4–1 1–0 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–1 5–2 0–1 3–0 1–1 1–0 3–0 1–1 0–3 2–1 0–0 2–1 2–1 2–0 0–2 1–0 1–4 0–2 1–1 2–1 1–2 1–1 1–0 0–2 1–0 2–3 1–1 0–0 1–0 Top goalscorers Rank Player Club Goals1 Germany Ulf Kirsten Bayer Leverkusen222 Germany Olaf Marschall 1. FC Kaiserslautern213 Switzerland Stéphane Chapuisat Borussia Dortmund14 Germany Michael Preetz Hertha BSC5 Germany Fredi Bobic VfB Stuttgart13 Germany Carsten Jancker Bayern Munich Sweden Jörgen Pettersson Borussia Mönchengladbach Austria Toni Polster 1. FC Köln Germany Roy Präger VfL Wolfsburg Germany Bernhard Winkler 1860 Munich Attendances Source:Historical attendances https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/ger/aveger98.htm 2026-09-03 www.european-football-statistics.co.uk No. Team Attendance Change Highest 1 Bayern München 54,529 -6.1% 69,000 2 Borussia Dortmund 54,206 2.1% 55,000 3 Hertha BSC 52,895 201.7% 76,000 4 Schalke 04 50,285 28.5% 71,017 5 VfB Stuttgart 39,582 -6.9% 53,000 6 1. FC Kaiserslautern 38,000 3.6% 38,000 7 TSV 1860 33,624 -13.3% 69,900 8 Hamburger SV 33,105 11.3% 58,000 9 Werder Bremen 30,213 -1.1% 35,883 10 1. FC Köln 29,824 -4.1% 47,000 11 Borussia Mönchengladbach 27,435 -9.0% 34,500 12 Karlsruher SC 26,769 -1.2% 33,600 13 VfL Bochum 26,698 -6.0% 31,500 14 Bayer Leverkusen 22,253 7.3% 22,500 15 Arminia Bielefeld 21,460 1.3% 22,512 16 Hansa Rostock 18,841 -0.7% 24,800 17 VfL Wolfsburg 17,025 179.3% 21,600 18 MSV Duisburg 16,623 -14.4% 30,128 See also 1997–98 2. Bundesliga 1997–98 DFB-Pokal References External links DFB Bundesliga archive 1997/1998 Category:Bundesliga seasons 1 Germany