The 1961 German football championship was the culmination of the football season in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1960–61. 1. FC Nürnberg were crowned champions for a record eighth time after a group stage and a final, having previously won the title in 1921, 1922, 1924, 1925, 1927, 1936 and 1948. It was the club's first appearance in the final since its 1948 title.(West) Germany -List of champions rsssf.org, accessed: 22 December 2015
On the strength of this title, the club participated in the 1961–62 European Cup, where 1. FCN lost to S.L. Benfica in the quarter-finals.
Runners-up Borussia Dortmund made its fourth appearance in the national title game, having lost the championship in 1949 and won it in 1956 and 1957.
The format used to determine the German champion was the same as the one used in the 1960 season. Nine clubs qualified for the tournament, with the runners-up of Southwest and South having to play a qualifying match. The remaining eight clubs then played a home-and-away round in two groups of four, with the two group winners entering the final.
Qualified teams The teams qualified through the 1960–61 Oberliga season: Club Qualified from Hamburger SV Oberliga Nord champions SV Werder Bremen Oberliga Nord runners-up 1. FC Köln Oberliga West champions Borussia Dortmund Oberliga West runners-up Hertha BSC Berlin Oberliga Berlin champions 1. FC Saarbrücken Oberliga Südwest champions Borussia Neunkirchen Oberliga Südwest runners-up 1. FC Nürnberg Oberliga Süd champions Eintracht Frankfurt Oberliga Süd runners-up
Competition
Qualifying round Date Match Result Stadium Attendance 6 May 1961 Eintracht Frankfurt – Borussia Neunkirchen 5-0 (2–0) Ludwigshafen, Südweststadion 35,000
Group 1
+ Group phase - Group 1MatchFinal resultHamburger SV - Borussia Dortmund 2:5 Eintracht Frankfurt - 1. FC Saarbrücken 1:1 1. FC Saarbrücken - Hamburger SV 2:3 Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt 0:1 Hamburger SV - Eintracht Frankfurt 2:1 Borussia Dortmund - 1. FC Saarbrücken 2:2 Eintracht Frankfurt - Hamburger SV 4:2 1. FC Saarbrücken - Borussia Dortmund 4:3 Hamburger SV - 1. FC Saarbrücken 3:0 Eintracht Frankfurt - Borussia Dortmund 1:2 Borussia Dortmund - Hamburger SV 7:2 1. FC Saarbrücken - Eintracht Frankfurt 2:5
Group 2
+ Group phase - Group 2 MatchFinal result1. FC Köln - Werder Bremen 1:1 Hertha BSC Berlin - 1. FC Nürnberg 0:2 1. FC Nürnberg - 1. FC Köln 3:3 Werder Bremen - Hertha BSC Berlin 1:0 1. FC Köln - Hertha BSC Berlin 3:4 Werder Bremen - 1. FC Nürnberg 2:4 Hertha BSC Berlin - 1. FC Köln 1:2 1. FC Nürnberg - Werder Bremen 4:0 1. FC Köln - 1. FC Nürnberg 1:2 Hertha BSC Berlin - Werder Bremen 1:3 Werder Bremen - 1. FC Köln 1:1 1. FC Nürnberg - Hertha BSC Berlin 3:3
Final Date Match Result Stadium Attendance 24 June 1961 1. FC Nürnberg – Borussia Dortmund 3–0 (2–0) Hannover, Niedersachsenstadion 82,000
1. FC Nürnberg: 1 Roland Wabra 2 Ferdinand Wenauer 3 Helmut Hilpert 4 Paul Derbfuß 5 Stefan Reisch 6 Josef Zenger 7 Heinz Strehl 8 Heinrich Müller 9 Max Morlock 10 Kurt Haseneder 11 Gustav Flachenecker Manager: Herbert WidmayerBorussia Dortmund: 1 Heinz Kwiatkowski 2 Rolf Thiemann 3 Gerd Cyliax 4 Wilhelm Burgsmüller 5 Aki Schmidt 6 Dieter Kurrat 7 Alfred Kelbassa 8 Lothar Geisler 9 Jürgen Schütz 10 Wolfgang Peters 11 Timo Konietzka Manager: Max Merkel
References
Sources kicker Allmanach 1990, by kicker, page 165 & 177 - German championship 1961
External links German Championship 1960-61 at Weltfussball.de Germany - Championship 1960-61 at RSSSF.com German championship 1961 at Fussballdaten.de