First Division. Two outsiders, both Slovak teams, and two strong leaders, but separated, so one team dominated the championship, like most of the 1980s. Still 2 points for a win.
ZVL Povazska Bystrica – the debutantes were clearly not up to the task: they finished last as hopeless outsiders with 12 points and were relegated immediately after promotion.
Spartak ZTS Trnava – also an outsider: 15th with 18 points and relegated. They won only 4 games this season, the least in the league. It was hard to believe Spartak was one of the strongest and most successful clubs in the 1960s and first half of the 1970s – so much they declined during the 1980s.
DAC Dunajska Streda – 14th with 24 points. Not in danger of relegation, but still they slipped down the table – which was not surprising since DAC was small small heroically playing top league football.
Dukla Banska Bystrica – 13th with 25 points. Nothing much as usual. They also signified the decline and thus firm secondary position of Slovak football in the 1980s – starting with them, Slovak clubs took the last 4 positions in the championship.
Zbrojovka Brno – 12th with 27 points. Zbrojovka sharply declined in the 1980s and struggled in Second Division – they just managed to return to top flight, but recovery is a long process, so for the moment the maximum was to stay in First Division and they achieved the goal.
Ruda Hvezda Cheb – 11th with 27 points. Their usual. Political changes were going to change the name of the club, so far a Communist symbol – ‘red star’.
Slavia Prague – 10th with 28 points. Popular, but still weak as they normally were for years, thus, bitter.
TJ Vitkovice – 9th with 29 points.
Sigma ZTS Olomouc – 8th with 31 points. Not bad.
Dukla Prague – 7th with 31 points. Perhaps the second strongest squad in the league, but political changes were against them – people did not like the prime symbol of Communist rule. Rightly or wrongly, the club suffered from that and this was practically their last strong season. There was more, but it was still in future.
Plastika Nitra – 6th with 34 points. Very strong season for a club traditionally meandering between First and Second divisions.
Slovan CHZJD Bratislava – 5th with 35 points. Nothing like the leading team were until the end of the 1970s, but keeping in mind that their decline lead them to Second Division, this season looked like full recovery was almost completed.
Bohemians CKD Prague – 4th with 35 points. Pretty much the last hurrah of the small endearing club – political changes affected them badly, although not because of the stigma plunging down Dukla to destruction.
Internacional Slovnaft ZTS Bratislava – 3rd with 37 points. On the surface, they seemingly recovered even better than rivals Slovan, but who would know what the future brings… this was almost the last time Inter succeeded. In the new reality they joined Dukla and Bohemians on the thorny road to oblivion, going even further down the their Czech counterparts.
Banik Ostrava OKD – 2nd with 41 points. Now, this was a traditionally strong club seemingly going to stay strong and smoothly moving from one political reality to another. Much stronger than most of the league, but not really capable to fight for the title and their squad tells why – good, but not exceptional. Dukla Prague had stronger squad, for example.
Sparta CKD Prague – well, no surprise they won: 21 wins, 4 ties, 5 losses, 77-27 scoring record, 46 points. They had the strongest and most balanced squad and not for the first time – Sparta dominated the 1980s, this was their 4th consecutive title, a team without a rival. Political changes were not going to affect them negatively, but rather positively, for they were old and popular club. The exodus of players to foreign lands was unlikely to weaken them either, for now they were going to make their own transfers – selling and buying. And with money there was little doubt who would be able to get the best new Czech talent. Sparta won its 22nd title this season – already they were the most successful Czechoslovakian club, so it was just adding more and more to their record, becoming practically unreachable.
Confident champions again and looking for even better future – the players for good foreign contracts, the club – for the next success.