Dieter Hoeneß from Bayern Munich and Harald Nickel from Borussia Mönchengladbach were top scorer with seven goals each , followed by Mikhailov (Lokomotiv Sofia) with 6 and Michel Platini and Johnny Rep (both AS Saint-Étienne) with 5 goals.
The 1979/80 UEFA Cup is also known as the “German year”. All five participants from the Federal Republic of Germany reached at least the quarter-finals. In the third round it looked like Bayern Munich would fail at Red Star Belgrade, because the hosts led 3-0, showed a superior match and had already forgotten the 2-0 first leg. But within 5 minutes (68./73.) Dieter Hoeneß got the hits to make it 3-2.
From the semi-finals onwards, only German clubs were represented. No German club was eliminated against a non-German opponent. No other nation has dominated the UEFA Cup so much in one season before or after.
The competition was played in six rounds in two legs. In the event of a tie, the number of goals scored away first decided , then an extension, again with the away goal rule, and finally the penalty shoot-out.