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Germany Bundesliga

Congratulations Borussia Dortmund: The New Champions of Germany.

Samrin Hasib, May 3 2011,
Borussia Dortmund wins the Bundesliga for the first time since 2002.
The winners celebrate.
The winners celebrate.
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Related Articles: Dortmund, Leverkusen, Bayern
In Germany, very rarely does a club manage to strangle the Bundesliga title away from Bayern München in style. Borussia Dortmund made sure that they beat Bayern and usual chokers Bayer Leverkusen to the title with two match-days to go. They also made history. They are the youngest side in the history of German football to win the Bundesliga.

Kevin Grosskreutz’s haircut was a horrible one; on another day, the barber Felipe Santana might have been punched by his customer for even daring to give him such a poor haircut. Grosskreutz though did not care. The boyhood Dortmund fan had just become a German Champion himself.

Nuri Sahin and Mats Hummels couldn’t hold back the tears. Juergen Klopp and his wife took in the atmosphere. Klopp, the mastermind behind this side, endured a heavy beer shower, more synonymous with Bavaria. Dortmund had risen from the ashes to win the title and the fans celebrated wildly. On the brink of bankruptcy in 2006, Dr Rauball and co invested in cheap but talented players and got their rewards.

Taking a look at the squad, the most expensive player was Robert Lewandowski at 4.5 million Euros. Shinji Kagawa, one of the innumerous jewels in Dortmund’s crown, was a complete unknown until he ventured onto the Signal Iduna Park this season. His most memorable game was the first Ruhr Derby of the season, when he struck twice condemning Champions League semifinalists Schalke to a 3-1 defeat.

Mario Goetze, the incredibly talented 18 year old, scored some incredible goals and put in some wonderful performances. The back-four will most likely set a record for the least goals conceded in a Bundesliga season provided that they do not concede heavily in the last two games. The back-four of Marcel Schmelzer, Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic and Lukasz Piszczek were well protected by their defensive midfielder Sven Bender.

While his twin Lars Bender has to accept second place with Leverkusen, Sven will be celebrating in the upcoming weeks. He has even found himself in the national side this season. Nuri Sahin has definitely been the player of the season. He has been the most important ingredient in Dortmund’s recipe for success.

The strikers Lucas Barrios and the aforementioned Lewandowski have had memorable seasons to look back upon. Roman Weidenfeller has contributed from the goal-line. He captained the side for the majority of the season following Sebastian Kehl’s injury. Kehl, one of the veterans of the side will lift the title in two weeks’ time. Next to him will be Dede, who will be leaving the club this summer. Dede has been with Dortmund since 1998 and has seen almost all there is to see in club football.

The substitutes have played their role as well. Lewandowski, the veteran Antonio Da Silva, Felipe Santana, the young Australian Mitchell Langerak and the rest of the bench have performed admirably when called upon. Dede and Markus Feulner as well as Florian Kringe have played their parts off the pitch.

Dortmund’s two best games came against the champions of last year, FC Bayern. They beat the Bavarians comprehensively twice. Off the pitch, they managed to beat Bayern too- all the drama in Bavaria was pushed back in the sports papers in favour of Dortmund’s comfortable run to the title. Leverkusen has had a wonderful season and if they win their last two games, their points tally will be 72. In another season, this might have won them the championship. In fact, Bayern won the title with 70 points on the board last season.

The lowest points tally in any Championship winning side in the last decade in the Bundesliga was Bayern on 63 points in the 2001-02 season. A year earlier, Leverkusen themselves lost out on the title on goal difference. The highest tally of points was 77 which was achieved again by Bayern. Thus, if Dortmund wins their final two matches, they will reach 78 points, a points tally not reached since Bayern’s win in 1999.

Next season will perhaps not turn out to be too good for Dortmund. Most of their players have long term contracts but Nuri Sahin might be heading out the door. He will be incredibly difficult to replace. FC Bayern will emerge much stronger without a doubt. The added burden of the Champions League might be difficult to handle for Klopp’s side. Dortmund played poorly in Europe this season.

However, Dortmund fans won’t care. They will want to savour this moment. Nobody would have thought that Dortmund would finish the season as champions before the season got underway. On Wednesday, Dortmund will train as the new German champions.

So, finally, congratulations Borussia Dortmund, the newly crowned Bundesliga champions!

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