Leverkusen eyeing famous treble

FC Bayern München may have been crowned kings of Europe on four occasions but Bayer 04 Leverkusen, so long the nearly men of German football, are just a handful of games away from achieving a momentous treble which has so far eluded even the Bavarian giants.

A few headaches
For a team from the town which invented Aspirin, Leverkusen have certainly caused a few headaches this season. Wednesday's 2-2 UEFA Champions League semi-final first-leg draw at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United FC, was typical of the gutsy approach the unfashionable German side have adopted all season. Their reward is a potential Champions League final showdown with Real Madrid CF, 2-0 first-leg winners at FC Barcelona, in Glasgow.

Domestic success
But it is on the domestic front that Klaus Toppmöller, Leverkusen's charismatic coach, is reportedly most keen to succeed - although his priority is clearly not next month's German Cup final meeting with FC Schalke 04. He said in midweek: "We can become German champions and I really believe we will. Anything else will be a bonus." The championship is certainly in their own hands: Leverkusen are two-points clear of BV Borussia Dortmund with two matches remaining. If the UEFA Cup finalists fail to account for Hamburger SV and Leverkusen see off 1. FC Nürnberg at the Franksenstadion they will wrest the title from great rivals Bayern.

Realistic ambition
The writing may appear to be on the wall for Dortmund and third-placed Bayern, who are four points off the pace, but Leverkusen have choked in the recent past. Just two seasons ago they were firmly in control of their own destiny but lost the title on goal difference to Bayern after crashing to defeat against SpVgg Unterhaching on the final day. Schalke statistically are still in the hunt, being only five points behind Leverkusen, but a more realistic ambition is to beat Bayern to third spot and a place in next season's Champions League.

Bayern in the ascendancy
To achieve that Schalke, eliminated at the first group stage this term, will have to avoid losing at Hertha BSC Berlin tomorrow as they will leapfrog the Ruhr team with three points at the Olympiastadion. If the game fails to produce a winner and Bayern beat VfL Wolfsburg then it will be Ottmar Hitzfeld's side who will qualify for another crack at European football's blue-riband competition after their defence ended at the quarter-final stage this season.

Disastrous day
Leverkusen could have wrapped up the title last weekend but were humbled 2-1 by SV Werder Bremen as the other challengers won. A similarly disastrous day tomorrow would leave the championship on a knife-edge ahead of the season climax on 4 May. It is unlikely that Toppmöller will allow a side on the verge of greatness to show such alarming frailty two weeks in succession, though, especially as Nürnberg are languishing 25 points behind a Bremen side who have proved a thorn in the side of a number of clubs this season.

Star of the show
Defensive totem Jens Nowotny was injured in Manchester but is expected to return alongside Lucio, one of Europe's most-improved players this season, in the heart of the Leverkusen defence, while it is unlikely that Dimitar Berbatov will again be asked to plough a lone furrow in attack. The star of the show, however, is Michael Ballack, a prodigiously talented east German who personifies midfield elegance.

Ballack transfer
Ballack has struck six goals in the Champions League this term and has been in tremendous form domestically, too. He is among the leading marksmen in the Bundesliga, despite not playing in attack. It is a pity, for the Leverkusen faithful at least, that he will complete a reported €14.5m switch to Bayern in the summer. It would be of some comfort to the passionate BayArena crowd, however, if he first inspires Leverkusen to an unprecedented treble and leaves Bayern to lick their wounds following a first trophyless season since 1995.