Bayern in league of their own

By Jim Wirth

The story of FC Bayern München's season has read like a soap opera script, but following their 2-0 win at VfL Wolfsburg the newly-crowned German champions have proved that it is what happens on the pitch which matters.

Decisive win
Goals from Giovane Elber and Claudio Pizarro saw the Munich giants take the title with four games to spare, leaving last season's champions, BV Borussia Dortmund, and the rest of the Bundesliga floundering in their wake.

Early blow
It was a moment of vindication for coach Ottmar Hitzfeld whose side, touted by club president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge as "the best team we've ever had", crashed out of the UEFA Champions League after failing to win a single game in a disastrous first group stage.

'Very pleased'
"We can be very pleased that we have wrapped it up already," said the former Dortmund coach after Saturday's victory which saw him equal former Bayern coach Udo Lattek's record of six German titles. "It was a great team performance to win it with four matches to spare."

Bizarre season
With the prospect of a league and German Cup double in the offing, they may yet have more to celebrate. As the club's commercial manager Uli Hoeness said: "Winning the double would make up for going out of Europe." However, even a double would not erase the traces of a bizarre season.

Major signings
The summer signing of Michael Ballack and Zé Roberto from last season's Champions League finalists Bayer 04 Leverkusen was to be overshadowed by concerns off the field. Fines handed to Bixente Lizarazu and Samuel Kuffour for training ground fisticuffs were the prelude to a scandal which pitted Bayern against the whole German league.

Secret contract
In February, the club confessed to having received €21.5m through a secret contract with the troubled KirchMedia group in addition to the money given to clubs for television rights under a central marketing deal agreed through the German Football League (DFL).

'The beginning of the end'
Lambasted as "morally reprehensible" by the DFL, Rummenigge responded to what he called a "first-class insult" by threatening to pull out of the joint marketing agreement and negotiate Bayern's television rights separately, causing chaos in the cash-starved Bundesliga.

Lingering resentment
That conflict has subsided, but the resentment remains. Bayern's 18th German title was not greeted with enthusiasm in the German press, with Bild's influential columnist Josef Wagner particularly unflinching in his criticism.

'Celebrate without me'
"You are celebrating a great victory, but over whom?" he wrote, bemoaning the weak challenge from the financially-troubled Bundesliga clubs. "You have failed to prove yourselves against the likes of Real Madrid [CF] and Manchester United [FC]. I congratulate you politely but you're not my heroes. Celebrate without me."

Limited challenge
Bayern's supervisory board president Franz Beckenbauer seemed to agree that the Bundesliga challenge had been limited. "It was to be expected that Leverkusen would not keep it up," he said. "Hertha [BSC] Berlin and [FC] Schalke 04 are not stable enough and Dortmund lost ground because of their battles in the Champions League."

Happy newcomer
Still, that did not stop Zé Roberto from celebrating. "I am very happy," said the Brazilian. "Four years with Leverkusen and it was always ouch, ouch, ouch. Now I am a champion in my first year with Bayern."

'We're coming back'
Now the club are hoping to mount a challenge in Europe again. The storms of the 2002/03 season have passed and the old confidence has returned. "Watch out, Real Madrid, we're coming back," crowed Hoeness at the weekend. Watch out Europe. He might be right.