Early again
BAYERN Munich sealed their 18th Bundesliga title when they beat Wolfsburg 2-0 on second-half goals by Giovane Elber and Claudio Pizarro. Bayern lifted the title with four games remaining, equaling their own record for early championships set in 1973.
The German powerhouses earned their fourth title in five seasons because both Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund, the outgoing champion, failed to win Saturday. Stuttgart was held to a 1-1 draw at home by lowly Hansa Rostock and Dortmund couldn't break a 0-0 deadlock at 1860 Munich.
After their surprise ouster in the first stage of the Champions League, Bayern dominated the season and collected 66 points with their 20th win, leaving them with an unassailable lead of 13 points over Stuttgart and 14 points over Dortmund.
Immediately after the final whistle, Bayern players and coach Ottmar Hitzfeld celebrated with giant beer steins, cheered on by 10,000 of their fans who had made the trip to Wolfsburg.
"I had to fight back tears because I didn't think we would win the championship already today," Hitzfeld said. "It's a beautiful moment."
Michael Ballack, coming back after seven weeks out with torn ankle ligaments, made his presence felt in the 59th minute with a perfect feed to Elber. The Brazilian striker charged into the Wolfsburg area and notched his 16th goal of the season.
A couple of minutes later, the Bayern fans, a third of the crowd in Wolfsburg, cheered again, when they learned that Rostock had equalised in Stuttgart.
Pizarro, who missed several chances earlier in the match, secured the championship with his 13th goal of the season in the 83rd minute.
"It's great to be celebrating already because we didn't really expect both Stuttgart and Dortmund to draw," Elber said. "I haven't scored on the road all season and now I hit one and we are champions."
Hitzfeld, a former mathematics teacher who also won two championships with Dortmund, set a record for coaches with his fourth title in five seasons. He recently extended his contract with Bayern through 2005.
Bayern had not won in three matches and had lost the last two, but rose to the occasion on Saturday. "Ballack was the decisive man in the midfield and he put us back on course for success," Hitzfeld said.
Ballack called the title "sensational". "We played a fine season, our dominance was awesome," he said.
Stuttgart took the lead after 27 minutes on a powerful header by Silvio Meissner and looked set to delay Bayern's celebration. But Delano Hill grabbed a second-half equaliser for Rostock, which confirmed their strength away from home.
Dortmund could not overcome slumping 1860 Munich and remained behind Stuttgart in the battle for the second direct berth in the Champions League.
Two Brazilians, Luizao and Marcelinho, gave Hertha Berlin a 2-0 win against Hannover to keep the team from the German capital firmly in the running for a place in the UEFA Cup and possibly the Champions League. Berlin are now fourth, just two points behind Stuttgart and one behind Dortmund.
Bayer Leverkusen, last season's runner-up, failed to lift themselves out of the relegation zone when they conceded a late goal in a 2-2 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach, the team just above them in 15th place.
Morten Soubo grabbed the equaliser in the 89th minute to keep Gladbach three points clear of Leverkusen and the danger zone.
Igor Demo had given the home side an early lead after six minutes, but Leverkusen struck back with goals from Daniel Bierofka in the 17th and Dimitar Berbatov in the 48th.
Bochum earned three vital points by winning 2-1 at Schalke on goals by Thomas Christiansen and Delron Buckley, who struck a spectacular winner one minute before time. Gustavo Varela scored in the 28th for Schalke, which now may lose a place in the UEFA Cup. Christiansen shares the scoring lead with Elber and Werder Bremen's Ailton on 16 goals.
Hamburg moved to fifth by thrashing relegation-heading Nuremberg 4-0 on goals by Milan Fukal, Bernardo Romeo, Mehdi Mahdavikia and Naohiro Takahara
