Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow ...
A year or so ago when East Coast Rapper Wiz Khalifa penned his catchy tribute to his favourite NFL team, the Pittsburg Steelers, one assumed his hymn would be homage to the perceived Super Bowl Champions.
As it turned out, although the Steelers lost the big game to Green Bay, his song did in fact pay tribute to another championship winning team, also decked in the two colours of yellow and black - Germany's Champions Borussia Dortmund. However, there is little doubt that both Khalifa and Dortmund know little about each other.
The Rhineland club have been one of Europe's sleeping giants, never quite making their rabid and voluminous home crowd, at Germany's biggest stadium, count in terms of silverware. Not only that, short sighted financial planning had blighted the early noughties for the club as perilous debts threatened to derail the club altogether.
However this season saw the culmination of a several years of planning and financial management. Under manager Jurgen Klopp, equal parts eccentric and brilliant, the team in yellow and black stripes stormed to the Bundesliga summit in irrepressible fashion. Even without Bayern's stumbling and the near collapse at traditional heavyweights Schalke, Stuttgart, Werder and Hamburg or the near relegation at 2009 winners Wolfsburg, Dortmund's ascension to the crown was an eventuality confirmed as early as October.
An opening day loss to Bayer Leverkusen aside, Dortmund swept all before them to register an emphatic title triumph, their late season stumbles only making the table look slightly more agreeable to their rivals. A young team that played with verve and passion, while never taking its foot off the gas, showed a vibrant way forward. This was a side that played attacking football but was built on a reasonable budget and wage structure. Champions previously in 1995, 1996 and 2002, this was arguably one of Dortmund's best wins ever.
Japanese star Shinji Kagawa was the season's best winger till a leg break on national duty sidelined him in the early winter. Polish wingers Jakub Błaszczykowski and Robert Lewandowski promptly took over the fight for that accolade, as they stepped in to fill the void. An attacking trident of Turkish Nuri Sahin (at Real Madrid by season's end), Paraguayan Lucas Barrios and Kevin Grosskreutz proved to be a technocrat's dream with intricate passing, one touch football and a constant full field press.
At the back young German stopper Matt Hummels forged an inpenetrable defence with Serb Neven Subotic as they helped veteran goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller keep 14 clean sheets, highest in the division. Further sparkling diamonds were to be found across the playing corps, all of them local, in mid-fielders Sven Bender, one of the finds of the season, Mario Goetze and defender Marcel Schmelzer, the only ever present in the lineup.
With the team largely intact, expect further assaults on both the Bundesliga and the Champions' League to follow. Jurgen Klopp is now one of Europe's most anticipated and closely watched managers.
For the rest of the league, one of two things happened. Mid-table sides and lesser lights consistently fought about their weight to forge themselves a spot up the table. Established heavyweights all had a nightmare season to mostly finish in the depths of the table. Then you had perennial champion Bayern Munich, who had a terrible first half, a much improved second half to finish in third spot in what was eventually a disappointing season.
Minnows like Hannover 96, Mainz (who started like a train on fire) and Nurnberg finished third trough sixth. SC Freiburg meanwhile were up to fifth at one point before finishing a respectable ninth. Kaiserslautern and Cologne finished 7th and 10th respectively.
At the bottom end, the listing reads like a veritable roll call of Bundesliga elite. Stuttgart, Werder Bremen, Schalke and Wolfsburg - four of the biggest clubs in Germany - rounded out the last four spots that missed the drop. Hamburg fared slightly better, coming in eighth. While Schalke at least won the DFB Pokal (The German Cup) and reached the last four of the Champions' League, the rest had no such excuse or consolation.
The only team that kept its act together and even threatened to upstage Dortmund were local rivals from across Rhine-Westphalia, the drug powered lot at the Bay-Arena - Bayer Leverkusen. Built around the wizardry of Arturo Vidal and backstopped by the excellent Rene Adler, yet another of the young generation of German keeping talent, the twin lions fought on, in what was a futile cause for most of the season.
A porous defence however, undid all the good work of a sparkling attack built around Germans Lars Bender, Gonzalo Castro, Rene Augusto, Sidney Sam and Swiss Tranquillo Barnetta, who battled bravely once their prime attacking focus, Patrick Helmes was sold to Wolfsburg. 44 goals conceded over 34 games was always going to be just too much, and so it proved, despite an impressive 20 wins over the season. Still, an excellent season and a chance to take in the Champions' League this year.
Top Players:
Mario Gomez - he may be a busted flush at international level, but remains a prolific finisher domestically: 28 goals for a misfiring Bayern Munich, with 12 of them being the opening tally on the score-sheet. The main reason why Bayern scored the most goals.
Thomas Muller - Another key player whose performances ensured Bayern salvaged at least a Champions' League place from a terrible season. 12 goals, 12 assists, not just the only bright spark in Bayern's midfield but one of the brightest ones in the league.
Papiss Demba Cisse - Despite being a rookie in the league having been transferred from Ligue 2 Metz in the offseason, he was an absolute revelation up front for small-time Freiburg. 22 goals included 15 opening strikes that took Freiburg, at one point, to sixth in the table.
Milivoje Novakovic - Another big performer for a smaller club, the Slovenian striker built on a decent World Cup showing with 17 goals for Cologne. Outshone teammate and German team striker, Lukas Podolski, whom he partnered up front. Expect offers and a move to one of the bigger teams soon.
Lucas Barrios - One of the players of the season whose tireless work up front was a key component of Borussia Dortmund's irrepressible title charge. His 16 goals are reason enough to make this list but he added to that with excellent support play and a superior range of passing.
Andre Schurrle, Lewis Holtby, Adam Szalai and Sami Allagui - A quartet who can only be mentioned in the same breath. Despite an average age of just 22 and precious few Bundesliga games between them, the group contributed 33 goals and 22 assists as Mainz reeled off a record equalling 7 straight wins to start the campaign and finish in 5th.
Manuel Neuer - The standout goalkeepr in the league with quick reflexes, excellent technique and a mature reading of the game. Neuer was ridiculously consistent in an odd season that saw a Champions' League semifinal berth and a cup win mixed in with a poor 14th place finish. Sadly, he won't be around to rescue them next season.
Christian Tiffert - the standout playmaker in the league, his 17 assists led all others. Single handedly created attack after attack for seventh placed Kaiserslautern as he kept them in upper mid table while drawing rave reviews and a national call-up. Made a mockery of his free transfer in the off season from Duisburg after enjoying the form of his life at the age of 29.
Matt Hummels - the 22 year old was the division's best defender with 14 clean sheets, the highest in the league, in 31 appearances. Imperious in his heading and positioning, he looks a natural at the heart of defence for Dortmund, chipping in with five goals and an assist for good measure as well. Should become a national team mainstay this decade.
Arturo Vidal - Another South American and another of Chile's impressive World Cup squad who lit up Europe this season, the wily midfielder dragged Bayer Leverkusen upto second in the league and automatic Champions' League participation next season. Seven goals, five assists and 33 appearances saw him lay the foundation of Bayer's season.
Top Ten Moments:
Bayern Munich 1 - 2 Mainz - September 2010 - Goals from Allagui and Hungarian striker Adam Szalai put the defending champions to the sword as Germany saw its own version of David slaying Goliath. Bayern won twice in their opening seven games and dropped into lower mid-table as even the top brass slammed the playing corps.
Stuttgart 7 - 0 Borussia Monchengladbach - September 2010 - An indifferent season for Stuttgart contained this early bit of joy as a Pavel Pogrebnyak hat-trick inspired thrashing briefly threatened to ease the pressure on the under-performing club. Having already shipped six goals in an earlier game to Hannover, this was the beginning of a long season that would end in demotion.
Mainz 4 - 2 TSG Hoffenheim - October 2010 - Goals from (who else) Schurrle, Szalai and Allagui as Mainze equaled the record for the best ever start to a Bundesliga season. A full complement of points from their opening sequence saw them top the table and make the early running as they caught Germany by surprise.
Bayern Munich 1 - 3 Borussia Dortmund - February 2011 - The changing of the guard so to speak, Bayern were stuttering but Dortmund, irrepressible. The Rhine-Westphalian club completed a memorable double over their Bavarian rivals with a fluent performance that all but confirmed their new status as Bundesliga Champions.
Hannover 3 - 1 Bayern Munich - March 2011 - Confirmation that Bayern's decline was terminal and that Hannover's form was hardly temporary. While Bayern would recover, in a way to score 81 goals and secure third spot, Hannover would finish fifth and will play in the Europa League next season. This victory completed a unique sequence of home wins over Bayern, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Werder Bremen, Schalke and Wolfsburg - six of the biggest clubs in Germany.
Borussia Dormund 2 - 0 Nurnberg - April 2011 - With Leverkusen losing away to Cologne, this home win sealed an impressive title season for Jurgen Klopp's men. A ridiculous goal difference of +45 complemented the most wins, fewest defeats, best defence and second best attack. Dortmund were the best team in the country from start to finish.
Freiburg 0 - 1 Bayer Leverkusen - May 2011 - The pharmaceutical giants ensured automatic Champions' League participation by sealing the runners-up spot over Bayern Munich, on the last day of the season. Having signed Freiburg's impressive manager Robin Dutt for the following season, a solitary goal from Hanno Balitsch ensured that Leverkusen would take the points in their final meeting as well.
Borussia Dortmund 3 - 1 Eintracht Frankfurt - May 2011 - It wasn't just that this win was the new German Champions' last home game, but that Borussia Dortmund had registered a sellout of 80,720 for the 13th time this season. Germany's most popular club are even more so when successful.
Hoffenheim 1 - 3 Wolfsburg - May 2011 - Showing a complete lack of nerves, relegation threatened Wolfsburg carved out a comfortable win at Hoffenheim on the last day of the season, to ensure that they would not follow up their 2009 title with an embarrassing 2011 drop. A double from Mario Madzukic and a late Grafite strike sealed 15th spot in the league.
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