Wolfsburg took a step closer to their first Bundesliga title last weekend with their win combined with Bayern Munich’s draw and control their title destiny with one match to play.  Soccer 365’s Clark Whitney looks back on last weekend action and lines up what to expect and of course has his goal of the week clip.

by Clark Whitney

On Saturday morning, I awoke expecting to see spirited, convincing performances from Bayern and Stuttgart as they tried to advance on leaders Wolfsburg.  The previous Tuesday’s match saw Bayern apply constant offensive pressure on Leverkusen in a 3-0 win that easily could have ended up 5-0 (or 5-1 if you count the first half penalty that Leverkusen were denied).  The next day, a Mario Gomez-less Stuttgart impressed with a 2-1 win over Schalke in Gelsenkirchen, keeping them within striking distance of first place with just two matches to go.  It seemed fitting that the two in-form sides would, as Vanessa Williams would say, save the best for last.

CLICK HERE to check out the Bundesliga table.

That morning, however, I was surprised to see that Bayern had reverted to the same kind of defense observed under Juergen Klinsmann (a lack thereof), en route to Jupp Heynckes’ first disappointing result as head coach.  Bayern played 45 minutes of beautiful football against Hoffenheim only to escape with a 2-2 score at the half.  Throughout the second period, however, the Bavarians lacked the spark necessary to take the lead, and allowed the match to die off.  Their only chance for a late winner came at the last second before the whistle, when Luca Toni headed over the bar from close range.  It was a fantastic match, no doubt, but Bayern lacked the cutting edge of years past, while Hoffenheim looked rejuvenated riding momentum from their two-match winning streak.  It’s not that Hoffe played much better than they did during their freefall; to the contrary, they played the same game they’ve played all year, but this time took their chances.  Amazing what a bit of confidence does for youthful talent, isn’t it?

By contrast, In Swabia, Stuttgart were decisively better than relegation-battling Cottbus in their 2-0 victory on Saturday.  Even without Gomez for the majority of the match, Stuttgart attacked freely, defended well, and were rewarded with a rather lucky goal from Thomas Hitzlsperger, and a well-executed finish from Cacau.
 
Over at the HSH Nordbank Arena, Hamburg slumped to yet another disappointing loss, a result that all but finished off hopes Martin Jol’s side had of finishing the season with any sense of accomplishment.  After being knocked out of the DfB Pokal and UEFA Cup semifinals and losing last week’s league match to Bremen in rapid succession, HSV are in free-fall, and at the worst possible time.  After an excellent season, Hamburg will be trophyless, and will only have a shot at qualifying for the Europa Leauge if red-hot Borussia Dortmund (6-0 winners over Bielefeld this week) drop points in their last match.  It seems that, yet again, Dortmund have ruined a good team’s season.

Another “good” (or are they really?) team’s season may have been ruined on Saturday, as Hertha Berlin slumped to a 0-0 draw to Schalke.  Hertha played their usual lackluster football, but had no bite to their counterattack, and by no means looked like champions.  Still, they can win the Bundesliga title provided that:

Bayern and Stuttgart draw (entirely possible!)
Wolfsburg lose to Bremen (improbable, considering Wolfsburg’s form and Bremen having nothing to play for)
Hertha beat Karlsruhe (possible!)…by 20 or so goals (oops)

But what of the faltering Wolves?  After losing 4-1 to Stuttgart, Wolfsburg rebounded with comprehensive 3-0 and 5-0 wins over Dortmund and Hannover, respectively.  It didn’t matter that Dortmund were the hardest team to beat in the league and had won seven matches on the bounce, nor did matter that Hannover had lost just once at the AWD Arena.  Wolfsburg prepared well, and pulverized their opponents with lethal striking from striking duo Edin Dzeko and Grafite.  The Wolves’ recent comprehensive victories, coupled with the fact that they, having dropped just two points at home this year, are set to host a Werder Bremen side with nothing to play for (as explained by their 3-1 home loss to Karlsruhe this week) in the last match of the year, seems to indicate that Wolfsburg are set to lift their first ever Bundesliga title.  As a supporter of German football, I can’t think of a better team to take the title; Wolfsburg have been dominant all year long, boast the league’s best offense and fourth-best defense, and play entertaining football.  The sad reality, however, is that along with coach Felix Magath, the Wolves may also lose playmaker Zvjezdan Misimovic (21 assists), as well as Dzeko and Grafite (25 and 26 goals, respectively) as they prepare for their first appearance at the great ball known as the UEFA Champions League.  Without some serious spending, it may be a bad case of the Kaiser having no clothes at the ball...

Finally, I’d like to pay tribute to Bernd Schneider, who made his long-awaited return to football on Saturday, having suffered from back trouble for more than a year.  Judging from the youth-based philosophy Bruno Labbadia has imposed at Leverkusen, and from the wealth of young midfield talent in Die Mannschaft, we may not see the “White Brazilian” play again, at least in a Bayer shirt.  If Saturday was his last appearance, it was fitting; minutes after taking the pitch, he made a superb assist for Michal Kadlec’s headed goal.

Goal of the Week: Edin Dzeko, Hannover 0-1 Wolfsburg

Watch here as Dzeko makes his claim to be Europe’s best striker.  His fielding of Makoto Hasebe’s cross was skillful enough, but his volleyed finish was mind-blowing.  Germany #1 Robert Enke had no chance to save Dzeko’s hard strike in the top right corner of the net.

Honorable Mention: Florian Trinks, Germany U-17 2-1 Netherlands U-17

The Werder Bremen U-19 product came on as a second half substitute, and scored the goal that lifted the German U-17 team to their first U-17 European Championship.  Just as it looked like the match was set to go to penalties, Trinks hit a superb free kick into the upper left corner.



Match of the Week: TSG Hoffenheim 2-2 Bayern Munich

Last fall, these two played a match for the ages: after 90 minutes of nail-biting end-to-end play, Luca Toni won it in the closing seconds.  In the wake of Vedad Ibisevic’s season-ending injury and Hoffenheim’s subsequent winless streak, it seemed as though we would not be treated to the same caliber of play we saw in December.  How wrong we were.  Hoffenheim—sticking to the script they’ve read all year long—and Bayern—needing to win big in order to have a chance at catching up to Wolfsburg—played 90 minutes of fast-paced, open football.  Bayern’s fluid offense was only denied a more flattering scoreline due to the skillful play of a vintage Timo Hildebrand, and Hoffe showed the confidence they’ve sorely missed in recent months, taking their chances well and counterattacking with precision.