TOUR EVENT
Stuttgart is the champion. For the fifth time in history and after a 15-year hiatus, the Swabian club was successful. For most of the season he stayed in the shade - first “Bremen”, then “Schalke”. Many of Armin Fe's wards openly did not believe. They said that the team lacked class and experience, that there was no serious success in the baggage of its mentor. But Stuttgart shamed the skeptics brilliantly. The brilliant finish spurt on Saturday was crowned with a truly golden victory over the Energy. And the immortal hit “We are the champions” sounded in honor of the triumphs at “Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion”. And this is not all: in a week new-made champions will have the final of the Cup of the country with Nuremberg. The Stuttgart have never done a double before ...
HERO TOUR
Thomas Hitzlsperger, Stuttgart midfielder. Deprived of the tournament motivation, “Energia” patted the future champion’s nerves. By the efforts of Radu, at the end of the starting twenty minute, the guests opened the gate of Hildebrand. Schalke had scored twice in their match by that time, and Stuttgart fans clutched at Validol. But the best medicine for them was Hitzlsperger's “gun” that shot at a critical moment. The brilliant long-range strike of the Bundestim midfielder became unbreakable even for the heroic Piplitsa. This goal was a great help for the Swabians. Self-confidence returned to them, and it was a matter of technology to bring the matter to success.
TOUR FAILURE
In the final match of the season , Werder Bremen took three points in Wolfsburg. But for the summer holidays, the Bremen are not in a rosy mood. After the enchanting autumn performance, their game in the second round left a feeling of bewilderment. The former sparkle was visible only in episodes, and as a result, by the last round the club lost hope for the title. There was still a chance to become second, but Schalke did not allow himself to overtake. Autumn champion got only third place. It gives a chance to play in the Champions League, but did you really only dream about it in Bremen during the season?
TOUR SENSATION
Hamburg made it to the Euroarena. The last rounds often bring surprises, but the outcome of Saturday's matches was not very surprising. Perhaps this was due to the fact that for many clubs, these games did not solve anything. After all, the answers to most tournament questions were received in advance. In addition to drawing the lion's share of attention to the gold intrigue, the German representation in the Intertoto Cup remained unclear. As a result, a ticket to this tournament was won by Hamburg, and to some extent this can be called a surprise. The northerners completed the first lap in the penultimate place, but with the advent of Hub Stevens they began to live up to expectations much more often.
TREND
Finishing bad luck for Schalke. Like some evil spells prevent a pretty club from Gelsenkirchen from rejoicing in gold. In 2001, the “blue” almost touched the silver salad bowl. But at the last second, fortune took the side of Bavaria. This season turned out to be “non-Bavarian”. It seemed that the road to the cherished goal was cleared. But the bandwagon, framed a week ago by neighbors from Dortmund, turned out to be fatal for Schalke. The club finished second - the champion he last became in 1958, even before the founding of the Bundesliga.
SEE ALSO
Goal of Stuttgart midfielder Khedira, who brought his team the long-awaited championship.
TOUR DIGIT
Having gained the upper hand over Energia, Stuttgart brought its winning streak to 8 matches. It is curious that the last of the freshly crowned champion glasses took his worst competitor. March 17, the Stuttgart lost to Schalke - 0: 1. After that, their lag from the first place reached 7 points, and it seemed that the "young and wild" simply had not grown to gold ...
Sergey NIKOLAEV