Berlin (AFP) – The Bundesliga title race has gone down to the wire this year, with Bayern Munich just two points ahead of Borussia Dortmund going into the final round of games on Saturday.
Bayern need just a point to seal a seventh straight league crown, but after the twists and turns of recent weeks, Dortmund are hoping to spring one final surprise.
It is the first time in ten years that the title race has been decided on the last weekend, as Bayern have dominated the last decade.
Yet the Bundesliga has had its fair share of final day drama over the years.
1971: Heynckes sinks Bayern
Bayern will be crowned German champions for the 29th time if they win on Saturday, but ahead of the final day in 1971, both they and Borussia Moenchengladbach were targeting only a second ever Bundesliga title.
Much like this year, Bayern topped the table going into the last day, but Franz Beckenbauer and company succumbed to a shock 2-0 defeat to mid-table Duisburg.
Gladbach, meanwhile, beat Frankfurt 4-1 thanks to a brace from future Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes, and became the first team to defend the Bundesliga title.
1978: Cologne edge Gladbach in goal frenzy
Even if they don’t win the title, Dortmund will be hoping to avoid a repeat of the last day in 1978 when they face Gladbach on Saturday.
On that day, Gladbach thrashed Dortmund 12-0 as they attempted to overcome a huge goal difference deficit to local rivals and league leaders Cologne.
Even that wasn’t enough, as Cologne won 5-0 at St. Pauli and took the title by a margin of three goals.
1992: Stuttgart win three-way fight
In one of the closest title races of all time, three teams were level on points going into the final day in 1992.
Eintracht Frankfurt threw away their chance with 2-1 defeat away to Hansa Rostock, while Dortmund were on course to edge it as they led Duisburg 1-0 with five minutes to go.
Guido Buchwald’s late header in Leverkusen, however, gave Stuttgart a 2-1 victory and the title on goal difference.
2000: Ballack weeps as Bayer wilt
Bayer Leverkusen came close to a first Bundesliga title themselves eight years later, but lost out to Bayern in the cruellest of circumstances.
Three points up and needing only a draw at mid-table Unterhaching, Leverkusen went behind early on thanks to an own-goal from Michael Ballack.
They eventually lost 2-0, and Ballack cried his eyes out as Bayern won 3-1 in Bremen to snatch the title from Leverkusen.
2001: ‘Four-minute champions’ Schalke
Few final days have been as emotional as 2001, when Schalke celebrated the title for four minutes, only to have it wrenched away from them by an indirect free-kick.
Schalke, who had not won the title since 1958, needed Bayern to lose in Hamburg and to win against Unterhaching in the last ever game at their old Parkstadion.
Sergej Barbarez put Hamburg 1-0 up in the 89th minute, and having won 5-3 themselves, Schalke fans stormed the pitch believing they had been crowned champions.
Yet minutes later, Patrik Andersson smashed in after an indirect free-kick with the last kick of the game to draw Bayern level, keep the title in Munich and break thousands of Schalke hearts.
