Bayern Munich officially sealed the Bundesliga title by winning 3-1 at relegated Hertha Berlin in the final round on Saturday.
Arjen Robben had two goals in the victory that left Bayern five points ahead of Schalke in the final standings and brought their 22nd championship. Schalke drew 0-0 at Mainz — goalkeeper Manuer Neuer stopped a penalty by Miroslav Karhan — and will join Bayern in the Champions League next season.
Bayern went into the final round with a three-point lead over Schalke and a vastly superior goal difference and were virtually assured of the title.
PHOTO: EPA
Bayern players chased their first-year coach Louis van Gaal after the match to give him the traditional beer shower and caught up with him, with midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger the first to empty a huge stein over the Dutchman’s head.
Van Gaal, who said before the game that he didn’t like being doused by beer, left his usual suit in the locker room at halftime and, knowing what was coming, changed into a training suit.
Bayern will return to Berlin next weekend for the German Cup final against Werder Bremen.
Bayern can achieve a rare treble if they beats Inter in the Champions League final on May 22 in Madrid. Inter coach Jose Mourinho watched Saturday’s game in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.
Bayern finished with 70 points, Schalke with 65 and Werder Bremen 61.
Bremen clinched third place and a slot in qualifying for the Champions League by drawing 1-1 with Hamburg, who will not compete in Europe next season.
Claudio Pizarro scored for Bremen, tying him with Giovane Elber for the most goals scored by a foreign player in the Bundesliga at 133.
Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart will be in the Europa League, at various stages of qualifying.
Leverkusen drew 1-1 at Borussia Moenchengladbach to finish fourth at 59. Dortmund stayed fifth at 57 after losing 3-1 at Freiburg.
Stuttgart drew 1-1 in Jens Lehmann’s final game at Hoffenheim to finish sixth at 57 points. Lehmann, the 40-year-old former Germany and Arsenal goalkeeper, retired.
Hannover won 3-0 at Bochum to send the home team to the second division. Nuremberg beat Cologne 1-0 and will go into a playoff against Augsburg, the third-place team in the second division, with the winner in the top tier next season.
Ivica Olic scored the opening goal in Berlin, where a crowd of 75,420 turned out to see Bayern celebrate the title and bid farewell to Hertha, who were demoted after nine years in the top division.
Van Gaal’s team, which had a sputtering start to the season, at the end finished with 20 wins, 72 goals and 31 conceded — the same as Schalke — for the best record in the league.
The Dutch coach has now won national titles in three different countries — after the Netherlands and Spain.
Edin Dzeko scored once in Wolfsburg’s 3-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt to end as the league’s top scorer with 22 goals. He scored 26 last season, when Wolfsburg won the title.
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