Schalke were so close, but Bayern came through once more

Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga with the lowest points total in the three-point era, overtaking Schalke on the second last day of the season to record their third successive title win.

Bayern finished on 63 points, with a draw on their final game with Hamburg ensuring they finished just one point clear of Schalke.

The last four minutes of the season proved extremely dramatic as Bayern fell behind to Hamburg in the 90th minute, handing the title temporarily to Schalke, before Patrik Andersson levelled in the fourth minute of stoppage time. The goal was the only goal Andersson scored during his two-year stint in Munich.

CHANGES

Bayern Munich added a French flavour to their lineup, bringing in Monaco’s Willy Sagnol for 15 million DM with Alou Diarra arriving on a free transfer. Switzerland international Ciriaco Sforza ended his second spell at Kaiserslautern to move back to Bayern Munich. He had not been a success during his first stint at the club, and the second try was not much better.

Matthias Sammer was appointed permanent Borussia Dortmund boss on July 1, 2000, his first coaching job after retiring just a year before. He improved BVB in his first season, helping them bounce back from a disappointing 11th place in the previous campaign. The addition of Sunday Oliseh and Tomas Rosicky improved the midfield, while unheard of defender Christoph Metzelder made the step up from Preussen Munster.

Bayer Leverkusen invested heavily in a new young backline, signing Brazilian centre-back Lucio and Argentine Diego Placente for a total outlay of more than 30 million DM. Marquinhos was signed from Avai in Brazil as well as a young Bulgarian striker called Dimitar Berbatov. Midfielder Emerson was sold to Roma for 36m DM.

SUMMARY

After going down to the last game in the 1999-2000 season, the 2000-01 season went one step further, as it was decided in the final minutes of the campaign, with Bayern Munich once again stumbling over the line to take the title.

Schalke looked to have…

Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/when-schalke-were-so-close-but-bayern-came-through-once-more-bundesliga-in-2000-01/135

Author : [email protected] (Ronan Murphy)

Publish date : 2024-07-21 13:00:00

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