BUNDESLIGA NEWS

Stuttgart sealsthe deal and wins the Bundesliga

BERLIN (AFP/Yahoo) - Midfielder Sami Khedira was the hero as he hit the winning goal which gave VfB Stuttgart their first Bundesliga title for 15 years on Saturday after a 2-1 victory at home to Energie Cottbus.

Having only re-claimed the Bundesliga's top spot the week before, Armin Veh's men came from a goal behind to pick up the win which gave them their third Bundesliga title and crown them German champions for the fifth time.

By winning the Bundesliga's Championship Plate in his first full season in charge, Veh, 46, has succeeded where his more illustrious predecessors Felix Magath, Giovanni Trapattoni and German national coach Joachim Loew all failed.

A delighted Veh said: "This title is a reward for our consistency, we have always tried to play attractive football and we have taken a few risks along the way.

"Cottbus gave everything and played very well, even if they came away with nothing at the end.

"They made life difficult for us, we had to wait until the second half to stamp our authority and take our opportunities."

Stuttgart captain Fernando Meira said his unfancied side deserved the title having been given little chance at the start of the season.

"Nobody gave us a chance at the start of the season," he said. "This title is the reward for all the hard work we have put in week in, week out."

There had been some early drama at Stuttgart's Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion after Cottbus' Romanian midfielder Sergiu Radu deflected Vlad Munteanu's shot past diving home goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand on 19 minutes.

With Schalke 04 winning 2-0 at that moment, the defeat would have sent the title to Gelsenkirchen, but Stuttgart settled and Germany international Thomas Hitzlsperger equalised on 27 minutes to swing the title back their way.

And it was midfielder Khedira whose 63rd minute goal had Stuttgart's fans celebrating the win which gave them a two-point margin at the top of the league.

The win keeps alive their dream of doing a league and cup double for the first time when they contest the German cup final at Berlin's Olympic Stadium next weekend against Nuremberg.

Stuttgart's win made second-placed Schalke's 2-1 victory over Arminia Bielefeld irrelevant, even though they had a dream start to go 2-0 up after just 19 minutes and they finished runners-up.

Brazilian midfielder Lincoln smashed his shot past diving Bielefeld goalkeeper Mathias Hain on 11 minutes before Turkish striker Halil Altintop added a second eight minutes later, but it was not enough to threaten Stuttgart as Bielefeld grabbed a late consolation goal.

They may be out of the Champions League next season, but fourth-placed Bayern Munich hammered relegated Mainz 05 5-2 at the Allianz Arena.

Complete Story

Free Website Templates