Bayern, who were two points behind Dortmund at the start of this final day, can thank Jamal Musiala, providential scorer in the 89th minute, who gave them a narrow victory in Cologne, as well as Dortmund, who had all the cards in hand to end the Bavarian hegemony, but who scuttled at home snatching an unthinkable draw.
A goal by Kingsley Coman for Bayern in the 9th minute of play, an opening score by Mainz in the Westfalenstadion, Borussia Dortmund's impregnable citadel, a missed penalty by Sébastien Haller for BVB and a second goal by Mainz.
In the space of twenty minutes, the race for the title of champion of Germany turned into a nightmarish afternoon for Dortmund and the waking dream for Bayern, in bad shape after its defeat last week against RB Leipzig (3-1) at home.
For its sixtieth anniversary, the Bundesliga thus offered itself a change of leader on the last day, unheard of since May 2000, when Bayern, already him, had beaten Bremen and took advantage of the unthinkable defeat of Bayer Leverkusen on the lawn of the promoted Unterhaching (2-0), on the southern outskirts of Munich, to win the title.
Westfalenstadion sounded
In a sign that the German league did not really count on such a scenario, the trophy that was awarded Saturday to Bayern Munich captain Thomas Müller in the Cologne stadium, is only a replica.
The disarray of Borussia Dortmund players after letting slip the title of champion of Germany, on May 27, 2023 in Dortmund © INA FASSBENDER / AFP
The original was a few hundred kilometers away, in the Westfalenstadion, where the 81,365 spectators (not counting the tens of thousands of fans in the streets of Dortmund) remained very long minutes sounded by the cruel outcome of a season full of twists and turns.
The real Schale, the name of the trophy awarded to the champion, will travel from the industrial Ruhr to the capital of Bavaria, for celebrations much more festive than expected after such a turnaround on this last day.
Appointment is given to Bayern supporters on Sunday late afternoon on Marienplatz and heroes expected on the balcony of the Munich City Hall around 17:30.
Far from its usual ultra domination of the German championship since the 2012/13 season, Bayern Munich has been crossed throughout the season of ups and downs, constant in inconsistency apart from a beautiful period of euphoria in the autumn (eleven wins and a draw in all competitions in seven weeks until the World Cup-2022).
Kahn and Salihamidzic disembarked
Without a real centre-forward to replace Robert Lewandowski who left for FC Barcelona in the summer of 2022, he has not been as realistic as in previous seasons, conceding a draw or defeat eight times after leading the score and leaving 19 points in the game, which almost knocked him off his pedestal.
The club has been turbulent behind the scenes, including an unexpected and surprising change of coach at the end of March, Thomas Tuchel replacing Julian Nagelsmann, sidelined when approaching the decisive weeks.
Eliminated in the quarter-finals of the German Cup by Freiburg, then in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by Manchester City, Tuchel's Bayern finally managed to save its season in extremis with the league title.
This 33rd national title for the "Rekordmeister" is however as much due to the Munich performances as to the many acts once again missed by Borussia.
It brings a slight balm to the hearts of Bayern fans who have not appreciated the extremely risky bet of the Munich leaders, CEO Oliver Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic, to change coaches in early spring.
Despite winning the league title, these two club legends bore the brunt of a tumultuous end to the season that almost ended without a title for Bayern, something that has not happened to the Rekordmeister since 2011.
A few minutes after the end of the match, Bayern dismissed them. Kahn is replaced by Jan-Christian Dressen, who was previously Vice-Chairman of the Executive Board in charge of Finance. The replacement for "Brazzo" Salihamidzic remains to be found.
The turbulence zone continues like this, for a club absent for the third consecutive season of the last four of the Champions League, after premature exits against Paris SG in 2021 and more unexpectedly against Villarreal in 2022.
© 2023 AFP