Leverkusen, Jens Lehmann and Jurgen Klinsmann: Reviewing 2009 in the Bundesliga

2009 resumed with Bayern in second place while Hoffenheim were still top of the table. The village club was on course to do a "Kaiserslautern." However, Vedad Ibisevic, scorer of 18 goals in 17 games for Hoffenheim, became injured and the path was cleared for Bayern to claim the title.

Hold on—Bayern didn't win!

Bayern started losing matches when the Bundesliga resumed. They lost three of their first four and their solitary victory came against Dortmund. They even lost to Hertha Berlin. I think you understand how bad it was for Bayern back then.

Things seemed to have changed with two wonderful wins over Sporting Lisbon but everything started to fall apart with a combined scoreline of 1-9 following meetings with Barca and Die Wolfe. Jurgen Klinsmann was sacked following a 1-0 loss to Schalke and veteran Jupp Heynckes had to be hired to get them a Champions League spot.

Wolfsburg on the other hand couldn't stop winning. Felix Magath and his side surged up to first place and even a 4-0 hammering by Stuttgart couldn't stop them from claiming the title and their first ever spot in the Champions League. And Beckenbauer added that Magath should be knighted...hmmm.

Stuttgart got into the Champions League thanks to Mario Gomez's goals and Markus Babbel's golden touch. Monchengladbach survived relegation thanks to Hans Meyer, Bochum survived once again while Bielefeld, Cottbus, and Karlsruher got relegated.

Koln survived and signed Lukas Podolski in the summer while Bayer and Werder finished their dismal campaigns in 9th and 10th positions respectively.

So what happened to Hoffenheim? They finished just outside the European spots in seventh. Hamburg, who were on track for three titles, had their hopes for all three diminished by, obviously, none other than those noisy, good-for-nothing northern neighbours Werder Bremen. And for the record, Hamburg finished the season trophy-less whereas Werder won the DFB Pokal.

This season is not much different from the first when you look at Bayern. They are in third place and just two points behind Leverkusen. Werder were doing well (despite the numerous draws) but fell away at the end following losses to Schalke and Hamburg. Hamburg are in fourth and Dortmund are in fifth. Last year's Autumn Champions currently hold seventh place.

Jens Lehmann has been enjoying himself. Following last season when he put Sejad Salihovic's boot on the roof of the net, this season he stole a fan's glasses and gave them back after the fan begged for them. He made Stuttgart lose two points in a game in which they were leading 1-0. He stepped on Aristide Bance's foot which earned him a red card and Mainz a penalty. The game finished 1-1.

What about Schalke and Hertha? Schalke, under Fred Rutten, suffered last season and are currently said to be facing debt problems. So Felix Magath came in and well, you know what happened. They are currently in second and Magath is busy "playing down" his side's Championship chances.

Hertha Berlin were the major surprise of last season. They grabbed fourth spot and topped the table for a while. Andriy Voronin left, Marko Pantelic left, and so did Josip Simunic. In came Artur Wichniarek for his second spell at the club. Wichniarek is no Voronin. Hertha currently occupy the bottom of the table with one win all season. At least if they go down to the second division, they can play a derby against Union Berlin.

Finally, Bayer Leverkusen have learned how to use their potential, thanks to a man who, ironically, Bayern decided to bring out of retirement, Jupp Heynckes. Even more ironically, a Bayern player has been in the form of his life. Toni Kroos is getting better with each passing moment at Bayer. Looks like Bayern sent early Christmas presents to Bayer.

Lukas Podolski meanwhile is helping Koln maintain a good defensive record and a poor offense. He has scored once all season.

My initial pick for the title was Hamburg, but with Bruno Labbadia at the helm, I am slightly doubtful about that.

Something tells me that Bayer will no longer be dubbed "Neverkusen" next year. Even though I would love to see Bayern win it , there is something different about Leverkusen this year. Looking at the bright side, if Bayer do end up winning, at least Toni Kroos can bring back a championship winning medal back to Munich.