Another side that caught the eye were Leverkusen although they may have lacked the cutting edge of the Champions. They gave it a go and looked at one stage as if they´d draw neck and neck with runaway leaders Dortmund. It never materialized though. A technically gifted outfit, Bayer benefited from the experience and leadership qualities of former German international Michael Ballack after returning from Chelsea. However, injury-plagued Ballack spent more time on the treatment table than on the field of play, and Bayer stuttered on the final lap, almost getting caught by a fired-up Bayern Munich outfit on the run-in. However, a narrow 1-0 win in Freiburg just enabled Leverkusen to cling onto second place. One had the distinct impression that another couple of games would have seen Bayern take the runners-up slot though. Rumour has it that top player Arturo Vidal could be heading for Munich. The Chilean will certainly jump at the chance if it comes along. Class players of the calibre of Ballack, Ze Roberto and Lucio have moved on to Munich from Leverkusen with varying degrees of success in recent years. Unfortunately, the club are at times forced to sell their top players in order to be able to balance the books. It appears on this occasion as if Bayer team coach Heynckes will be making the same switch for the coming season. Failure to reach agreement with top goalkeeper Adler as well as the search for a suitable replacement for Heynckes could mean that Bayer don’t quite achieve the same heights at the start of next season.
