The Japan Times - Mueller eyes one final title as Bayern exit draws near

Eight points clear of defending champions Bayer Leverkusen with three games remaining, Bayern will clinch the title if they beat Leipzig this weekend.

Bayern's last league win at Leipzig came in 2021. If the Bavarians falter, they will still wrap up the Bundesliga crown if Leverkusen fail to beat Freiburg on Sunday.

Another league title would be a fitting farewell for Mueller, who joined Bayern aged just 10 and played his 500th Bundesliga game last week.

A one-club player, Mueller has amassed a remarkable 32 trophies with Bayern, including two Champions Leagues, but will leave at the end of the season after he was not offered a contract extension.

No player has ever won 13 Bundesliga titles and only Manchester United's Ryan Giggs has hit that mark in any of Europe's top five leagues.

"It sounds good doesn't it?" Mueller said of the record in an interview with the Bundesliga website on Wednesday.

"I won my first title in 2010. You're holding something heavy in your hands and it gives you the feeling that it's not really easy to win the thing.

"There's always a lot of work and you have to perform over a long period.

"That's why the satisfaction when you win the league trophy is greater than the Champions League or the German Cup."

With his departure edging closer, Mueller has been celebrated by fans at home and away, but has been quick to remind everyone he is not on a farewell tour -- and that there is a title at stake.

"On the topic of pride, I'm someone who lives life looking forward rather than looking back too much," said Mueller.

"Looking back is nice and then you can toast to it and ask: 'What are you doing tomorrow?'"

At the other end of the table, Bochum will be the first side relegated if they lose at Heidenheim on Friday.

Bochum's struggles this season have come not against the top teams, but against mid-table sides and fellow relegation battlers.

Bochum have only won two of their past 14 games, but those wins came against Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

Veteran coach Dieter Hecking said his side should have "no fear", adding "it's a final and one we're hugely anticipating."

One to watch: Niklas Suele

Perhaps no player better illustrates Borussia Dortmund's turnaround under coach Niko Kovac than much maligned defender Niklas Suele.

A European champion with Bayern in 2020 and a former fixture in Germany's central defence, Suele has struggled for club and country since his high-profile move to Dortmund in 2022.

But Kovac, who in his introductory press conference promised to return the centre-back to Germany reckoning, has Suele back in form.

The 29-year-old started just three times from October to April but has been in the line-up in each of Dortmund's past four matches in all competitions, coinciding with three wins and a draw.

Suele's performances, along with injuries to Germany centre-backs Nico Schlotterbeck and Antonio Rudiger, have him in the frame for a call-up for the Nations League finals in June.

Key stats

36 - St Pauli sit 14th, but they have conceded just 36 goals -- only Bayern and Leverkusen have allowed fewer.

13 - In their past five games, Dortmund have picked up 13 points to keep their top-four hopes alive.

15 - Having won five of their past seven, Werder Bremen are two points off the European places. The 2009 UEFA Cup finalists last played in Europe 15 years ago.

Fixtures (1330 GMT unless stated)

Friday

Heidenheim v Bochum (1830)

Saturday

Borussia Moenchengladbach v Hoffenheim, Union Berlin v Werder Bremen, RB Leipzig v Bayern Munich, St Pauli v Stuttgart, Borussia Dortmund v Wolfsburg (1630)

Sunday

Augsburg v Holstein Kiel, Freiburg v Bayer Leverkusen (1530), Mainz v Eintracht Frankfurt (1730)

M.Saito--JT