Bayern Munich's start to the season was nothing short of disastrous but they completed their turnaround to win their 22nd German championship title and are still in the running for an unprecedented treble.
With only two points from the first three matches, Bayern recorded their poorest Bundesliga start in 43 years. Less than 10 months later they could become the first German team to complete the treble if they add the Champions League title and the German Cup to their league crown.
Coach Louis van Gaal, hired to repair the damage to the team after what club officials called the "Juergen Klinsmann experiment", was hailed as a teacher, with far more experience than his predecessor who was sacked late last season.
However, all Dutchman Van Gaal could hear in the first few weeks were jeers and whistles at the Allianz Arena and club officials wondered if bringing in the strong-minded Dutchman had been a mistake.
The departures of Brazilian defender Lucio and countryman Ze Roberto had considerably weakened the team and a long-term injury to playmaker Franck Ribery was a further blow at the start of the season.
Van Gaal was quick to bench striker Mario Gomez, who weeks earlier had become the most expensive transfer in Bundesliga history, costing more than 30 million euros, as he struggled with his first-choice lineup and his players' motivation.
New signings Arjen Robben, who joined from Real Madrid, and Croatian Ivica Olic, quickly took control, scoring a spate of crucial goals that started an 18-match unbeaten run that would eventually stretch from December into March.
A spectacular 4-1 win at Juventus in the final Champions League group match in December allowed Bayern to squeeze through to the knockout stage but the club was far from happy with the overall performance of the team.
"We will see how things stand at the winter break," club president Uli Hoeness said, hinting that Van Gaal's job hung in the balance.
The Bavarians, who had not been top of the table since their title victory in the 2007/8 season, managed to go into the break only two points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen and Van Gaal got a new lease of life.
He had nurtured several Bayern youth players as they established themselves in the first team. Diego Contento joined Holger Badstuber and Thomas Mueller with surprising performances in the second half of the season, as Bayern steadily closed the gap to the top.
The team were playing more consistently and developing a quick passing game, with Bastian Schweinsteiger finally maturing into a leading role in midfield.
Miroslav Klose's goal drought and Ribery's absence were hardly felt as Bayern enjoyed a 13-match winning streak that enabled them to go top of the Bundesliga in the spring and advance to the German Cup final and the Champions League last eight.
Robben, who had quickly developed into a crowd favourite, fired in a spectacular volley from 20 metres against Manchester United to give Bayern their first Champions League semi-final ticket since 2001.
Bayern have now won the domestic title 21 times since the Bundesliga began in 1963. They also won the old German League title in 1932.
"I will leave Bayern if we win all three titles," Van Gaal had said earlier this year when all three trophies were still well out of reach.
Somehow it is difficult to imagine Bayern without him and vice versa, with both sides seemingly ecstatic over their made-in-heaven marriage.
Van Gaal managed to restore Bayern's domestic and European image faster than club bosses had thought possible, instilling a sense of duty and team work that was lacking among his players.
"We hope to be witnessing the start of the Van Gaal era," club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.
Whether it will be a long or short era, Bayern fans can start popping the beer caps at Munich's central square as their season under the "Tulip General" has already exceeded all their expectations, whatever the final trophy count is.