Hoeness welcomes ‘magnificent season’ for champions Bayern

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness paid tribute to his team after they wrapped up their 23rd Bundesliga title with six games to go thanks to a 1-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt today.

It has been a matter of when and not if Bayern regained the title from Borussia Dortmund for some weeks and Bastian Schweinsteiger's 53rd-minute effort gave the visitors the win they needed. The afternoon could have been more comfortable for Bayern, with David Alaba sending a first-half penalty against the post, but they moved 20 points clear of Dortmund with only 18 left to play for.

The victory also ended a mini title drought as they won their first crown in three seasons. It was not quite on the same level as the 9-2 thumping of Hamburg in their last league clash, but the Bavarian giants can now turn their attention to completing the treble.

They are well-placed in their Champions League quarter-final with Juventus and in the last four of the DFB-Pokal. While all at Bayern are looking to Wednesday's tie in Turin, Hoeness will nevertheless raise a glass to his team tonight.

“We must not make the mistake of minimising this title all of a sudden,” he said. “We said before the season started that winning the Bundesliga was our priority. No matter what happens now, and of course I want to win more titles, but this season has been super.

“Of course we have to carry on this way to crown the season, but let’s not forget that we have already reached our primary goal for the season. We’re certainly going to have a glass of champagne on the plane home, and then we will focus on our next big game in Turin.”

Bayern have toppled record after record on their way to the title, and with six games still to come, they have already picked up more wins and more points than they did in the whole of last season.

“We have played a magnificent season,” added Hoeness. “Rarely have a team won the title in such dominant fashion. In all of the years I have been at Bayern, I cannot remember us being so superior or such clear champions with six games to go. Huge thanks must go to the coach above all, but also to the team. I can hardly find the words to express how fantastic this title feels.”

The Bayern players lifted outgoing manager Jupp Heynckes into the air after the final whistle in the Waldstadion, but as soon as they had left the field, Arjen Robben was already looking to even greater achievements.

“We’ve got the title now, but things move on,” said Robben. “We have got to keep our cool because we still have some important games to come. “We want even more from this season and since we are still in two competitions, we want to win them both.”