Voeller makes hay

Bayer Leverkusen's 2-0 win over third-placed Hamburg last Sunday not only took them one major step closer to their first German title, but it also rekindled a debate touched on in this column last week. How much do Bayer, like Deportivo La Coruna in Spain, owe their leading position in their domestic league to the fact that while illustrious rivals have been competing in the Champions League they have concentrated entirely on the Bundesliga?

With just two games to play, Bayer are three points clear of reigning German champions Bayern Munich. Yet, while Bayer can concentrate totally on those last two remaining games, at home to Eintracht Frankfurt and then away to Unterhaching, Bayern Munich must play their Champions League two-leg semi-final with Real Madrid, starting tomorrow night.

Furthermore, Bayern are also involved in the German Cup final against Werder Bremen next Saturday before they get around to playing those two remaining Bundesliga ties, away to Arminia Bielefeld and at home to Werder Bremen (again).

If Barcelona's busy league-cup Champions League schedule prompted them to effectively drop out of the Spanish Cup last week by failing to present a team for their semi-final with Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich are threatening something similar by fielding a much weakened side of reserves for the German Cup final next weekend.

Little wonder that the club's team director, former German international striker Rudi Voeller, said at the weekend: "We can be optimistic now. We have a three-point lead on Bayern and we're playing well. The conditions for us to win the title are ideal."

However, it may be unfair to suggest that Bayer's good run owes everything to their rivals' busier schedule. After all, in the last three Bundesliga seasons Bayer have finished second twice and third.

It is also worth bearing in mind that Bayer's good league season owes much to the experience of 34-year-old Ufl Kirsten in attack, the strength of 26-year-old Jens Nowotny in defence and the creative contribution of Brazilian midfielders, 24-year-old Emerson, who is bound for AS Roma this summer, and 25-year-old Ze Roberto.

Bayer owe much to their experienced coach Christophe Daum, who won the 1992 Bundesliga title with VIB Stuttgart and also won the 1995 Turkish title with Besiktas. Daum is in his fourth season with Bayer.

One wonders, however, where Bayer Leverkusen would now find themselves had their European campaign not gone so badly this season. Eliminated from a Champions League first-round group that also featured Slovene side Maribor, Lazio and Dinamo Kiev, Leverkusen were "demoted" to the UEFA Cup where they were immediately knocked out by Udinese in the third round.