The Bundesliga said auf Wiedersehen to some big names on an emotional penultimate weekend in Germany
"Auf Wiedersehen." It's so polite a phrase that you wonder why the English didn't invent it. Rather than wishing people farewell or goodbye, "auf Wiedersehen" translates as "see you again". Isn't that impossibly nice? It's also very pragmatic, come to think of it. Chances are you will run into that person again, even if it's only in the form of unrequited Facebook chat attempts.
"You always meet twice in life," Berti Vogts darkly threatened when Rinus Michel's Dutch side murdered his Germany 3-1 in the 1992 Euro group stage. The Danes famously prevented that reunion, however, and it was probably for the best. In a German stadium "auf Wiedersehen" is generally used in a deeply cynical sense, melodically chanted by the masses on the happy occasion of an opposition striker being stretchered off, for example, or when the other team has just been relegated. But ironically enough "auf Wiedersehen" was nowhere to be heard this weekend, when the term would have been most apt: matchday 33 felt like one long goodbye, bursting with bouquets of flowers, tearful speeches and overblown sentimentality.
Unsurprisingly, Schalke 04 were at the forefront of big emotions on Saturday. A 4-0 win over unspeakably bad Hertha BSC secured direct qualification for the Champions League but many were feeling blue at the final whistle: it was Raúl's last outing in the Veltins Arena. The 34-year-old only played two years in Gelsenkirchen yet the supporters sent him off with a protracted ceremony fit for a genuine legend. On the video cube, Raúl's best bits (40 goals in 98 games, one DFB Cup, one Champions League semi) were shown while the Spaniard walked through the ground with his five kids in tow, shedding tears. "I've had two wonderful years, I don't find words for what I'm feeling," he said, "I've felt at home here." And then, in German: "Blue and White for life." The Qatar-bound striker admitted that two of his sons had tried to convince him to stay for another season and almost sounded regretful. "I thank myself for moving there every day," he had told Spanish reporters in Madrid last week. "I will have new goals now, not quite at the same level," the man they're calling "the Señor" added on Saturday. Maybe Blackburn Rovers, suitors in the past, will try to tempt him into the Championship?
Finally, Raúl went round the stadium in a VW bus, careful to avoid giant puddles of tears on his lap of honour. He wasn't quite "the best foreign player ever in the league" as former manager Felix Magath intimated but the Bundesliga will certainly miss his all-round class and glamorous appeal. "The Germans have beaten Real Madrid a second time on Saturday night," one Spanish paper wrote in reference to the player's rather less heartfelt exit from the Bernabéu.
In Leverkusen, 1-0 winners over Hannover, someone else's two-year spell came to an end at the same time. Michael Ballack conceded that the two injury-ravaged seasons after his return from Chelsea had not been "fantastic" but the Bayer fans cheered him nevertheless. The 35-year-old was visibly moved and thanked the supporters for a farewell that went at least some way to reconcile Germany's leading player of his generation with the wider public. Ballack admitted to making mistakes over the way his exit from the national squad was handled and hoped to be able to prove himself "somewhere else". He is adamant about playing on for another two years, preferably in MLS. Keeper René Adler is looking forward to a "change of scenery" after 12 years at Bayer, as well. His transfer to Hamburg, safe after a 0-0 draw with Mainz, should be rubber-stamped next week.
Adler will have to make do without Mladen Petric and David Jarolim at his new club, however. Both veterans were cheered off, somewhat against their wishes, in the Volksparkstadion. "I'm happy that I'm not the first sporting director who goes down [to the second division]," said Frank Arnesen. The Dane wants to overhaul the squad to target "the top eight" next season. In a shock turn of events, Latvian striker Artjom Rudnevs, 24, from not the Chelsea reserves (aka Lech Poznan) has emerged as a possible candidate for the next season.
We can also say a big "auf Wiedersehen" to Augsburg, albeit in the literal sense. Jos Luhukay's men will be back for another stint in the top flight in August, following their 0-0 draw at Gladbach. Their survival really has come against all the odds. "It feels like a championship," said Paul Verhaegh. "It's crazy, with this team and this budget," added keeper Simon Jentzsch. The Bavarians had almost no money but a manager who knew what he was doing, terrific team spirit and T-shirts that reminded them that "belief can move mountains". Their jubilation at the final whistle was mirrored on the other side of the pitch, where the Foals were jumping for joy after reaching the Champions League qualification. "This is a miracle," said Lucien Favre. But he could not hide his irritation with those who felt even more had been possible this season. "They're all sick here, I'm the only sane one," he said, making the point that his team "achieved the maximum". Next season, they'll have to do more or at least the same, but without Marco Reus (off to Dortmund), Roman Neustädter (Schalke) and Dante (Bayern).
You want more adieus? Take your pick from Werder Bremen's Tim Wiese, who is having a tough time deciding between an imaginary offer from Real Madrid – he's not even Turkish, for god's sake – and a real one from Hoffenheim. Marko Marin aka "the German Messi" (German media quoting English media quoting German media) is also off to Chelsea, and the prospect of Werder selling even more big names is a very real one.
In Munich, more flowers. The popular veteran keeper Jörg Butt was allowed to play one last match for Bayern (2-0 v Stuttgart). The 37-year-old didn't get to a chance to improve on his impressive goal record – he's scored 26 times from the spot – but was still the happiest man on the pitch. Unlike his outfield colleagues, he didn't have to wear the garish new away strip combining white with neon orange stripes.
For the mother of all goodbyes, one will have to wait for next week, however, when Lukas Podolski will ride Hennes, the live mascot goat, into the sunset while Die Höhner intone a Kölsch version of "Yesterday". Or something along those lines. The 26-year-old striker finally confirmed his move to Arsenal on Monday, promising to wear the Köln diamond-shaped badge "forever in his heart". After another awful defeat, 4-1 at Freiburg, Köln need one more point at home to de-mob happy Bayern on Saturday to secure the relegation play-off spot. It's a tricky scenario but the supporters of Germany's most emotionally unhinged club must secretly relish the opportunity to get one over the competition at last: with a bit of luck, they can afford folk hero Podolski not just one, but two melodramatic send-offs.
Results: Bayern 2-0 Stuttgart, Kaiserslautern 2-5 Dortmund, Hamburg 0-0 Mainz, Hoffenheim 2-3 Nürnberg, Gladbach 0-0 Augsburg, Leverkusen 1-0 Hannover, Wolfsburg 3-1 Werder, Schalke 4-0 Hertha, Freiburg 4-1 Köln.
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