Sonstiges » decessor Jupp Heynckes, who led Bayern to its firs

LIVERPOOL, England -- With their title dreams extinguished, Liverpools players circled the pitch inside Anfield Stadium, heads bowed, to the backdrop of another passionately sung rendition of club anthem "Youll Never Walk Alone." The final match of the Reds season could have been a celebration of the most unlikely championship triumph in Premier League history. It ended up being a tale of what might have been. Liverpool came up short Sunday in its bid for a first league title in 24 years, finishing two points behind champion Manchester City despite a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Newcastle. Brendan Rodgers team did their part on what proved to be an anticlimactic last day, passing the 100-goal mark for the league campaign after near-identical strikes in the space of two second-half minutes by Daniel Agger and Daniel Sturridge. That clinched a club-record 26th league victory. But Liverpool was also relying on a favour from West Ham at Etihad Stadium, which was always unlikely to happen. City won 2-0, keeping the trophy out of Liverpools grasp. "Im devastated for the fans," Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said. "Although weve made them dream, Im devastated we didnt go that one step more." If there was any frustration inside Rodgers after the final whistle, he hid it well. For Liverpool had the destiny of the title in its hands just three weeks ago, when it beat Norwich 3-2 for an 11th straight win. Then came a decisive nine days when Rodgers side lost 2-0 at home to Chelsea before conceding three goals in the final 11 minutes to draw 3-3 at Crystal Palace. It meant there was more hope than expectation heading into the Newcastle match. "We finished the season winning 12 games out of 14," Rodgers said. "So the players have shown incredible level of consistency and quality in that period ... wed prefer to finish top, but its a great mark of progress this season." Anfield has seen previous last-game drama, with Arsenal winning 2-0 here in 1989 thanks to an injury-time goal from Michael Thomas to snatch the title from Liverpool. Twenty-five years on, Journeys famous song "Dont Stop Believin" blared out before kickoff. But all hope among Liverpool fans was gone by halftime, with their team 1-0 down thanks to Martin Skrtels own goal in the 20th minute and City having virtually guaranteed finishing first by going 1-0 up against West Ham. After a poor first half, Liverpool steeled itself to finish the season on a high, with Gerrard crossing for Agger to volley in after 63 minutes and then producing a similar delivery for Sturridge to tap in at the far post. It was all in vain. "When we went in front and there was no roar from the crowd, I realized the story was elsewhere," Rodgers said. Having started so positively, Newcastle imploded after the break in conceding two quick goals and then seeing Shola Ameobi and Paul Dummett both sent off. Ameobi received two yellow cards in 10 seconds for dissent as he argued with the referee about fouls in the build-up to Liverpools goals, before Dummett departed after a high challenge on Luis Suarez. Sunday was all about Liverpool, though, not Newcastle. From a seventh-place finish last season, Liverpool almost achieved what many considered impossible. "The word now is belief -- belief that we can be up there challenging," said Rodgers, who read out to his squad before the match a letter from a young fan called Ben -- sent before the start of the season -- which urged the players to believe they could win the title. "Probably at the time, the players and maybe the staff all thought the letter was maybe far-fetched," Rodgers added. "But I truly believe we could progress. "For us, its been a wonderful campaign of growth and development." The Premier League remains elusive to the 33-year-old Gerrard, who sees hope for the future. "I thought my days of title races had gone," he said, "but having played with this group of players this year the dream is back. Although Ive only got a couple of years left I still believe I can get there." Nike Air Force 1 Cheap Outlet . Trailing 5-4 in the third set, the 12th-ranked Isner fought off two match points and evened it at 5-5 with consecutive aces. The former University of Georgia star had his only service break of the match to go up 6-5 before firing the last four of his 30 aces to close out Ginepri, an Atlanta resident ranked 281st. Nike Air Force 1 Sale . Leaning forward with both hands on his knees, Buffon appeared to be resting or somehow trying to withstand the rain. Or perhaps the 36-year-old goalkeeper and Italy captain was reflecting on this: He is only the third player in history to be part of five World Cup squads, along with Germany great Lothar Matthaus and former Mexico goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal. http://www.cheapnikeairforce1uk.com/. Though the 26-year-old said he was able to participate, coach Dwane Casey kept Johnson out as a precaution. Nike Air Force 1 Cheap Sale . Unfortunately for Toronto, that surge was too much to handle as the Stars scored six straight goals and ended the Marlies season with a 6-2 victory on Tuesday. Toronto had built a 2-0 lead on goals by Frazer McLaren and Peter Holland, but Texas charged back with a wild rally late in the second period to spark its trip to the Calder Cup final. Cheap Nike Air Force 1 Mens . Under the deal, the Vikings will donate an undisclosed sum of money to five gay rights-related charities over the next five years. Kluwe said he wont receive any money as part of the settlement. "This will help a lot of people that really do need that help," Kluwe said.BERLIN -- Bayern Munich set a new milestone in its dominance of German football on Tuesday, beating Hertha Berlin 3-1 to wrap up the quickest Bundesliga title in 51 years of the league. Goals from Toni Kroos, Mario Goetze and Franck Ribery sealed the unbeaten defending champions 24th German title with seven games to spare, bettering the mark set in last years record-breaking campaign by one game. Adrian Ramos pulled one back from the penalty spot for Hertha, but there was to be no denying Pep Guardiola his first Bundesliga title in his first season as coach. "We worked very hard for this title. When you win by 25 points people can think its easy. But its not easy, especially after the last season with three titles," the Spaniard said. "When you win 19 games one after the other, it speaks for the mentality of the team." Bayerns 19th consecutive win, its 10th consecutive victory away from home, and its unbeaten run of 52 games are all Bundesliga records. Bayern finished 25 points ahead of Borussia Dortmund last season and is even more dominant this campaign. "We can see you, but we still need a telescope," Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said. Of 27 games so far this season, Bayern has won 25 and drawn the other two. It has also scored more goals (79) and conceded fewer (13) than any other side by a large margin. "Its impressive," Klopp said. "You have to take your hat off to the consistent performances they deliver on the pitch and the drive they have." Klopps side had to settle for a 0-0 draw in the Ruhr derby with Schalke despite dominating. Dortmund remained one point ahead of Schalke but slipped 25 behind Bayern, the first side to win the Bundesliga as early as March. "Were all very surprised as we expected it in February," Schalke general manager Horst Heldt joked. "But seriously, it was a magnificent season from Bayern." Bayerns celebrations were reserved by usual standards, perhaps an indicator of how predictable the title race had become. Players donned T-shirts with the number 24 referring to Bayerns championships on their backs, while Guardiola remained on the bench speaking with his wife on the mobile phone. There were none of the traditional "beer showers" and no trophy was presented. "Congratulations to Bayern, especially to coach Pep Guardiola," Germany coach Joachim Loew said. "He developed the team even further and clearly left his mark in terms of dominance and possession." Many wondered how Guardiola could match the success enjoyed under predecessor Jupp Heynckes, who led Bayern to its first treble of Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup victories last year. Guardiola led Barcelona to 14 titles in four seasons in charge of the club where he played most of his career as a stylish defensive midfielder. But there was no guarantee he could replicate that success in Germany, a country he had only experienced as a visitor beforee.dddddddddddd Guardiola spoke German on his introduction to the media last June, two days before beginning work as Bayern coach. Since then he has made the best ever start for a coach in the Bundesliga, where he is yet to taste defeat, while he has led Bayern to three titles including the latest. Bayern had already won the Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup under his tenure. "You always hope it goes well but I never expected it to go so well. The first four or five months were difficult but the individual talent saw us through," Guardiola said. "Well celebrate this today and tomorrow." With domestic domination appearing secure for years to come, Bayern will measure its success on a continental scale. The clubs achievement of five European Cup or Champions League titles is eclipsed only by Real Madrid and AC Milan, with nine and seven, respectively. Bayern aims to become the first side to defend the title since it was changed to the new format in 1992. It was handed a favourable draw for the quarterfinals in a Manchester United side still finding its feet since Alex Ferguson retired as coach. The only cloud on the horizon has been Uli Hoeness conviction for tax evasion. The former Bayern president, who is widely credited with building up this dominant team, is soon expected to begin his 3 1/2-year prison term. "The championship is for Uli Hoeness, the most important person at the club," Guardiola said. Kroos opened the scoring with a half-volley through Hertha goalkeeper Thomas Krafts legs in the sixth minute, after Christoph Janker deflected Thomas Muellers cross into the unmarked midfielders path. It ensured Bayerns record of scoring in 64 successive Bundesliga games continued. Poor defending from the home side allowed Goetze to score with a header from Bastian Schweinsteigers cross in the 14th. The intensity dropped in the second half until an apparent push from Rafinha on Ramos allowed the Colombian striker pull one back from the penalty spot in the 66th. Ribery made sure of the result in the 79th with a fine finish after a determined run past a host of defenders by Goetze. "It is indeed a bit cold outside in March but you can tell that we were up for it and wanted to win every game," Bayern and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said. "Its very special to be German champions so early." Football statisticians Opta said Bayern set a new Bundesliga record against Hertha with 1,078 passes, and that Bayern captain Philipp Lahm successfully completed all of his 133, also a record. "After the last successful season we were very focused in our work and were champions even earlier than last year. Its good and were happy," Bayern sporting director Matthias Sammer said. Bayerns previous seven titles also came at matches away from home. Also Tuesday, Wolfsburg won 3-1 at Werder Bremen and bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig grabbed a lifeline with 3-1 home victory over Mainz. ' ' '