Is it Too Early to Congratulate Bayern?

Once left for dead in the water, Bochum have dragged themselves out from the depths of the Bundesliga. One point separates them from 15th place Mönchengladbach with five matches remaining. A 2-1 win on the road at Kaiserslautern gave them their 10th point in the last four games and realistic chances of playing the next season in the first division.

"That was our weekend," proclaimed coach Peter Neururer after the victory. But can this coming weekend also be Bochum's?

Their opponent is Bayern Munich: a team that is steamrolling to a record-setting 19th Bundesliga title; a team that will be playing for their 12th German Cup; a team whose mere presence near the top of the standings makes most sides stumble, such as Schalke and Stuttgart last week.

Historically, not much speaks for Bochum -- they have won one time in 29 matches on the road against Bayern. But four weeks ago, not many people gave them a chance to be one point back of 15th place.

Another difficult task for Schalke

Ralf Rangnick's Royal Blues have conceded the championship to Bayern. Title visions, so vivid a month ago, are now merely pipe dreams. Captain and goalkeeper blame it on "egos" that have come to the fore again, he told Sport Bild magazine.

No matter the reason, the goal of reaching the Champions League is top priority. Yet the hellish schedule continues, as they must travel to top-form Hertha Berlin (50 points). Berlin have been riding a wave of success since the middle of the first leg, thanks greatly to Brazilian midfielder Marcelinho. He has produced key goals and set up key strikes that have made Falko Götz' squad a force to contend with.

Hertha lie in fifth place, and their four remaining matches after this Saturday cannot be described as difficult -- a very good position to play in Europe next season.

After an embarrassing loss to a Rostock side on the brink of relegation, third-place Stuttgart must also no longer play with the thought of competing for the championship. Defender Markus Babbel had warned of letting up against the weaker teams, but his warning fell on deaf ears. His comment to Sport Bild this week: "We are a team that needs a kick in the pants."

Let last week's loss be a warning because until the last match of the season, against Bayern, they face a stream of mediocre competition. Wolfsburg had been on top of the standings for eight weeks in the first leg. During that stretch, the Wolves drubbed Stuttgart, 3-0. Now the Wolves lie in the middle of the pack. A chance for revenge. And with some luck they can pull ahead of Schalke.

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Bremen try to salvage season

Coach Thomas Schaaf's Bremen club (50 points) has been suffering a string of poor play in recent weeks, including a loss this week in the Cup semi-final. Their nearest rivals have had the upper hand. On Sunday, they face Leverkusen, a team who has been suffering a similar fate. The gap for Klaus Augenthaler's club to a UEFA spot has ballooned to four points. Striker Dimitar Berbatov's two goals in a 3-1 win against Freiburg broke a four-game scoring drought for the Bulgarian international and gives the club hope to make a final push to get back to the UEFA Cup next season.

Only the strongest survive

Just as exciting, if not more, is the heroic struggle to avert relegation. Currently, six teams are fighting to avoid the not so appetizing assignment of travelling to clubs like Erzgebirge Aue, Unterhaching or Oberhausen next season. Freiburg (17 points) could be the first team to receive its invitation to the second league if they tie or lose against Bielefeld.

In a northern derby, 17th place Rostock (26 points) travel to Hamburg. After a 6-0 home defeat in the first leg, Juri Schlünz threw in the towel as coach. Jörg Berger didn't fare much better at the beginning, but they have won four of their last six contests and still have a faint chance of staying in the league. Hamburg could make it to the ever-important fifth UEFA Cup spot.

Can a new coach change a team's luck?

In Mönchengladbach (30 points), already the third coach this season has taken over the helm. Last week, then coach Dick Advocaat watched his club give up a game-tying goal in the final seconds against relegation rival Mainz. Even before the match, Advocaat was running for his life, having been the recipient of a murder threat. He has left permanently and Gladbach have handed over the reins to Horst Köppel. Their opponent, Nuremberg, lie a more comfortable five points clear of the relegation zone. Plus, they have the league's top goalscorer, Marek Mintal.

Mainz (31 points) were thrilled about stealing that one point from Gladbach last week. On Saturday, they travel to Hanover, who won their one and only first division match-up last fall, 2-0.

Finally, Dortmund (42 points) have made a great run in the second leg. The turnaround has come a little too late. Nevertheless, they want to continue the high level of play and should be able to do this at home against Kaiserslautern (39 points).