Other than the news of Otto Rehhagel coming back to the Bundesliga to coach Hertha Berlin, the obvious storyline coming out of round 22 was Bayern failing to keep pace with Dortmund and even slipping behind upstarts Gladbach in the table.

But a slightly more subtle one was how small the factors are that determine winning or dropping points.

Both Dortmund and Gladbach won tight matches by a single goal against struggling opponents, while Bayern's goalless draw with Freiburg could have turned either way with a bit of individual creativity or blundering, or simply a lucky deflection.

At the same time, reviewing those matches, you get the sense that the league leaders and the new No. 2 deserved to get their results, whereas Bayern - who had fewer shots on goal than the team at the bottom of the table - did not merit more than a single point.

The reason: Jürgen Klopp and Lucien Favre's men had a game plan, and they stuck to it.

The black and yellow way
Dortmund's system is founded upon pressing opponents in their own half with two or three attackers. It's an endeavor that requires a lot of running - a quality Klopp praised after his side's 1-0 defeat of Hertha Berlin.

"I'm absolutely enthusiastic about the will and the attitude of my team," rhapsodized the serially enthusiastic coach to reporters.

But it was not just determination that swung the balance in Dortmund's favor - Hertha logged roughly the same number of kilometers. It was adhering to what they do best. Kevin Grosskreutz's marvelous bicycle-kick to win the match came because Dortmund kept trying to win the ball in Berlin's half and counter-attack up the flanks, even though up to that point the game plan had yielded few dividends.

This sort of focus has allowed Dortmund to keep their perfect record in 2012 intact, despite the fact that they are missing their two main sources of midfield creativity - Mario Götze and Shinji Kagawa - to injury.

Dortmund won't always be able to pull out of the sort of tight wins they've recorded in the last two rounds. But if they can get Götze and Kagawa back soon, they now have to be considered the favorites for the Bundesliga title.

Fighting Foals
In many respects, Gladbach are very reminiscent of Dortmund. They tend to start defending a bit deeper and thus are more of a classic counter-attacking team but the results are much the same.

That makes them particularly tough when they open up an early lead, as they did in the first half of their 2-1 victory in Kaiserslautern.

"We weren't surprised at how difficult it was for us," fretful Swiss coach Lucien Favre told the post-game press. "Fortunately, we scored two nice goals quickly."

One of the Foals' big strengths is that they have three players - Marco Reus, Patrick Herrmann and Juan Arango - capable of blasting or curling balls past opposing keepers from mid-range. This is one aspect in which Gladbach are arguably slightly superior to Dortmund.

All the more the shame that Herrmann broke his collarbone - an injury that's likely to sideline him for weeks. You can't help suspect that his absence will cost the Foals points they need down the home stretch to challenge for the title.

Blasé Bayern
In contrast to Klopp and Favre, Bayern's Jupp Heynckes was neither excited nor relieved about the performance of his charges.

"The team thinks it will have success by playing nice football, but that doesn't work against teams in the relegation fight," the Bavarian's coach grumbled. "In the first half we were far too blasé. In the second half, the team played the way I'd like to see them."

But it was precisely the second half of the goalless draw against Freiburg that should be most worrisome for Munich. Heynckes fielded the most attacking eleven at his disposal, bringing on Arjen Robben at the break.

Nonetheless, the Dutchman was unable to get anything going with fellow midfielders Franck Ribery and Thomas Müller. By the end of the match, Bayern were simply hoofing the ball upfield, even though their best aerial threat, Mario Gomez, had been substituted out.

Indeed, Bayern were slightly fortunate to earn even a single point. Freiburg got off 12 shots on goal to Munich's seven.

Many observers credited Heynckes' looser, more creativity oriented approach for Bayern's rise back to the top in the first half of the season. But in the grey days of winter, Munich's lack of a default strategy seems to be catching up with them - and putting their bid for the title in serious jeopardy.

A law unto himself
There's no question of anyone at Hertha Berlin enjoying too much freedom in the coming weeks. After failing to earn a point in 2012, and amidst unconfirmed rumors that 19th century Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck wasn't taking calls, the club from the capital brought in the next best thing: 73-year-old Otto Rehhagel.

The coach, whose triumphs include multiple Bundesliga titles many years hence and the European Championship with Greece in 2004, wasted no time letting everyone know who's boss.

"As of Monday I am the law here, and everyone is following my commands," Rehhagel told the Bild newspaper ahead of the official announcement of his appointment. "I'm a Prussian - or a democratic dictator, if you will."

The return of the never-boring "King Otto" elicited a mixture of awe and amusement around the league. But for Hertha, the appointment is no laughing matter.

The defensive tactician is charged with shoring up what has become one of the more porous back fours in the league and staving off a second relegation in three years, which would set debt-ridden Hertha back decades.

King Otto's latest reign will start, appropriately enough, with a true relegation dogfight against last-placed Augsburg this coming Saturday.

Author: Jefferson Chase
Editor: Sean Sinico