BERLIN (AFP) - Midfielder Sami Khedira was the hero as he hit the winning goal which gave VfB Stuttgart their first Bundesliga title for 15 years on Saturday after a 2-1 victory at home to Energie Cottbus.

Having only re-claimed the Bundesliga's top spot the week before, Armin Veh's men came from a goal behind to pick up the win which gave them their third Bundesliga title and crown them German champions for the fifth time.

By winning the Bundesliga's Championship Plate in his first full season in charge, Veh, 46, has succeeded where his more illustrious predecessors Felix Magath, Giovanni Trapattoni and German national coach Joachim Loew all failed.

A delighted Veh said: "This title is a reward for our consistency, we have always tried to play attractive football and we have taken a few risks along the way.

"Cottbus gave everything and played very well, even if they came away with nothing at the end.

"They made life difficult for us, we had to wait until the second half to stamp our authority and take our opportunities."

Stuttgart captain Fernando Meira said his unfancied side deserved the title having been given little chance at the start of the season.

"Nobody gave us a chance at the start of the season," he said. "This title is the reward for all the hard work we have put in week in, week out."

There had been some early drama at Stuttgart's Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion after Cottbus' Romanian midfielder Sergiu Radu deflected Vlad Munteanu's shot past diving home goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand on 19 minutes.

With Schalke 04 winning 2-0 at that moment, the defeat would have sent the title to Gelsenkirchen, but Stuttgart settled and Germany international Thomas Hitzlsperger equalised on 27 minutes to swing the title back their way.

And it was midfielder Khedira whose 63rd minute goal had Stuttgart's fans celebrating the win which gave them a two-point margin at the top of the league.

The win keeps alive their dream of doing a league and cup double for the first time when they contest the German cup final at Berlin's Olympic Stadium next weekend against Nuremberg.

Stuttgart's win made second-placed Schalke's 2-1 victory over Arminia Bielefeld irrelevant, even though they had a dream start to go 2-0 up after just 19 minutes and they finished runners-up.

Brazilian midfielder Lincoln smashed his shot past diving Bielefeld goalkeeper Mathias Hain on 11 minutes before Turkish striker Halil Altintop added a second eight minutes later, but it was not enough to threaten Stuttgart as Bielefeld grabbed a late consolation goal.

They may be out of the Champions League next season, but fourth-placed Bayern Munich hammered relegated Mainz 05 5-2 at the Allianz Arena.

Werder Bremen finished third after their 2-0 win at VfL Wolfsburg, who finished just one place off the relegation zone and parted company with coach Klaus Augenthaler after the final whistle.

Bayer Leverkusen claimed the final UEFA Cup place thanks to their 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund which leaves them fifth in the table.

Nuremberg enjoyed a 3-0 win over Hanover, but still finished sixth, outside the European places for next season.

At the other end of the table, Mainz 05 were relegated following their Bayern Munich defeat and they were joined by Alemannia Aachen who went down 4-0 at Hamburg after two first-half goals from Croatian striker Ivica Olic, while Argentinian Juan Pablo Sorin netted twice after the break.

Aachen coach Michael Frontzeck announced his retirement in the post-match press conference after less than a year in the job.

And the Bundesliga's bottom-side Borussia Moenchengladach, who have been resigned to relegation for several weeks, finished their life in German's top-tier with a 2-0 defeat at home to VfL Bochum.

In the day's other results, Eintracht Frankfurt were beaten 2-1 at home to Hertha Berlin.