Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp admitted relief rather than joy was the overriding emotion after winning the Bundesliga title on Saturday.
The Westphalians clinched their seventh league title with two games to spare thanks to a 2-0 win over Nurnberg, but Klopp conceded he had begun to fear the worst following just two wins from their previous six games.
"I would say that the feeling of relief is a thousand times stronger than the actual delight in winning the league," he told ZDF television.
"I actually thought it would feel different to this, more euphoric, but maybe that will still come.
"My team has achieved something extraordinary. Words cannot describe what the lads have done."
Dortmund became the youngest team to win the title despite not being regarded as one of the main candidates at the start of the season.
"I would like to congratulate Dortmund on a title that they have thoroughly deserved," Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.
"They have played a fantastic season and are worthy successors to Bayern Munich."
Freiburg coach Robin Dutt added: "I don't think any league title has been deserved as much as this one.
"I earned my coaching badge on the same course as Jurgen Klopp and can say that he and his team deserve this."
Dortmund could also have a say at the other end of the table, with their last game of the season potentially decisive.
They host Eintracht Frankfurt, who slipped into the bottom three yesterday, and several clubs at the bottom will be hoping for a favour from the Westphalians.
That may be difficult, though, according to their president Dr Reinhard Rauball.
"This is almost a fairytale," he said. "The whole of Dortmund is going to be in a state of ecstasy for the next two weeks."
