Bayern Munich

Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, who play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. Bayern are the most successful club in German football and are among the world's most decorated, having won a record 34 national titles, including eleven consecutive titles from 2013 to 2023 and a record 20 national cups, alongside numerous European titles.

Bayern Munich was founded in 1900 by eleven players, led by Franz John. Although Bayern won its first national championship in 1932, the club was not selected for the Bundesliga during its inception in 1963. The club found success in the mid-1970s when, under the captaincy of Franz Beckenbauer, they won the European Cup three consecutive times (1974–1976). Overall, Bayern have won six European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles (a German record), winning their sixth title in the 2020 final as part of the Treble, and it became the second European club to achieve this feat twice. Bayern has also won one UEFA Cup, one European Cup Winners' Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, two FIFA Club World Cups and two Intercontinental Cups, making it one of the most successful European clubs internationally, and the only German club to have won both international titles. Bayern players have accumulated five Ballon d'Or awards, two The Best FIFA Men's Player awards, five European Golden Shoe and three UEFA Men's Player of the Year awards, including UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.

By winning the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup, Bayern Munich became only the second club to win the " sextuple" (winning the League, Cup, and Champions League in one season followed by the Domestic Supercup, UEFA Supercup and Club World Cup in the next season), or all trophies that a club can win in a calendar year. Bayern Munich is one of five clubs to have won all three of UEFA's main club competitions and the only German club to achieve that. As of November 2024, Bayern Munich are ranked third in UEFA club rankings. The club has traditional local rivalries with 1860 Munich and 1. FC Nürnberg.

Bayern Munich is one of the most widely supported football clubs in the world, and in April 2025, Bayern had more than 400,000 official club members and 4,147 officially registered fan clubs, with over 322,000 members, making the club the largest sports club in the world by membership. The club has other departments for chess, handball, basketball, gymnastics, bowling, table tennis and senior football, with more than 1,100 active members. Since the beginning of the 2005–06 season, Bayern has played its home games at the Allianz Arena. Previously, the team had played at Munich's Olympiastadion for 33 years. The team colours are red and white, and the crest shows the white and blue flag of Bavaria. Bayern Munich has the largest revenue out of any German sports club and the fifth highest-earning football club in the world, earning €764.5 million in 2025.

History

Early years (1900s–1960s)

Bayern Munich was founded by members of a Munich gymnastics club (MTV 1879). When a congregation of members of MTV 1879 decided on 27 February 1900 that the footballers of the club would not be allowed to join the German Football Association (DFB), eleven members of the football division left the congregation and on the same evening founded Fußball-Club Bayern München. Within a few months, Bayern achieved high-scoring victories against all local rivals, including a 15–0 win against Nordstern, and reached the semi-finals of the 1900–01 South German championship. In the following years, the club won some local trophies, and, in 1910–11, Bayern joined the newly founded "Kreisliga", the first regional Bavarian league. The club won this league in its first year, but did not win it again until the beginning of the First World War in 1914, which halted all football activities in Germany. By the end of its first decade of founding, Bayern had its first German national team player, Max Gablonsky. By 1920, it had over 700 members, making it the largest football club in Munich.

In the years after the war, Bayern won several regional competitions before winning its first South German championship in 1926, an achievement repeated two years later. Its first national title was gained in 1932, when coach Richard "Little Dombi" Kohn led the team to the German championship by defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 2–0 in the final.

The rise of Adolf Hitler to power put an abrupt end to Bayern's development. Club president Kurt Landauer and the coach, both of whom were Jewish, left the country. Many others in the club were also purged. Bayern was taunted as the " Jew's club", while local rival 1860 Munich gained much support. Josef Sauter, who was inaugurated in 1943, was the only NSDAP member as president. After a friendly match in Switzerland, some Bayern players greeted Landauer, who was a spectator, and the club was subject to continued discrimination. Bayern was also affected by the ruling that football players had to be full amateurs again, which led to the move of gifted young centre-forward Oskar Rohr to Switzerland. In the following years, Bayern could not sustain its role of contender for the national title, achieving mid-table results in its regional league instead.

After the end of the Second World War in 1945, Bayern became a member of the Oberliga Süd, the southern conference of the German first division, which was split five ways at that time. Bayern struggled, hiring and firing 13 coaches between 1945 and 1963. Landauer returned from exile in 1947, and was once again appointed club president, the tenure lasted until 1951. He remains as the club's president with the longest accumulated tenure. Landauer has been deemed the most important figure in Bayern's transition to a professional club. In 1955, the club was relegated but returned to the ''Oberliga'' in the following season and won the DFB-Pokal for the first time, beating Fortuna Düsseldorf 1–0 in the final.

The club struggled financially, though, verging on bankruptcy at the end of the 1950s. President Reitlinger was ousted in the club's elections of 1958 by the industrialist Roland Endler, who provided financial stability for the club. Under his reign, Bayern had its best years in the Oberliga. Endler was no longer a candidate in 1962, when Wilhelm Neudecker, who became wealthy in the postwar construction boom, replaced him.

In 1963, the Oberligas in Germany were consolidated into one national league, the Bundesliga. Five teams from the Oberliga South were admitted. The key to qualifying for the Bundesliga was the accumulated record of the last twelve years, where Bayern was only the sixth-ranked club. To boot, local rivals 1860 Munich, ranked seventh, were champions of the last Oberliga-Süd season and were given preference on the basis of this achievement. After initial protests by Bayern for alleged mistreatment remained fruitless, president Neudecker rose to the challenge and hired Zlatko Čajkovski, who in 1962 led 1. FC Köln to the national championship. Fielding a team with young players like Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller and Sepp Maier – who would later be collectively referred to as ''the axis'', they achieved promotion to the Bundesliga in 1965.

The golden years (1960s–1970s)

In their first Bundesliga season, Bayern finished third and also won the DFB-Pokal. This qualified them for the following year's European Cup Winners' Cup, which they won in the final against Scottish club Rangers, Franz Roth scoring the decider in a 1–0 extra time victory. In 1967, Bayern retained the DFB-Pokal, but slow overall progress saw Branko Zebec take over as coach. He replaced Bayern's offensive style of play with a more disciplined approach, and in doing so achieved the first league and cup double in Bundesliga history in 1969. Bayern Munich are one of five German clubs to win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal in the same season along with Borussia Dortmund, 1. FC Köln, Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen. Zebec used only 13 players throughout the season.

Udo Lattek took charge in 1970. After winning the DFB-Pokal in his first season, Lattek led Bayern to their third German championship. The deciding match in the 1971–72 season against Schalke 04 was the first match in the new Olympiastadion, and was also the first live televised match in Bundesliga history. Bayern beat Schalke 5–1, so won the title, while also setting several records, including points gained and goals scored. Bayern also won the next two championships, but the zenith was their triumph in the 1974 European Cup Final against Atlético Madrid, which Bayern won 4–0 after a replay. This title – after winning the Cup Winners' trophy 1967 and two semi-finals ( 1968 and 1972) in that competition – marked the club's breakthrough as a force on the international stage.

During the following years, the team was unsuccessful domestically, but defended their European title by defeating Leeds United in the 1975 European Cup final, when Roth and Müller secured victory with late goals. "We came back into the game and scored two lucky goals, so in the end, we were the winners, but we were very, very lucky", stated Franz Beckenbauer. Billy Bremner believed the French referee was "very suspicious". Leeds fans then rioted in Paris and were banned from European football for three years. A year later in the final in Glasgow, another Roth goal helped defeat Saint-Étienne, and Bayern became the third club to win the trophy in three consecutive years. The final trophy won by Bayern in this era was the Intercontinental Cup, in which they defeated Brazilian club Cruzeiro over two legs. The rest of the decade was a time of change and saw no further titles for Bayern. In 1977, Franz Beckenbauer left for New York Cosmos and, in 1979, Sepp Maier and Uli Hoeneß retired while Gerd Müller joined the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. '' Bayerndusel'' was coined during this period as an expression of either contempt or envy about the sometimes narrow and last-minute wins against other teams.

From FC Breitnigge to FC Hollywood (1970s–1990s)

The 1980s were a period of off-field turmoil for Bayern, with many changes in personnel and financial problems. On the field, Paul Breitner and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, termed "FC Breitnigge", led the team to Bundesliga titles in 1980 and 1981. Apart from a DFB-Pokal win in 1982, two relatively unsuccessful seasons followed, after which Breitner retired, and former coach Udo Lattek returned. Bayern won the DFB-Pokal in 1984 and went on to win five Bundesliga championships in six seasons, including a double in 1986. European success, however, was elusive during the decade; Bayern, though, finished as runner-up in the European Cups of 1982 and 1987.

Jupp Heynckes was hired as coach in 1987, but after two consecutive championships in 1988–89 and 1989–90, Bayern's form dipped. After finishing second in 1990–91, the club finished just five points above the relegation places in 1991–92. In 1993–94, Bayern was eliminated in the UEFA Cup second round to Premier League side Norwich City, who were the only English club to beat Bayern at the Olympiastadion during Bayern's time playing there. Franz Beckenbauer took over for the second half of the 1993–94 season, winning the championship again after a four-year gap. Beckenbauer was then appointed club president.

His successors as coach, Giovanni Trapattoni and Otto Rehhagel, both finished trophyless after a season, not meeting the club's high expectations. During this time, Bayern's players frequently appeared in the gossip pages of the press rather than the sports pages, resulting in the nickname "FC Hollywood". Franz Beckenbauer briefly returned at the end of the 1995–96 season as caretaker coach and led his team to victory in the UEFA Cup, beating Bordeaux in the final. For the 1996–97 season, Trapattoni returned to win the championship. In the following season, Bayern lost the title to newly promoted Kaiserslautern and Trapattoni had to take his leave for the second time.

Renewed international success (1990s–2000s)

After his success at Borussia Dortmund, Bayern were coached by Ottmar Hitzfeld from 1998 to 2004. In Hitzfeld's first season, Bayern won the Bundesliga and came close to winning the Champions League, losing 2–1 to Manchester United into injury time after leading for most of the match. The following year, in the club's centenary season, Bayern won the third league and cup double in its history. A third consecutive Bundesliga title followed in 2001, won with a stoppage time goal on the final day of the league season. Days later, Bayern won the Champions League for the fourth time after a 25-year gap, defeating Valencia on penalties. The 2001–02 season began with a win in the Intercontinental Cup, but ended trophyless otherwise. In 2002–03, Bayern won their fourth double, leading the league by a record margin of 16 points. Hitzfeld's reign ended in 2004, with Bayern underperforming, including defeat by second division Alemannia Aachen in the DFB-Pokal.

Felix Magath took over and led Bayern to two consecutive doubles. Prior to the start of the 2005–06 season, Bayern moved from the Olympiastadion to the new Allianz Arena, which the club shared with 1860 Munich. On the field, their performance in 2006–07 was erratic. Trailing in the league and having lost to Alemannia Aachen in the cup yet again, coach Magath was sacked shortly after the winter break.

Hitzfeld returned as a trainer in January 2007, but Bayern finished the 2006–07 season in fourth position, meaning no Champions League qualification for the first time in more than a decade. Additional losses in the DFB-Pokal and the DFB-Ligapokal left the club with no honours for the season.

Domestic dominance and continental treble (2000s–2010s)

For the 2007–08 season, Bayern made drastic squad changes to help rebuild. Among new signings were 2006 World Cup players such as Franck Ribéry, Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni. Bayern won the Bundesliga in convincing fashion, leading the standings on every single week of play, and the DFB-Pokal against Borussia Dortmund. After the season, Bayern's long-term goalkeeper Oliver Kahn retired, which left the club without a top-tier goalkeeper for several seasons. The club's coach Ottmar Hitzfeld also retired and Jürgen Klinsmann was chosen as his successor. However, Klinsmann was sacked before the end of his first season as Bayern trailed Wolfsburg in the league, had lost the quarterfinal of the DFB-Pokal to Bayer Leverkusen, and were defeated in the quarterfinal of the Champions League by Barcelona, conceding four goals in the first half of the first leg. Jupp Heynckes was named caretaker coach and led the club to a second-place finish in the league.

For the 2009–10 season, Bayern hired Dutch manager Louis van Gaal, and Dutch forward Arjen Robben joined Bayern. Robben, alongside Ribéry, would go on to shape Bayern's playstyle of attacking over the wings for the next ten years. The press quickly dubbed the duo "Robbery". In addition, David Alaba and Thomas Müller were promoted to the first team. Van Gaal stated: "With me, Müller always plays", which has become a much-referenced phrase over the years. On the pitch, Bayern had its most successful season since 2001, securing the domestic double and losing only in the final of the Champions League to Inter Milan. Van Gaal was fired in April 2011 as Bayern was trailing in the league and eliminated in the first knockout round of the Champions League, again by Inter.

Heynckes returned for his second permanent spell in the 2011–12 season. Although the club had signed Manuel Neuer, ending Bayern's quest for an adequate substitute for Kahn, and Jérôme Boateng for the season, Bayern remained without a title for a second consecutive season, coming in second to Borussia Dortmund in the league and the cup. The Champions League final was held at the Allianz Arena and Bayern reached the final in their home stadium but lost to Chelsea on penalties. Bayern Munich went on to win all titles in 2012–13. They set various Bundesliga records along the way, becoming the first German team to win the treble. Bayern finished the Bundesliga on 91 points, only eleven points shy of a perfect season. In what was Bayern's third Champions League final appearance within four years, they beat Borussia Dortmund 2–1. A week later, they completed the treble by winning the DFB-Pokal final against Stuttgart. During the season, the club announced that they would hire Pep Guardiola as coach for the 2013–14 season. Originally, the club presented this as Heynckes retiring on the expiration of his contract, but Uli Hoeneß later admitted that it was not Heynckes's decision to leave Bayern at the end of the season. It was actually forced by the club's desire to appoint Guardiola.

Guardiola's first season started off well, with Bayern extending a streak of undefeated league matches from the previous season to 53 matches. An eventual loss to Augsburg came two match days after Bayern had won the league title. During the season, Bayern had also claimed two other titles, the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup, the latter being the last major trophy the club had not yet won. Bayern also won the cup to complete their tenth domestic double, but lost in the semi-final of the Champions League to Real Madrid. Off the pitch, Bayern's president Uli Hoeneß was convicted of tax evasion in March 2014, and sentenced to years in prison. Hoeneß resigned the next day, and vice-president Karl Hopfner was elected president in May. Under Guardiola, Bayern also won the Bundesliga in 2014–15 and 2015–16, including another double in 2015–16, but did not advance past the semi-finals in the Champions League. Although the club's leadership tried to convince Guardiola to stay, the coach decided not to extend his three-year contract.

Carlo Ancelotti was hired as successor to Guardiola. Off the pitch, Uli Hoeneß had been released early from prison and reelected as president in November 2016. Under Ancelotti, Bayern won a fifth consecutive league title. In July 2017, Bayern announced that 1860 Munich would leave the Allianz Arena for good as the club had been relegated to the fourth-tier Regionalliga. During the 2017–18 season, Bayern's performances were perceived to be increasingly lacklustre, and Ancelotti was sacked after a 3–0 loss to Paris St. Germain in the Champions League, early in his second season. Willy Sagnol took over as interim manager for a week, before Jupp Heynckes was announced as coach for the rest of the season, in what was his fourth spell at the club. During the season, the club urged Heynckes—even publicly—to extend his contract, but Heynckes, aged 73, stayed firm that he would retire after the season. Heynckes led the club to another championship, but lost the cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt. Eintracht's coach, Niko Kovač, was named Heynckes' successor at Bayern. In Kovač's first season at Bayern, the club was eliminated by Liverpool in the round of 16 in the Champions League, the first time since 2011 that Bayern did not reach the quarter-final. Bayern won their seventh straight Bundesliga title, however, as they finished two points above Dortmund with 78 points. This Bundesliga title was Ribéry's ninth and Robben's eighth. A week later, Bayern defeated RB Leipzig 3–0 in the 2019 DFB-Pokal final to win their 19th German Cup and to complete their 12th domestic double.

Return to German coaches (2019–2024)

Kovač was sacked after a 5–1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt, with Hansi Flick being promoted to interim manager in November 2019. After a satisfying spell as interim, Bayern announced a month later that Flick would remain in charge. Under Flick, the club won the league, having played the most successful second half of a Bundesliga season in history, winning all but one match, which was drawn. The club also won the cup, completing the club's 13th domestic double. In the Champions League, Bayern reached their first final since 2013, having beaten Barcelona 8–2 in the quarter-finals. Bayern defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1–0 in the final, which was held in Lisbon behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Former PSG player Kingsley Coman scored the only goal of the match. Bayern became the second European club after Barcelona to complete the seasonal treble in two different seasons.

Bayern started the 2020–21 season by winning the UEFA Super Cup for the second time in their history. Bayern also won the FIFA Club World Cup, defeating Mexican team Tigres 1–0 in the final. Bayern became the second club to win the sextuple, after Barcelona did so in 2009. The club also won its ninth Bundesliga title in a row. During the season, Robert Lewandowski broke Gerd Müller's record for most goals scored in a Bundesliga season, having scored 41 times in 29 matches. Flick left at the end of the 2020–21 season to manage the Germany national team, and at Flick's request, RB Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann succeeded him. According to several news reports, Bayern paid Leipzig €25m as compensation for Nagelsmann's services, a world record for a manager.

Under Nagelsmann, Bayern won its 10th consecutive Bundesliga title. In March 2023, Nagelsmann was released by Bayern and replaced with Thomas Tuchel, who led the club to a record eleventh consecutive title, after winning a close title race with Borussia Dortmund. In August 2023, Bayern broke the German transfer record again, signing England captain and all-time leading goalscorer Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur for a reported fee of €110m. In February 2024, Bayern and Tuchel announced the end of their cooperation after the end of the season. The 2023–24 Bundesliga was the first season in a decade Bayern Munich did not win the Bundesliga, losing it to Bayer Leverkusen.

Vincent Kompany era (2024–present)

On 29 May 2024, Vincent Kompany was confirmed as the new head coach of Bayern and received a three-year contract. Bayern started the 2024–25 Bundesliga season with a 3–2 win at VfL Wolfsburg. On 5 May 2025 they won their 33rd Bundesliga title/34th German title after a 2–2 draw between SC Freiburg and Bayer 04 Leverkusen made them champions with two games to spare.

Kits

In the original club constitution, Bayern's colours were named as white and blue, but the club played in white shirts with black shorts until 1905 when Bayern joined MSC. MSC decreed that the footballers would have to play in red shorts. Also, the younger players were called red shorts, which were meant as an insult. For most of the club's early history, Bayern had primarily worn white and maroon home kits. In 1968–69 season, Bayern changed to red and blue striped shirts, with blue shorts and socks. Between 1969 and 1973, the team wore a home strip of red and white striped shirts with either red or white shorts and red socks. In the 1973–74 season, the team switched to an all-white kit featuring single vertical red and blue stripes on the shirt. From 1974 onwards, Bayern has mostly worn an all-red home kit with white trim. Bayern revived the red and blue striped colour scheme between 1995 and 1997. In 1997, blue was the dominant colour for the first time when Adidas released an all navy blue home kit with a red chest band. In 1999, Bayern returned to a predominantly red kit, which featured blue sleeves, and, in 2000, the club released a traditional all-red kit with white trim to be worn for Champions League matches. Bayern also wore a ''Rotwein''-coloured home kit in Bundesliga matches between 2001 and 2003, and during the 2006–07 Champions League campaign, in reference to their first-choice colours prior to the late 1960s.

The club's away kit has had a wide range of colours, including white, black, blue, and gold-green. Bayern also features a distinct international kit. During the 2013–14 season, Bayern used an all-red home kit with a Bavarian flag diamond watermark pattern, a '' Lederhosen''-inspired white and black '' Oktoberfest'' away kit, and an all-navy blue international kit.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Bayern used a special away kit when playing at Kaiserslautern, representing the Brazilian colours blue and yellow, a superstition borne from the fact that the club found it hard to win there.

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Kit deals

Crest

Bayern's crest has changed several times. Originally it consisted of the stylised letters F, C, B, M, which were woven into one symbol. The original crest was blue. The colours of Bavaria were included for the first time in 1954. The crest from 1919 to 1924 denotes "Bayern FA", whereby "FA" stands for ''Fußball-Abteilung'', i.e., Football Department; Bayern then was integrated into TSV Jahn Munich and constituted its football department.

The modern version of the crest has changed from the 1954 version in several steps. While the crest consisted of a single colour only for most of the time, namely blue or red, the current crest is blue, red, and white. It has the colours of Bavaria in its centre, and FC Bayern München is written in white on a red ring enclosing the Bavarian colours.

Stadiums

Bayern played its first training games at the Schyrenplatz in the centre of Munich. The first official games were held on the Theresienwiese. In 1901, Bayern moved to a field of its own, located in Schwabing at the Clemensstraße. After joining the Münchner Sport-Club (MSC) in 1906, Bayern moved in May 1907 to MSC's ground at the Leopoldstraße. As the crowds gathering for Bayern's home games increased at the beginning of the 1920s, Bayern had to switch to various other premises in Munich.

From 1925, Bayern shared the Grünwalder Stadion with 1860 Munich. Until the Second World War, the stadium was owned by 1860 Munich, and is still colloquially known as ''Sechz'ger'' ("Sixties") Stadium. It was destroyed during the war, and efforts to rebuild it resulted in a patchwork. Bayern's record crowd at the Grünwalder Stadion is reported as more than 50,000 in the home game against 1. FC Nürnberg in the 1961–62 season. In the Bundesliga era, the stadium had a maximum capacity of 44,000, which was reached on several occasions, but the capacity has since been reduced to 21,272. As was the case at most of this period's stadiums, the vast majority of the stadium was given over to terracing. Since 1995, the second teams and youth teams of both clubs played in the stadium.

For the 1972 Summer Olympics, the city of Munich built the Olympiastadion. The stadium, renowned for its architecture, was inaugurated in the last Bundesliga match of the 1971–72 season. The match drew a capacity crowd of 79,000, a total which was reached again on numerous occasions. In its early days, the stadium was considered one of the foremost stadiums in the world, and played host to numerous major finals, such as that of the 1974 FIFA World Cup. In the following years, the stadium underwent several modifications, such as an increase in seating space from approximately 50 per cent to 66 per cent. Eventually, the stadium had a capacity of 63,000 for national matches and 59,000 for international occasions such as European Cup competitions. Many people, however, began to feel that the stadium was too cold in winter, with half the audience exposed to the weather due to lack of cover. A further complaint was the distance between the spectators and the pitch, betraying the stadium's track and field heritage. Renovation proved impossible, as the architect Günther Behnisch vetoed major modifications of the stadium.

After much discussion, the city of Munich, the state of Bavaria, Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich jointly decided at the end of 2000 to build a new stadium. While Bayern had wanted a purpose-built football stadium for several years, the awarding of the 2006 FIFA World Cup to Germany stimulated the discussion as the Olympiastadion no longer met the FIFA criteria to host a World Cup game. Located on the northern outskirts of Munich, the Allianz Arena has been in use since the beginning of the 2005–06 season. Since August 2012, 2,000 more seats were added in the last row of the top tier, increasing the capacity to 71,000. In January 2015, a proposal to increase the capacity was approved by the city council, with the Allianz Arena holding a capacity of 75,000 (70,000 in Champions League).

The stadium's most prominent feature is the translucent outer layer, which can be illuminated in different colours for effects. Red lighting is used for Bayern home games and white for Germany national team home games.

In May 2012, Bayern opened a museum about its history, FC Bayern Erlebniswelt, inside the Allianz Arena.

Supporters

At the 2018 annual general meeting, the Bayern board reported that the club had 291,000 official members and 4,433 officially registered fan clubs with over 390,000 members. This made the club the largest fan membership club in the world. Bayern has an average of 75,000 fans at the Allianz Arena which is at 100 per cent capacity level. Every Bundesliga game has been sold-out for years. Bayern's away games have also been sold out for many years. According to a study by Sport+Markt from 2010, Bayern is the fifth-most popular football club in Europe with 20.7 million supporters, ranking first of all German clubs.

The club's most prominent ultra groups are ''Schickeria München'', ''Inferno Bavaria'', ''Red Munichs '89'', ''Südkurve '73'', ''Munichmaniacs 1996'', ''Red Angels'', and ''Red Sharks''. The ultras scene of Bayern Munch has been recognised for certain groups taking stance against right-wing extremism, racism and homophobia, and in 2014 the group Schickeria München received the Julius Hirsch Award by the DFB for its commitment against antisemitism and discrimination.

Stern des Südens is the song which fans sing at FCB home games. In the 1990s, they also used to sing ''FC Bayern, Forever Number One''. Another notable song is ''Mia San Mia'' ( Bavarian for "we are who we are"), which is a well-known motto of the club as well. A renowned catchphrase for the team is "''Packmas''", which is a Bavarian phrase for the German "''Packen wir es''", which means "let's do it". The club's mascot is an anthropomorphic bear named "Berni" since 2004.

The club also has had a number of high-profile supporters, among them Pope Benedict XVI, Boris Becker, Wladimir Klitschko, Horst Seehofer and Edmund Stoiber, former Minister-President of Bavaria.

Rivalries

Borussia Dortmund

Bayern–Dortmund are two of the most successful teams in German football, having won a combined total of 26 of the past 31 Bundesliga titles as of the 2023–24 season. The two teams fought closely for the Bundesliga title in the early 2010s, and met in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final. The rivalry between the clubs grew during the 1990s, as Dortmund's stature increased to challenge perennial title favourites Bayern, winning two Bundesliga titles in 1994–95 and 1995–96.

In 1996, Bayern captain Lothar Matthäus accused Germany teammate Andreas Möller of being a 'crybaby', wiping imaginary tears from his face; Möller reacted by slapping Matthäus. At the end of that season, Dortmund won the 1997 UEFA Champions League final which happened to be played at the Olympiastadion, Bayern's home ground.

The teams met in the quarter-finals of the next edition of the Champions League, and Dortmund prevailed over two legs thanks to a single goal from Stéphane Chapuisat. That summer, Bayern hired Dortmund's successful coach Ottmar Hitzfeld to work for them. Tempers flared twice during Bayern and Dortmund's second meeting in the 1998–99 Bundesliga, as Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn first attempted a flying kung-fu kick at Chapuisat, and later appeared to bite Heiko Herrlich's ear.

In the early 2000s both clubs remained successful, as Bayern lost one Champions League final (1999) then won another ( 2001) in addition to more domestic success, while Dortmund won the 2001–02 Bundesliga and reached the UEFA Cup final the same year. An angry 2001 league meeting between the pair was notable for ten yellow cards and three red being shown (a Bundesliga record for indiscipline). However, Dortmund soon fell heavily into debt, and a €2m loan from Bayern in 2004 was a major reason for them being saved from bankruptcy.

On 19 April 2008, the two sides clashed in the 2008 DFB-Pokal final for the first time that took place in Berlin. Luca Toni opened the scoring after eleven minutes, but Mladen Petric drew Dortmund level in stoppage time, forcing thirty additional minutes. The Italian completed his double in extra time, thus lifting Bayern to cup glory.

European Rivals

Amongst Bayern's chief European rivals are FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Manchester United. Real Madrid versus Bayern is the match that has historically been played most often in the Champions League/European Cup with 28 matches. Due to Bayern being traditionally hard to beat for Madrid, Madrid supporters often refer to Bayern as the "''Bestia negra''" ("Black Beast"). Despite the number of duels, Bayern and Real have never met in the final of a Champions League or European Cup.

Organization and finance

Bayern is mostly led by former club players. From 2016 to 2019, Uli Hoeneß served as the club's president, following Karl Hopfner who had been in office from 2014; Hoeneß had resigned in 2014 after being convicted of tax fraud. Oliver Kahn was chairman of the executive board of the AG. The supervisory board of nine consists mostly of managers of big German corporations. Besides the club's president and the board's chairman, they are Herbert Hainer former CEO of (Adidas), Dr. Herbert Diess chairman of (Volkswagen), Dr. Werner Zedelius senior advisor at (Allianz), Timotheus Höttges CEO of (Deutsche Telekom), Dieter Mayer, Edmund Stoiber, Theodor Weimer CEO of (Deutsche Börse), and Dr. Michael Diederich speaker of the board at (UniCredit Bank).

Professional football at Bayern is run by the spin-off organisation ''FC Bayern München AG''. ''AG'' is short for ''Aktiengesellschaft'', and Bayern is run like a joint stock company, a company whose stock are not listed on the public stock exchange, but is privately owned. 75 per cent of ''FC Bayern München AG'' is owned by the club, the ''FC Bayern München e. V.'' (''e. V.'' is short for '' eingetragener Verein'', which translates into "registered association"). Three German corporations, the sports goods manufacturer Adidas, the automobile company Audi and the financial services group Allianz each hold 8.33 per cent of the shares, 25 per cent in total. Adidas acquired its shares in 2002 for €77 million. The money was designated to help finance the Allianz Arena. In 2009, Audi paid €90 million for their share. The capital was used to repay the loan on the Allianz Arena. And in early 2014, Allianz became the third shareholder of the company acquiring theirs share for €110 million. With the sale, Bayern paid off the remaining debt on the Allianz Arena 16 years ahead of schedule.

Bayern's shirt sponsor is Deutsche Telekom. Deutsche Telekom has been Bayern's shirt sponsor since the start of 2002–03 season. The company extended their sponsorship deal in August 2015 until the end of the 2026–27 season. Previous kit sponsors were Adidas (1974–78), Magirus Deutz and Iveco (1978–84), Commodore (1984–89) and Opel (1989–2002). Bayern's kit manufacturer is Adidas, who have been Bayern's kit manufacturer since 1974. The deal with Adidas runs until the end of the 2029–30 season.

Bayern is an exception in professional football, having generated profits for 27 consecutive years. Other clubs often report losses, realising transfers via loans, whereas Bayern always uses current assets. In the 2019 edition of the Deloitte Football Money League, Bayern had the fourth-highest revenue in club football, generating revenue of €629.2 million. Bayern had the second-highest commercial revenue in the 2019 Deloitte Football Money League, behind only Real Madrid. Bayern's commercial revenue was €348.7 million (55 per cent of total revenue). In contrast, Bayern's matchday revenue trails other top clubs at €103.8 million (17 per cent of their total revenue). In 2017, ''Forbes'' ranks Bayern as the world's fourth-most valuable football club in their annual list, estimating the club's value at €2.5 billion.

While other European clubs have mainly marketed to international audiences, Bayern had focused on Germany. Since the 2010s, Bayern have started to focus their marketing more on Asia and the United States. Bayern made summer tours to the United States in 2014 and 2016. Bayern went to China in the summer of 2015 and returned in the summer of 2017, where they also played games in Singapore. In August 2014, Bayern opened an office in New York City as the club wants to strengthen their brand positioning against other top European clubs in the United States. In March 2017, Bayern opened an office in Shanghai, China.

Social engagement and charity

Bayern has been involved with charitable ventures for a long time, helping other football clubs in financial disarray as well as ordinary people in misery. In the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami the "FC Bayern – Hilfe e. V." was founded, a foundation that aims to concentrate the social engagements of the club. At its inception, this venture was funded with €600,000, raised by officials and players of the club. The money was, amongst other things, used to build a school in Marathenkerny, Sri Lanka, and to rebuild the area of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka.

The club has also assisted other sport clubs in financial disarray. The club has supported its local rival 1860 Munich with player transfers at favourable rates and direct money transfers. When St. Pauli threatened to lose its licence for professional football due to financial problems, Bayern met the club for a friendly game, giving all gate receipts to St. Pauli. In 1993, Alexander Zickler transferred from Dynamo Dresden to Bayern for 2.3 Million DM, with many considering the sum to have been a subvention for the financially threatened Dresdeners. In 2003, Bayern provided a €2 Million loan to the nearly bankrupt Borussia Dortmund. In 2009, Mark van Bommel's home club Fortuna Sittard was in financial distress; Bayern played a charity game at the Dutch club, gifting them gate receipts. In 2013, Bayern played a charity game against financially threatened third division side Hansa Rostock. The game raised about €1 million, securing Hansa's licence. In 2017, Bayern played a benefit match against financial troubled Kickers Offenbach, with all gate receipts going to Kickers Offenbach. Two years later, Bayern played a benefit match against Kaiserslautern. The match was played so Kaiserslautern could secure their licence to play in the German third division. All income from the match went to Kaiserslautern. In March 2020, Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen, the four German UEFA Champions League teams for the 2019–20 season, collectively gave €20 million to Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga teams that were struggling financially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In mid-2013, Bayern was the first club to give financial support to the Magnus Hirschfeld National Foundation. The foundation researches the living environment LGBT people, and developed an education concept to facilitate unbiased dealing with LGBT themes in football. In 2016, Bayern received the Nine Values Cup, an award of the international children's social programme Football for Friendship.

Training facility

Bayern Munich headquarters and training facility is called Säbener Straße and it is located in the Untergiesing-Harlaching borough of Munich. The first team and the reserve team train at the facility. There are five grass pitches, two of which have undersoil heating, two artificial grass fields, a beach volleyball court and a multi-functional sports hall.

In August 2017, the club's sports complex, FC Bayern Campus, opened at a cost of €70 million. The campus is located north of Munich at Ingolstädter Straße. The campus is 30 hectare and has eight football pitches for youth teams from the U-9s to the U-19s and the women's and girls' teams. The campus also has a 2,500-capacity stadium where the U-17s and the U-19s play their matches. The Allianz Bayern Akademie is located on the campus site, and the academy has 35 apartments for young talents who do not live in the Greater Munich area. The academy building also has offices for youth coaches and staff.

Honours

Bayern is historically the most successful team in German football, as they have won the most championships and the most cups. They are also Germany's most successful team in international competitions, having won fourteen trophies. Bayern is the only club to have won all three major European competitions, to have won three consecutive European Cups and to have won the treble twice, one of which was part of the larger, and more elusive, " sextuple" (2020).

Source:
*
* shared record

Trebles

Bayern Munich has completed all available Trebles (seasonal treble, domestic treble and European treble).
* Treble
** Seasonal treble (Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, UEFA Champions League)
*** 2012–13, 2019–20
** European treble ( UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, European Cup, UEFA Cup)
*** 1966–67 European Cup Winners' Cup, 1973–74 European Cup, 1995–96 UEFA Cup
** Domestic treble (Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, DFL-Ligapokal)
*** 1999–2000

Sextuple

During each calendar year, Bayern Munich only have six trophies available to them. A sextuple consists of going "six for six" in those competitions, which Bayern accomplished in 2020. This rare feat consists of winning the Continental treble in one season, followed by winning each of the three additional competitions, to which the treble gives a club access in the following season.
* 2020 Sextuple
** 2019–20 season
*** 2019–20 Bundesliga
*** 2019–20 DFB-Pokal
*** 2019–20 UEFA Champions League
** 2020–21 season
*** 2020 DFL-Supercup
*** 2020 UEFA Super Cup
*** 2020 FIFA Club World Cup

Players

Current squad

Bayern Munich II and Junior Team/Campus

Out on loan

Retired numbers

* 5 – Franz Beckenbauer, Defender (1964–1977) – posthumous honour
* 12 – " The twelfth man", dedication to fansThe Bundesliga's 12th man: why you hardly ever see Bundesliga players wearing the No.12 shirt

on Bundesliga website

Notable past players

The "Greatest Ever" squad chosen by more than 79,901 fans, in 2005. The coach chosen was Ottmar Hitzfeld.

At his farewell game, Oliver Kahn was declared honorary captain of Bayern Munich. The players below are part of the Bayern Munich Hall of Fame.

1930s
* Conrad Heidkamp† ( DF)

1970s:
* Franz Beckenbauer† ( DF)
* Gerd Müller† ( FW)
* Uli Hoeneß ( FW)
* Paul Breitner ( MF)
* Sepp Maier ( GK)
* Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck ( DF)
* Franz Roth ( MF)

1980s:
* Karl-Heinz Rummenigge ( FW)
* Klaus Augenthaler ( DF)

1990s:
* Lothar Matthäus ( MF/ DF)
* Stefan Effenberg ( MF)

2000s:
* Oliver Kahn ( GK)
* Mehmet Scholl ( MF)
* Bixente Lizarazu ( DF)
* Giovane Élber ( FW)

2010s:
* Philipp Lahm ( DF)
* Bastian Schweinsteiger ( MF)

Captains

Source:

Coaches and management

Current staff

Coaches since 1963

Bayern has had 20 coaches since its promotion to the Bundesliga in 1965. Udo Lattek, Giovanni Trapattoni and Ottmar Hitzfeld served two terms as head coach. Franz Beckenbauer served one term as head coach and one as caretaker, while Jupp Heynckes had four separate spells as coach, including one as caretaker. Lattek was the club's most successful coach, having won six Bundesliga titles, two DFB Cups and the European Cup; following closely is Ottmar Hitzfeld, who won five Bundesliga titles, two DFB Cups and the Champions League. The club's least successful coach was Søren Lerby, who won less than a third of his matches in charge and presided over the club's near-relegation in the 1991–92 campaign.

Club management

FC Bayern München AG

FC Bayern München e. V.

Other departments

Football

The reserve team, FC Bayern Munich II, serves mainly as the final stepping stone for promising young players before being promoted to the main team. The team competes in the Regionalliga Bayern, the fourth level of German football. Their greatest achievement to date was winning the 3. Liga in the 2019–20 season. Since the inception of the Regionalliga in 1994, the team played in the Regionalliga Süd, after playing in the Oberliga since 1978. In the 2007–08 season, they qualified for the newly founded 3. Liga, where they lasted until 2011 when they were relegated to the Regionalliga. This ended 33 consecutive years of playing in the highest league that the German Football Association permits the second team of a professional football team to play.

The youth academy has produced some of Europe's top football players, including Thomas Hitzlsperger, Owen Hargreaves, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thomas Müller. On 1 August 2017, the FC Bayern Campus became the new home of the youth teams. It consists of ten teams, with the youngest being under 9. Jochen Sauer is the FC Bayern Campus director, and Bayern legend coach Hermann Gerland is the sporting director.

The women's football department consists of five teams, including a professional team, a reserve team, and two youth teams. The women's first team, which is led by head coach Thomas Wörle, features several members of the German national youth team. In the 2008–09 season, the team finished second in the women's Bundesliga. The division was founded in 1970 and consisted of four teams with 90 players. Their greatest successes were winning the championships in 1976, 2015, and 2016. In the 2011–12 season on 12 May 2012, FC Bayern Munich dethroned the German Cup title holders 1. FFC Frankfurt with a 2–0 in the 2011–12 final in Cologne and celebrated the biggest success of the club's history since winning the championship in 1976. In 2015, they won the Bundesliga for the first time, without any defeat. They won the 2015–16 Bundesliga for the second consecutive time.

The senior football department was founded in 2002 and consists of five teams. The division is intended to enable senior athletes to participate in the various senior citizen competitions in Munich. The FC Bayern AllStars were founded in summer 2006, and consists of former Bayern players, including Klaus Augenthaler, Raimond Aumann, Andreas Brehme, Paul Breitner, Hans Pflügler, Stefan Reuter, Paulo Sérgio, and Olaf Thon. The team is coached by Wolfgang Dremmler, and plays matches with other senior teams around the world. For organisational reasons, the team can only play a limited number of games annually. The refereeing department was established in 1919 and is currently the largest football refereeing division in Europe, with 110 referees, with 2 of them women. The referees mainly officiate amateur games in the local Munich leagues.

Other sports

Bayern has other departments for a variety of sports.

The basketball department was founded in 1946, and currently contains 26 teams, including four men's teams, three women's teams, sixteen youth teams, and three senior teams. The men's team are five-time German champions, having won in 1954, 1955, 2014, 2018, and 2019. The team also won the German Basketball Cup in 1968, 2018, and 2021. The team plays its home games at the Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle, located in the Sendling-Westpark borough of Munich.

The bowling department emerged from SKC Real-Isaria in 1983 and currently consists of five teams. Directly next to the well-known club building of the football department, the team plays at the bowling alley of the Münchner Kegler-Verein. The first team plays in the second highest division of the Münchner Spielklasse Bezirksliga.

The chess department was created in 1908 and consists of nine teams, including seven men's teams and two women's teams. The men's team, which currently plays in the Chess Bundesliga following promotion in 2013 from the 2. Bundesliga Ost, was nine-time German Champion from 1983 to 1995. The team also won the European Chess Club Cup in 1992. The women currently play in the 2. Bundesliga with their biggest successes being promotion to the Frauenbundesliga in 2016 and 2018.

The handball department was founded in 1945, and consists of thirteen teams, including three men's teams, two women's teams, five boys teams, two girls teams, and a mixed youth team. The first men's team plays in the Bezirksoberliga Oberbayern, while the women's first teams plays in the Bezirksliga Oberbayern.

The table tennis department was founded in 1946 and currently has 220 members. The club currently has fourteen teams, including eight men's teams, a women's team, three youth teams, and two children teams. The women's first team is currently playing in the Landesliga Süd/Ost, while the men's first team plays in the 3. Bundesliga Süd. The focus of the department is on youth support.

Literature

* Hüetlin, Thomas: ''Gute Freunde. Die wahre Geschichte des FC Bayern München''. Blessing, München 2006. .
* Schulze-Marmeling, Dietrich: ''Der FC Bayern und seine Juden. Aufstieg und Zerschlagung einer liberalen Fußballkultur''. Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2011. .Vgl. Markwart Herzog
''Fußball unterm Hakenkreuz''
. In: ''H-Soz-u-Kult'', 15. Juni 2011 (Sammelrezension zu: Backes, Gregor: ''"Mit Deutschem Sportgruss, Heil Hitler". Der FC St. Pauli im Nationalsozialismus''. Hamburg 2010/Dietrich Schulze-Marmeling: ''Der FC Bayern und seine Juden. Aufstieg und Zerschlagung einer liberalen Fußballkultur''. Göttingen 2011/Jakob Rosenberg u. a. (Hrsg.): ''Grün-Weiß unterm Hakenkreuz. Der Sportklub Rapid im Nationalsozialismus (1938–1945)''. Wien 2011)
* Bausenwein, Christoph, Schulze-Marmeling, Dietrich: ''FC Bayern München. Unser Verein, unsere Geschichte''. Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2012. .

Notes

References

See also

* List of world champion football clubs

External links

*

Yearly record
in the Bundesliga (archived)

FC Bayern Munich
at UEFA

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1900 establishments in Bavaria
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