Club Profile
Bayern Munich
Known as FC Bayern München around the world, most English-speakers know Die Bayern (The Bavarians), as Bayern Munich. They are the most successful club in German football history, having won a record 33 league titles, including the past 11 Bundesliga titles dating back to 2013.
The largest club in Germany, and the sixth highest-earning football club in the world, Bayern Munich is valued at over $4 billion with an annual revenue of almost $740 million. There are more than 4,400 officially registered fan clubs for Bayern Munich around the world.
The club crest might be one of the most recognized in the world, as it has the team colors of red and white surrounding the white and blue flag of Bavaria.
LOCATION: Munich, Bavaria, Germany
WEBSITE: FC Bayern
NICKNAMES: Der FCB (The FCB), Die Bayern (The Bavarians), Stern des Südens (Star of the South), Die Roten (The Reds)
History
Founded in 1900, Bayern Munich started winning team trophies right from the beginning. They joined the newly formed Kreisliga, the first regional Bavarian league, in 1910-11 and claimed top honors that initial season. By 1920, it had over 700 members, and was the largest football club in Munich.
The first national trophy claimed was in 1932, the German championship, after defeating Frankfurt in the final 2-0.
The rise of Adolf Hitler put an abrupt end to Bayern Munich’s development, as the club president and coach were both Jewish and left the country. The club struggled for years and was in financial trouble and on the verge of bankruptcy at the end of the 1950s.
The Bundesliga was formed in 1963, but Bayern were not promoted until 1965. In that initial season, they finished third in the league but won the domestic cup, thus qualifying for (and winning) the following year’s European Winner’s Cup. They achieved the first league title in 1969.
Since 1970, Bayern Munich have captured 31 Bundesliga titles, 16 in the DFB-Pokal Cup, 10 German Super Cups, and six Champions League titles in addition to other European and worldwide awards.
Rivalries
Bayern Munich is one of three clubs in Munich, and after seeing all of their team trophies, we are not sure if you would consider any cross-town foe as a rival. But 1860 Munich was a very successful club in the 1950s and also was picked to start the Bundesliga in 1963. When the two clubs meet it is called the Munich derby, and it surely gets the attention of both groups of supporters.
Also in Bavaria, 1. FC Nürnberg and Bayern Munich’s history of playing against each other dates back to the 1920s. Their games each season are called the Bavarian derby.
A more recent history of a strong rival is Borussia Dortmund, who have competed with Bayern in the Bundesliga, but also in the Champions League, Supercup and DFB-Pokal. Dortmund have been the only real, consistent threat to Bayern’s dominance in recent decades.
In the Champions League, Bayern Munich have had some classic matchups with the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid over the years. In fact, Bayern and Real Madrid have played more than 20 matches, and the Real fans refer to Bayern as the Black Beast.
Women's Team
FC Bayern Munich Women play in the Frauen-Bundesliga, the top women’s league in Germany. Read more about them here.
Songs
As we have not yet been to a game at Bayern Munich, this info comes from Wikipedia:
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 famous 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”.
Stadium
Since the 2005-06 season, Bayern Munich have played their home games at the spectacular Allianz Arena. It is widely known for its exterior lighting, the first stadium in the world with a full color-changing exterior.
It is the second-largest stadium in Germany (behind Dortmund), with a seating capacity of 70,000. For international matches, it ranks third in size, also behind the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
When the stadium originally opened, neighboring club 1860 Munich held a 50% share, but due to financial troubles, Bayern Munich purchased their shares for $12.9 million. The new agreement said 1860 Munich could still play its home games at Allianz Arena until 2025, but in 2017 Bayern Munich terminated that contract and are now the sole tenants. 1860, now in the third tier of German football, play in the 15,000-seat Grünwalder Stadion.
Although Allianz, a financial services company based in Munich, has the stadium naming rights for the first 30 years, when hosting FIFA and UEFA events it can’t be referred to as Allianz Arena because they are not an official tournament partner. It is commonly referred to as Football Arena Munich during these events.
The venue was home to six games during the 2006 World Cup and four games of Euro 2020. It will serve as the venue for the 2025 Champions League final.
Before Allianz Arena opened, Bayern Munich called Munich’s Olympiastadion its home for 33 years.
TOURS: You can book a tour directly on the Allianz Arena website. Check out our report from that tour below.
Going to a Game at Bayern Munich
GETTING THERE: The Allianz Arena website has detailed instructions for traveling to the stadium.
PUBS & GRUB: Coming soon!
AROUND TOWN: The third-largest city in Germany, and the 11th-largest city in Europe, Munich is nestled in the heart of Bavaria and well known to tourists. When you think of Bavaria and Munich you probably think of steins of beer, Oktoberfest and scores of warm pretzels and brats. The city has tons of that, but the architecture is almost second-to-none, especially the New Town Hall and Marienplatz in the center of the city.
Located on the Isar River, historical data dates Munich back to 1158. The city was heavily bombed during World War II but has restored most of its traditional cityscape.
Munich was named the world’s most livable city in 2018, and is home to many multinational companies such as BMW, Allianz and Siemens just to name a few. A fairly high percentage (~40%) of its population is of foreign background.
The city hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics, and was one of the host cities for both the 1974 and 2006 World Cups.
Bayern Munich Tickets
The club sells tickets directly on their website, where most games are subject to a lottery.
Groundhopper Soccer Guides also sells tickets and hospitality to Bayern Munich home games at Allianz Arena. Learn more about the options we offer via the link below.
Photo Gallery
Coming soon!
