How does FC Bayern manage to hold its own against the far richer clubs from Manchester, London or Paris? President Herbert Hainer provides answers.
In the special issue published by the for the knockout phase of the 2021/22 Champions League on Thursday, the question of how the Munich club manage to keep up with or even surpass the financially superior clubs in Europe is dealt with alongside many important topics
Louis van Gaal gets things started
This super series of the German record champion began in 2009/10 when coach Louis van Gaal led the FCB to the final against Inter Milan (0:2). Since then, the Munich team has reached the final three more times, winning the trophy in 2013 and 2020. Herbert Hainer, the FCB president, talks about the reasons for his club’s international consistency and its ambitions and plans for the future.
Herbert Hainer on …
.. the reasons why FC Bayern can hold its own at the top of Europe:
“It is a mosaic of many parts. Central keywords are continuity and competence. Added to that are will and heart. FC Bayern is a club that has a high identity factor and is a reliable partner, not least for its players – that creates a special cohesion. All this is expressed in “Mia san mia”. Throughout the football world, it is known what FC Bayern stands for.”
.. the people involved:
“By far the most important factor for long-term, also international sporting success are the acting persons, who at FC Bayern are equipped with an incredible amount of footballing expertise, but at the same time have enormous economic competence and are thus responsible for the club’s competitiveness nationally as well as in the Champions League. The people in charge have always shown the courage to invest in the team because they knew that sporting success is the cornerstone of everything. But sporting success was never sacrificed on the altar of profitability; those in charge took calculated risks, always with the aim of strengthening the team. The same applies to the coaches who were hired, big names from Louis van Gaal and Carlo Ancelotti to Jupp Heynckes and Pep Guardiola. They were brought in with the conviction that everything had to be done for success. Now, in Julian Nagelsmann, we have a coach with whom players from all over Europe want to work. His contract runs for five years, and with him we want to build something big and long-term and continue to write the history of FC Bayern. “
“Allianz Arena attracts great players and great coaches “
.. other success criteria:
“Another point is continuity. It determines our club policy. This ensures that FC Bayern can always implement long-term goals. The next criterion: building and expanding the infrastructure. I can well remember the discussions with the question of how FC Bayern could even leave the Olympic Stadium, this historic site. But the Olympic Stadium was not a pure football arena. The spectators could only see the players with binoculars, on the opposite straights people froze and froze into a block of ice in winter. This courage to build the Allianz Arena, because only with the appropriate infrastructure could great players and great coaches be lured, testifies to the visionary power of the FCB leadership. The “FC Bayern Campus” has also been an extremely important course-setter. “
.. the mentality:
“There is a positive obsession with success with us. FC Bayern is not satisfied with second place. Should we ever finish second, which can happen, there is an acute need for us to talk. Actually, two defeats in a row are enough for that. This hunger for success is lived throughout the club, from the top management to the coaches to the players. We win 4:0 in Cologne and are annoyed about a few mistakes afterwards. It’s this unconditional will to get better every day and to be successful. That kind of thinking shapes the whole club. “
.. the emergence of the Bayern mentality:
“The foundation was laid in the 1970s when Franz Beckenbauer played. He was a perfectionist. Then came the absolutely success-obsessed Uli Hoeneß, and in combination with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge they shaped FC Bayern over the decades. Today’s players are, of course, chosen first and foremost for their sporting abilities. As a rule, they all already bring a lot of conviction and quality with them, then they are quickly taught here what it means to wear the FC Bayern jersey. Joshua Kimmich has certainly always been highly ambitious – Leon Goretzka just as much. But both of them have learned a lot more at Bayern, this hunger for success and what it takes to compete at the top level here. “
“All-round feel-good package” for Ribéry, Robben, Lewandowski and Coman
.. Identification of the professionals with FC Bayern:
“Identification is the key word: Top international players like Franck Ribéry, Arjen Robben, Robert Lewandowski or now Kingsley Coman stay longer than they might have initially planned. They spend their best years with us because they realise what they can achieve here. Lewandowski became a world footballer two times in a row – he achieved that here, at FC Bayern. Players all over the world know what a top address we are and that’s why they stay so long, because they have the best prospects here for great sporting success and their personal development, because they feel comfortable and always get their salaries on time, even in Corona times. In addition, Munich is a highly attractive city where the players and their families can live wonderfully. It’s an all-round feel-good package that the professionals are offered here. “
.. the Bayern family:
“Every good player wants to win and win titles. Lewandowski is the best example of that, even a Kimmich constantly wants to get even better. On the one hand, it’s this hunger for success, on the other hand, it’s this familial thought, this feeling that the players always feel a secure backing here. Even the players who leave FC Bayern always speak very positively about this club afterwards. With us it’s more, with us it’s also family. The players know what they can expect here, what they get: A club they can rely on. That’s how identification with the club is created.”
.. the team spirit:
“The consistency we have in the leadership also characterises the team. We have some players who played together at DFB when they were juniors. These players are more than colleagues, they are friends: Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Leroy Sané, Serge Gnabry. When you have such a close-knit group, the players run the extra metre or kilometre for each other. There is a tremendous team spirit here. That’s the Bayern gene, that Mia san mia. It must be this cohesion, this ambition, this self-confidence. We believe until the last second that we can win a game. The opponents fear, and we believe until the very end, that we will score another goal. And when our players realise that the others are shaking, they believe in it even more. “
.. international ambitions:
“We are constantly thinking about how we can improve our squad. The planning is going on all the time. We have a clear philosophy of where we want to go in the future, as shown by the contract extensions with Kingsley Coman, Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich or Jamal Musiala in recent months. We want to continue to play for the Champions League title in the coming years, and to do that you have to keep strengthening the team. We want to build an era again. “
.. the club’s reputation:
“The esteem in which FC Bayern is held in the football world is enormous. There’s respect and admiration throughout the football world – we notice that in all our meetings with the representatives of top international clubs.”
.. Bestia negra, as FC Bayern are known in Spain:
“This catchphrase means high praise. If you are feared or copied, it is a sign of recognition. “
