FC Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club with its headquarters in Munich, Bavaria. This professional men’s football team competes in the Bundesliga, what makes it most well-known. With a record 33 national championships, including 11 consecutive since 2013, 20 national cups, and countless European awards, Bayern is the most successful club in German football history.
Under the leadership of head coach Hans-Dieter Flick, Bayern Munich achieved the sextuple in 2020 and made history by being the first club to win the UEFA Champions League by winning every game.
Bayern Munich is the only German club to have won all three of UEFA’s major club tournaments. They are one of just five clubs to do so. The club regularly engages in local rivalries with 1. FC Nürnberg and 1860 Munich.
| Full name | Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. |
| Short name | Bayern Munich, FC Bayern, Bayern, FCB |
| Founded | 27 February 1900 |
| Stadium | Allianz Arena |
| Capacity | 75,000 |
| President | Herbert Hainer |
| CEO | Jan-Christian Dreesen |
| Head coach | Thomas Tuchel |
| League | Bundesliga |
| 2022–23 | Bundesliga, 1st of 18 (champions) |
FC Bayern Munich Over the Years
The club won the cup and the league under Flick, making it the club’s 13th domestic double. The club also played the most successful leg of a Bundesliga season in history. Bayern won their semifinal match against Lyon 3-0 and its quarterfinal against FC Barcelona 8-2 to go to the Champions League final for the first time since 2013. They defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the championship game, which was played in Lisbon behind closed doors because of the severity of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Following a brief hiatus, Bayern got the new season started by winning the UEFA Super Cup for the second time in club history. On September 30, 2020, they defeated the runners-up of the Bundesliga, Dortmund, and went on to win the 2020 DFL-Supercup.
Flick requested to leave Bayern at the end of the season, and on April 27, 2021, the club announced that Julian Nagelsmann, the manager of RB Leipzig, will replace Flick as of July 1.
As recompense for Nagelsmann’s services, Bayern reportedly paid Leipzig €25 million, a record sum for a manager. Later, it was revealed that Flick was resigning to take over the German national team, where he had served as manager Joachim Löw’s assistant.Following a 3-1 Der Klassiker victory, Bayern has achieved the accomplishment of winning 10 consecutive Bundesliga championships under new coach Julian Nagelsmann.
However, surprisingly losing to Villarreal in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, the squad was eliminated at that point for the second consecutive year. Nagelsmann was fired by Bayern on March 24th, 2023, and was replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who was given a deal through June 30th, 2025.
Thomas Tuchel was introduced as the next Bayern manager during a news conference on March 25, 2023. Bayern was quickly eliminated by SC Freiburg in the DFB-Pokal quarterfinals under Tuchel, and Manchester City F.C. in the Champions League quarterfinals.
By defeating 1. FC Köln and winning a tense title fight with Borussia Dortmund, he led them to a record 11th consecutive championship. Following the club’s Bundesliga championship, Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic were both fired.
Kahn will be replaced as CEO by Jan-Christian Dreesen, who will have a new sporting director who hasn’t yet been named. At their regular meeting on May 30, 2023, Bayern named Karl-Heinz Rummenigge as a member of the FC Bayern München AG supervisory board.
Rivalries
Munich has three clubs that play professional football, with Bayern being one of them. Munich’s 1860 Munich is Bayern’s biggest regional opponent. 1860 Munich was the more successful club in the 1950s and was controversially chosen for the inaugural Bundesliga season in 1963, winning both a cup and a championship.
The Munich derby continues to be highly anticipated and attracts more attention from both clubs’ supporters. Bayern has frequently helped 1860 during times of financial need, despite their rivalry.
1. FC Nürnberg has been Bayern’s primary and enduring adversary in Bavaria since the 1920s. Playing Nürnberg, according to Philipp Lahm, is “always special” and has a “heated atmosphere”. Midway through the 1920s, both clubs competed in the same league, but Nürnberg enjoyed far greater success, winning five titles in the 1920s to become Germany’s all-time champion.
When Bayern won their tenth championship in 1987, they surpassed Nürnberg’s total number of titles won and took over the title more than sixty years later. The Bayern Derby is another name for the matchup between Bayern and Nürnberg.
Bayern and 1. FC Kaiserslautern have a bitter rivalry that dates back to a game in 1973, in which Bayern trailed 4-1 but lost 7-4. The rivalry also stems from the two clubs competing for German championship honours at various times in the Bundesliga, as well as the fact that Kaiserslautern and the surrounding Palatinate were once a part of Bavaria until a plebiscite was held following the end of World War II.
The teams who have put up the most of a fight against Bayern’s supremacy on the national stage have been its primary competitors since the 1970s. Borussia Mönchengladbach was in this category in the 1970s, and Hamburger SV was added to it in the 1980s.
Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen, and Bayer Leverkusen were the most fervent rivals in the 1990s. Borussia Dortmund, Schalke, and Werder Bremen have recently been the Bundesliga’s top rivals. Recently, Borussia Dortmund has been Bayern’s primary Bundesliga rival. For a number of Bundesliga championships, Bayern and Dortmund have competed against one another.
Additionally, in 2008, 2012, 2014, and 2016, they competed against one another in the DFB-Pokal final. Bayern’s worst-ever defeat in a DFB-Pokal final came in 2012 when they lost to Dortmund 2-5. In the DFL-Supercup, Bayern and Dortmund have also faced off against one another in 1989, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2022. When Bayern overcame Dortmund 2-1 in the 2012–13 Club Champions League final, the competition between the two clubs was at its height.
Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Manchester United are among Bayern’s main European adversaries because of their numerous legendary victories, draws, and defeats. The Champions League/European Cup match featuring Real Madrid and Bayern has previously been played 26 times.
Bayern is sometimes referred to as the “Bestia negra” (“Black Beast”) by Madrid supporters since Bayern has historically been difficult for Madrid to defeat. Despite their many clashes, Bayern and Real have never faced off in a Champions League or European Cup championship game.
FC Bayern Munich Current Squad
| Number | Position | Player |
| 1 | GK | Germany Manuel Neuer |
| 2 | DF | France Dayot Upamecano |
| 3 | DF | South Korea Kim Min-jae |
| 4 | DF | Netherlands Matthijs de Ligt |
| 5 | DF | France Benjamin Pavard |
| 6 | MF | Germany Joshua Kimmich |
| 7 | FW | Germany Serge Gnabry |
| 8 | MF | Germany Leon Goretzka |
| 10 | FW | Germany Leroy Sané |
| 11 | FW | France Kingsley Coman |
| 13 | FW | Cameroon Eric M. Choupo-Moting |
| 14 | MF | Germany Paul Wanner |
| 17 | FW | Senegal Sadio Mané |
| 19 | DF | Canada Alphonso Davies |
| 20 | DF | Senegal Bouna Sarr |
| 22 | DF | Portugal Raphaël Guerreiro |
| 24 | MF | Austria Konrad Laimer |
| 25 | FW | Germany Thomas Müller |
| 26 | GK | Germany Sven Ulreich |
| 27 | GK | Switzerland Yann Sommer |
| 38 | MF | Netherlands Ryan Gravenberch |
| 39 | FW | France Mathys Tel |
| 40 | DF | Morocco Noussair Mazraoui |
| 42 | MF | Germany Jamal Musiala |
| 44 | DF | Croatia Josip Stanišić |
FC Bayern Munich Champions League Record (After 1990’s)
| Position Finished | P | W | D | L | |
| 2022-2023 | Quarter Finals | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| 2021-2022 | Quarter Finals | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| 2020-2021 | Quarter Finals | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| 2019-2020 | Final | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018-2019 | Round of 16 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 2017-2018 | Semi Finals | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| 2016-2017 | Quarter Finals | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 |
| 2015-2016 | Semi Finals | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| 2014-2015 | Semi Finals | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 |
| 2013-2014 | Semi Finals | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 |
| 2012-2013 | Final | 13 | 10 | 1 | 2 |
| 2011-2012 | Final | 15 | 10 | 3 | 2 |
| 2010-2011 | Round of 16 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 2009-2010 | Final | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 |
| 2008-2009 | Quarter Finals | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| 2007-2008 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2006-2007 | Quarter Finals | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 2005-2006 | Round of 16 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 2004-2005 | Quarter Finals | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| 2003-2004 | Round of 16 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 2002-2003 | First Group Stage | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2001-2002 | Quarter Finals | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 |
| 2000-2001 | Final | 17 | 11 | 4 | 2 |
| 1999-2000 | Semi Finals | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| 1998-1999 | Final | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 |
| 1997-1998 | Quarter Finals | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 1994-1995 | Semi Finals | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| 1990-1991 | Semi Finals | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 1989-1990 | Semi Finals | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 1987-1988 | Quarter Finals | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| 1986-1987 | Final | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| 1985-1986 | Quarter Finals | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 1981-1982 | Final | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 1980-1981 | Semi Finals | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 1976-1977 | Quarter Finals | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| 1975-1976 | Final | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| 1974-1975 | Final | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 1973-1974 | Final | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| 1972-1973 | Quarter Finals | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 1969-1970 | First Round | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Has FC Bayern Munich Ever Won the Champions League?
Yes, FC Bayern Munich has won 6 UCL titles for the year 1974,1975,1976, 2001, 2013 and 2020.