For my second Psychogeography experiment I decided to go on a tour of Allianz Arena, home of FC Bayern Munich! Like many of the places I have been to while on this wanderbondage, this is a place I never thought I would get to go to. This stadium opened up in 2005, which is very new considering the history of stadiums in this country, so it is built using all kinds of state of the art architecture and designing. Before using this stadium, Olympic Stadium was where Bayern played its matches. This is peculiar considering both the rich history behind this club as well as the fact that this field wasn’t designed for football but rather Olympic sporting events, so it still has the track that goes around the field, which both players and fans do not appreciate. One of the most prominent features of this new stadium is that is is capable of lighting up at night, in different colors, depending on who is playing there. If Bayern is playing, the stadium lights up red, if TSV Munich (from the 2nd league) is playing, the stadium turns blue, if the national team is playing there, white, and apparently on St. Patrick’s Day it turns green. My tour guide also informed me that recently, for a match against Italy, the stadium lit up with the colors red, black and gold, to symbolize the national Deutsch colors.
This stadium can hold 75,000, so by definition, it is the second largest stadium in Germany. Dortmund’s home stadium, Signal Iduna Park, can hold upwards of 80,000. However to counter this, one could argue that it is what happens on the stadium, not around it that matters. And certainly no other teams in this country, in many countries can claim dominance over the domestic leagues like Bayern Munich can. Just recently, they finished wrapping up their 25th Bundesliga title, the next closest would be Dortmund with 5. This level of dominance has grown to aggravate many. FCB had won the last 4 league titles in a row, which has never been done before. True fans of the sport relish the competitive nature of the league and love to see underdogs thrive. Now however, it seems everyone except FCB and Dortmund are underdogs. While many may be disappointed with how the shift of power has been tilted, there is no doubt that the people of this city love seeing their team win over and over again. Because this stadium was built so recently, it allowed a special section to be allowed specifically has a museum dedicated to the history of FCB. How many clubs can claim this?
FCB was formed in 1900, when a group of 16 men decided to break away from the local gymnastics club, who saw football as a barbaric English game and would not support it in their institution. So, these men formed their own club and it has kept the name ever since. The club was an immediate success, winning all of its first games against opponents by scores of 5 or 6 to zero, I sign of things to come I’d say. In its early years, the club also went through many political ‘advancements’ (for lack of a better word). Problems such as field times and spaces were hard to come by as the sport in general was only just beginning to gain success. In fact Bavaria as a whole was rather slow to catch on to the football bandwagon as places like Berlin and Dortmund saw prominence in the sport many years earlier. One problem found a solution and FCB partnered up with the local (organization, I forget who, which is disappointing as this is rather important) in 1906 and were able to play at more regular intervals. In order for this to happen though, the club would have to wear red shorts instead of the traditional blue and white. Blue and white are the colors of Bavaria as I have found out after spending a couple days in Munich, so I had wondered why FCB famously wore red all the time, and now I had my answer.
In the first couple decades of FCB’s existence, much of their success was due to the coaching and organizing of two Jewish men, Richard Dombi and Kurt Landauer. So when the Nazi movement began to gain momentum, and both of these men were forced into exile, the club naturally suffered in its efficiency. All of War War 2 however, naturally took its toll on both FCB and football throughout the country as well. Many players were soldiers and many did not come home. In response to this, after the war, Kurt Landauer returned and helped guide his side once again, but ticket prices were also severely reduced. The equivalent price of a ticket at the time was something like 50 cents. The club wanted to give the people something to cheer for after the devastation that WW2 had brought. And it worked, attendance slowly increased more and more throughout the years, and the fan base grew so passionate that when FCB made it to their first German Championship, which was played in Nürnburg, thousands of fans rode their bicycles hundreds of kilometers to the game. FCB rewarded this loyalty with free tickets and refreshments at every resting point along the way home, (after they had won of course).
FCB has always had a reputation for trying to connect with their fans. A shining example of this is the fact that in the stadium, they have their very own beer garden. Beer in Deutschland, and especially in Munich, is a national treasure that they take very seriously. And they always have! Munich was in fact founded by monks, hence the name, who often brewed their own beer. Inside the halls leading to the beer garden, there are several pictures of players, dressed in the traditional Bavarian cloth known as Lederhosen, drinking beers with each other. There was in fact also a team picture, with everyone dressed this way, with beers in hand.
In the late 60’s and 70’s FCB boasted the names of incredible German legends in their lineup. Names like Beckenbauer, Muller and Maier, who all played for the national team as well. The national team of West Germany, that is. With significant contributions from these players, some of the greatest of all time, Germany won the highly public education and exciting World Cup of 1974, defeating a powerhouse Dutch squad captained by Johan Cruyff. The the trophy in Germany, and all the star players coming from Munich, FCB saw a decade long stint of dominance that set the modern trend for their reputation in Deutschland. Many claim that this squad, with these players, was the best they have ever had. Even better than the team who famously won their first treble in 2013. The treble is winning the league title, the domestic cup and the European championship (Champjons League) all in the same year. These incredible names have certainly added to the club, however, make know mistake, every player is remembered. In he stadium, there is a hall of fame with a face and name for every player that has ever played for FCB. If you came through their ranks, you were acknowledged. This type of respect for the players claims its source for the fans, who essentially idolize the players of their team, and consider them part of their Bavarian family.
FCB also claims one of the most efficient academy systems in the world. I have discussed earlier about the option of young kids, as early as age 7 being picked out for football with the idea that they each have the potential to become the next best players the world. However, what sets FCB apart is their commitment to building these kids up to be good people first and foremost. This is what I respect. They have a three part system of personal, academic and sporting development. Like any school team, they claim that personal and academic come first. This gives off the notion that kids will be successful in life here, no matter if they play football professionally or not. Of course, what they really want is to keep winning trophies, make money and have the best players, but that doesn’t sell to they out has well. In the end, football in Deutschland starts with the youth. These kids, decades from now, may or may not have played ball, but it will have been so integral in their lives that they will always love it, watch it, play it when they can, and come together with friends and family through it.
