Bayern Munich

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 four German clubs to win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal in the same season along with Borussia Dortmund, 1. FC Köln and Werder Bremen. 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.^[]

Robbery – Robben and Ribery, with foreign coaches (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 3+1⁄2 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 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–)

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.