Not even a founding member: how Bayern became Germany's best

Mia san mia

Bayern's motto, Mia san mia, is Bavarian dialect for we are who we are. It captures the pride of a club that goes its own way.

But Germany's biggest club didn't start at the top. When the Bundesliga began in 1963, city rivals 1860 Munich were chosen and Bayern were left out. They were promoted two years later, in 1965. The Allianz Arena, opened in 2005, glows red on matchdays. Until 2017 it also hosted 1860 Munich, and glowed blue for their games.

The era of Der Kaiser and Gerd Müller

Franz Beckenbauer, Der Kaiser, left his mark on the club as a player, manager and president. Led by him and Gerd Müller, Bayern won three straight European Cups from 1974 to 1976 and became a European power. Müller's 566 goals are still the club record.

The next European title took 25 years. In the 2001 Champions League final against Valencia, the game finished 1–1 and Oliver Kahn's saves helped win the shootout 5–4.

Tears at home and the 2013 Treble

The Robbery wing pairing of Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben defined an era. In 2011, Neuer, a Schalke academy graduate, arrived despite resistance from fans. In 2012, Bayern hosted the Champions League final at their own ground and lost to Chelsea on penalties after a 1–1 draw.

The pain was erased the next year. Under Jupp Heynckes, the 2012–13 team won the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League for the club's first Treble. In the final against rivals Dortmund, Robben's late goal made it 2–1. The league title that season began a run of 11 straight through 2022–23, ended by unbeaten champions Leverkusen.

Lewandowski and today's Bayern

In 2014, Bayern signed Dortmund's star striker Lewandowski on a free after his contract ended. In 2015 he came off the bench with Bayern 1–0 down against Wolfsburg and scored five goals in nine minutes. In 2020–21 he scored 41 league goals, passing Gerd Müller's 40, which had stood for 49 years.

In the 2020 Champions League, Bayern beat Barcelona 8–2 in a one-off quarter-final in Lisbon, then beat PSG 1–0 in the final with a header from Coman, a PSG academy graduate. Academy graduate Thomas Müller passed Sepp Maier in 2024 to set the club's appearance record.

In 2023, Harry Kane arrived from Tottenham and Kim Min-jae from Napoli, where he had helped win the club's first title in 33 years.