Club

Milestones in Bayern’s history

From its founding at Café Gisela in 1900 to one of the biggest teams in world football, explore some of the key milestones in Bayern’s history.

27 February 1900 – Founding

It was on 27 February 1900 that a group of young men, led by the club’s first president Franz John, created FC Bayern at Café Gisela in Munich.

02_1900_Gr%C3%BCndungsurkunde — Bayern was founded by a group of young men at Munich’s Café Gisela on 27 February 1900.

1932 – Champions of Germany for first time

After initial local success, Bayern finally became the best team in Germany in 1932 when they beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in the championship final in Nuremberg.

1932_meisterteam — Bayern beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in the final of the 1932 championship.

1957 – First DFB Cup

Bayern got their hands on the DFB Cup for the first time thanks to Rudi Jobst’s solitary goal against Fortuna Düsseldorf in the final in Augsburg.

dfb57_header — Bayern won their first of 20 DFB Cups by beating Fortuna Düsseldorf in 1957.

1965 – Bundesliga promotion

After not being considered for the newly formed Bundesliga in 1963, Bayern finally reached the nationwide top flight in 1965. They finished as champions of the Regionalliga Süd with a goal difference of +114 after 36 games. An 8-0 win over Tennis Borussia Berlin in the final match of the promotion play-off group secured their place in the Bundesliga.

650626_mueller_brenninger_ima — Gerd Müller and Dieter Brenninger celebrated Bundesliga promotion with fans in Berlin. | Imago

1967 – European Cup Winners’ Cup

Two years after Bundesliga promotion, Bayern announced themselves on the international stage by winning the European Cup Winners' Cup with a 1-0 victory after extra-time over Rangers in the final in Nuremberg.

670605_siegerteam_ima — Bayern’s young side won their first European trophy with the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1967. | Imago

1969 – First domestic double

Bayern finished third, sixth and fifth in their first three seasons in the Bundesliga before finally getting their hands on the Meisterschale in 1969. But that wasn’t all that year as they also won the DFB Cup with a 2-1 victory over Schalke in Frankfurt to claim the club’s first domestic double.

dfb69_header — Bayern followed up winning the Bundesliga by also lifting the DFB Cup in a historic campaign.

1974, 1975, 1976 – Hat-trick of European Cups

Bayern reached the continental summit for the first time in 1974 by lifting the European Cup – the first German team to do so. It took a pair of braces from Gerd Müller and Uli Hoeneß in the replayed final to beat Atletico Madrid in Brussels. The Bavarians then retained the trophy the following year with a 2-0 win over Leeds United (goals from Franz Roth and Müller). They made it a hat-trick as Roth’s lone strike saw off Saint-Etienne in the 1976 final.

Bayern followed that by becoming the first German team to lift the Intercontinental Cup with a 2-0 aggregate win over Cruzeiro of Brazil. Müller and Jupp Kapellmann scored the goals in Munich. The return leg in Belo Horizonte ended goalless.

1974_header — Bayern became the first German team to lift the European Cup in 1974 – the first of three straight continental triumphs.

1987 – Record champions

Bayern were crowned Germany’s champions for a 10th time in 1987, surpassing Nürnberg’s previous record of nine titles.

870617_meisterteam_ima — Bayern became Germany’s record champions after winning the Bundesliga in 1987. | Imago

1996 – UEFA Cup glory

Bayern beat Bordeaux 5-1 on aggregate in the final of the UEFA Cup (2-0 at home, 3-1 away) to become just the third club at the time to have won all three major European competitions, after Juventus and Ajax.

uefa96_header — Lothar Matthäus captained Bayern's team that won the UEFA Cup against Bordeaux.

2001 – Finally champions of Europe again

Bayern finally won the Champions League, which had been introduced in 1992, with a penalty shootout victory over Valencia in the 2001 final, ending a 25-year drought in Europe’s top competition.

cl_ima_230501 — Bayern were European champions for the first time in a quarter of a century after beating Valencia on penalties in Milan.

2013 – Treble glory

Bayern became the first German club and only the seventh in Europe to win the continental treble. They wrapped up the Bundesliga title with six games to spare and finished with a record 91 points – 25 clear of Borussia Dortmund in second. The Bavarians then got the better of BVB in the first all-German Champions League final with a 2-1 win at Wembley. The following week, they made it a historic treble with a 3-2 victory over VfB Stuttgart in the DFB Cup final.

triple_get_020613 — Bayern celebrated their first treble at Marienplatz in 2013. | Getty

2020/21 – Six titles in a year

The most successful year in the club’s history saw Bayern follow Barcelona as the only club in the world to win six titles in a year. After being crowned champions for a 30th time and lifting a record 20th DFB Cup, Hansi Flick’s side then beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the Champions League final in Lisbon. But the team wasn’t done there, as they went on to claim the UEFA Super Cup and domestic Supercup before the global crowning glory in February 2021 with the FIFA Club World Cup.