Created on 26-05-2013 at 00:00 AM
The freshly-crowned champions of Europe staged their official post-match banquet for some 2,000 guests at Grosvenor House in London. Before a band tempted the players, directors and guests out onto the dancefloor and the celebrations began in earnest, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge addressed the gathering at around 1 am in the morning. fcbayern.de listened to the chairman's speech.
“Dear Minister President, dear guests, dear Bayern,
When I watched this video [of Munich Philharmonic's special anthem for the final] for the first time on Monday, it brought tears to my eyes, because I thought to myself: What a club! What quality! What pride we can all have in this Bayern Munich! From Monday until about quarter to ten tonight, I've had an uneasy feeling in my stomach, because I've experienced this match in a way I've never felt it before. There are 2,000 people here in this ballroom, and that's Bayern Munich. A team, a coaching team with a magnificent head coach, who've given us the unbelievable this year.
(Applause)
I remember it well: a year ago, on 19 May 2012 after the final at home, where we'd all had such high hopes, and we met at the Postpalast […] I passed a tide of fans leaving the Public Viewing at the Olympic Stadium, I looked in their faces, and I thought to myself: Mamma Mia! What's this? What kind of shock has this club suffered! […] And how will we get over it?
Like you, I was curious at the start of the season […] Obviously, we were all in shock after this May the 19th. My dear Jupp, I took my vacation on the island of Sylt, you were in Schwalmtal. And he rang me pretty much every morning on the stroke of 10 and told me what we had to change about the team. So we got together at the club, Matthias Sammer, Karl Hopfner, Jan-Christian Dreesen, Uli Hoeneß, Andi Jung. And what we've experienced tonight, ladies and gentlemen, is the sporting comeback of the year!
(Applause)