FC Bayern is now one of the biggest names in global football. Whether it's Brazil, Indonesia, Egypt or the USA, fans from all over the world passionately support Germany’s most successful club. A half of the Reds’ 14 million Facebook followers come from outside Germany, and FCB’s dedicated English-language Twitter feed is poised to smash the 100,000 follower mark any time now.
The club is thrilled when new fans join the worldwide FCB community and is actively seeking to expand the international supporter base. FC Bayern’s first overseas subsidiary, FC Bayern Muenchen LLC, opened for business on 1 April 2014 in New York with a remit to manage the club’s internationalisation drive in North America, grow the FC Bayern brand, develop networks and acquire new co-operation partners.
FCB already has a thriving supporter scene in the Big Apple and that was evident again on Tuesday when over 100 soccer fans gathered in New York’s Lunasa Bar to watch Bayern take on Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final second leg.
The Lunasa, situated in the East Village, is home to the members of the FC Bayern Munich Fanclub New York City. The fan club was founded in 2012 and boasts over 100 members from Germany and the United States. Around 75 Bayern supporters and a handful of slightly bewildered Real fans took the afternoon off work to watch the clash between the two famous European clubs.
Looking forward to USA tour
Shortly before kickoff, the first “Bayern, Bayern” chants echoed through the bar, and a rousing cheer greeted the stunning choreography at the Allianz Arena, although even at Lusana the minute’s silence for the late Vujadin Boskov and Tito Vilanova was impeccably observed.
The Lunasa group chanted and sang along with the 68,000 in Munich to start with but fell into stunned silence as the Spanish giants decisively gained the upper hand in the course of the first half. A new wave of enthusiasm gripped the fans for the start of the second half but the hopes turned to frustration as the clock ticked down to the end of the match.
The FCB supporters were clearly upset at the outcome, but the discussion quickly turned to the upcoming games against Hamburg and the DFB Cup final against Borussia Dortmund, when the FCB Fanclub New York City members will again get right behind their team. And maybe next year the fans will be celebrating two famous victories at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
Before then the US fans have a chance to see their heroes in live action when FC Bayern travel to North America in summer 2014. The senior team will contest at least two matches, in New York and Portland, Oregon, where the Reds face a Major League Soccer (MLS) representative team in the traditional All-Star Game at 6.30 pm local time on 6 August 2014.
