Day six of the Audi Summer Tour was dominated by the battle of the giants with Real Madrid. The crowd at the NRG Stadium saw an entertaining game with FC Bayern winning 3-1. "I'd like to congratulate both teams on a really great game" declared Niko Kovac after the match that saw "loads of chances at both ends." The German record champions were also busy before the impressive performance on the pitch. fcbayern.com reviews the day's events.
Warm-up ahead of the big game
Bayern were on the pitch in the morning of the match against the 13-time champions of Europe. Coach Kovac brought his players together for a short 90-minute session on the training ground at the University of Houston campus to go through the final details for the match against Real Madrid in the evening.
FCB board and Giovane Elber with DeAndre Hopkins at the 'Freekicks Soccer Program'
Houston is one of the 17 applicants to be one of the ten venues for the 2026 World Cup in the USA. In order to further the promotion of football in the city, the bid committee in association with the NFL star DeAndre Hopkins of the Houston Texans set up the 'Freekicks Soccer Program', which is designed to give young people easier access to football regardless of their background. FC Bayern support the project and were represented at the opening ceremony in the morning by Bayern legend Giovane Elber who also led a training session for the youngsters.
There was also an FC Bayern delegation at the event including chairman of the board Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, board member Jörg Wacker plus the senior vice-president Professor Dr. Dieter Meyer, deputy vice-president Walter Mennekes and Rudolf Vidal, the CEO of the USA subsidiary FC Bayern Muenchen LLC. The former world class striker Rummenigge did not miss the chance to play football with the youngsters on the pitch at the event.
Bayern expertise for Houston World Cup bid
In the late morning, the Bayern delegation moved on to the River Oaks Country Club for brunch. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern legend Lothar Matthäus, Bob Harvey, CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, and Chris Canetti, president of the Houston 2026 Bid Committee, discussed the application of the Texas city. Rummenigge shared the experiences of FC Bayern who provided the Allianz Arena as one of the venues for the 2006 World Cup.
Plenty of action before kick-off
In the afternoon, around 500 local supporters of the record champions met in the city centre of Houston to get in the mood for the big match in the evening at the Little Woodrow's Midtown bar together with Bayern legends Matthäus, Elber and Raimond Aumann. The three ex-players made themselves available for autographs and selfies and stadium announcer Stephan Lehmann provided top entertainment. And there was also a lot going on in the fan zone at the NRG Stadium in the build-up to the match – FC Bayern had a number of stands there which included a chance to take on a Robo keeper.
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