"The most rounded, interesting and successful tour"

FC Bayern have been in the USA for nine days and on Tuesday night, they head back to Munich following the game against AC Milan. For Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, it was time to review the trip. “We’ve enjoyed a very, very nice tour this year,” summarised the CEO. “I’ve been on lots of tours and I sense that this was the most rounded, interesting and ultimately successful one we’ve ever done.”

On the footballing side of things, the team have “fulfilled all the expectations of the coach and taken a big step forward in their preparations”, with 11 training sessions in total. As well as that, there were the two matches against Arsenal and Real Madrid, which Rummenigge described as a “great advertisement for the team”.

Bayern have also completed several social engagements, such as the opening of the Holocaust exhibition in Los Angeles and training with youngsters as part of the Freekicks campaign. Thus the record German champions have managed “a perfect balancing act between the interests of FC Bayern and preparations on the pitch”

Jörg Wacker, board member responsible for internationalisation and strategy, was equally enthusiastic about the trip. “The tour has been spectacular on and off the pitch,” concluded the 52-year-old, who also pointed out a special anniversary - five years ago, FCB opened its US office. “The tour was a reflection of these five years. The objective back then was to strengthen and build the FC Bayern brand. We wanted to be close to the fans and spread the club’s values. From ‘visiting friends’ to ‘building bridges’, we’ve done that. We’ve achieved a lot in five years,” said a more-than-pleased Wacker.

With numerous fan events in Los Angeles, Houston and Kansas City, the Bayern squad have been hands-on with their supporters, who have in turn reacted with great enthusiasm. The record German champions are looking to build on that further in the future. “We’ve made great progress but there’s still some work for us to do,” added Wacker, looking ahead full of drive. “The experiences here give us a push to do even more. There are still some areas where we need to improve.”