Augenthaler visits India, Elber in China
Klaus Augenthaler travelled to the Indian metropolis of Mumbai in mid-October at the invitation of regional partners Häfele. He was welcomed by numerous FCB supporters there as he took part in activities with children, fans and local media.
The so-called Häfele Skill Contest had already taken place on 5 October in Mumbai with over 120 girls aged between 10 and 17 taking part. The most talented 18 qualified for an exclusive training session with Augenthaler, which took place on 12 October after Augenthaler had visited the local Häfele Design Center. On the agenda for the evening was a visit to the local Oktoberfest, which was organised by the Indo German Chamber of Commerce and the German Consulate General. Augenthaler was greeted on stage by Jürgen Wolf, managing director of Häfele India, Dr. Jürgen Morhard, consul general in Mumbai, as well as Bernhard Steinrücke and Peter Deubet from the Indo German Chamber of Commerce.
The following day saw a friendly match between the local fan clubs of FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund. The ‘fan Klassiker’ was organised in partnership with the DFL. The Dortmund fans were aided by DFL influencer Rannvijay Singh, while Augenthaler led the Bayern team to a 2-1 win.
During his two days in Mumbai, the Bayern legend also gave numerous interviews for various digital and print media outlets in India. Star Sports, who hold the Bundesliga rights in India, had an exclusive interview with the 1990 World Cup winner.
Giovane Elber cheers on the team with fans
On 26 October, around 400 Bayern supporters gathered in Sinar Mas Plaza in Shanghai to enjoy the German record champions’ 2-1 win over Union Berlin. The ‘watch party’ in the event space of Bayern’s China office was organised with PPSports, the official Bundesliga broadcaster in China. As well as posing for souvenir photos with fans and the Bundesliga and DFB Cup trophies, our legend also interacted on stage with players from the Shanghai Sharks – a basketball team from Shanghai who played the Bayern basketballers in the Audi Dome at the start of September – and students from Tongji University. All in all, it was a wonderful event in China, which will also stay long in Elber’s memory!
All Blacks Sevens visit Säbener Straße
In late September, the best rugby nations in the world came together for the Oktoberfest 7s tournament at the Olympiastadion in Munich. For the first time ever, a New Zealand national rugby team came to Germany as the All Blacks Sevens side were invited to a training session at Säbener Straße. After the session, the Kiwis took part in a crossbar challenge against their compatriots Sarpreet Singh from the Bayern reserves and Ali Riley from the women’s team. Robert Lewandowski also took out time for a meet & greet. Having warmed up well at the record champions’ training ground, the All Blacks Sevens went on to finish third in the Oktoberfest 7s.
FC Bayern Youth Cup enters ninth round
The first elimination tournaments for this year’s FC Bayern Youth Cup Nigeria will start in November with the qualifiers in Nigeria. The different tournament are open to all boys aged 14 to 16. The 10 best players at the national finals will then be selected for the FC Bayern Youth Cup World Final in Munich, which will again be held at the Allianz Arena in May.
Among those representing Nigeria this year was Daniel Francis, a player who acquired national team through the FC Bayern Youth Cup and is currently playing for Nigeria in the U-17 World Cup in Brazil. The Super Eagles are the most successful team in the tournament having won it five times (1985, 1993, 2007, 2013 and 2015) and have already reached the knockout stage after finishing top of a group containing Hungary, Australia and Ecuador. They face the Netherlands in the last 16.
FC Bayern wish Daniel further success in Brazil and are looking forward to seeing more international talents making a name for themselves through the FC Bayern Youth Cup.