The guests had travelled from Munich and all over Bavaria, from Cottbus and Hamburg, even from France and Belgium, to spend the afternoon together under the banner of FC Bayern. Because of their support, said president Herbert Hainer at the beginning of his welcoming speech, a look through the FC Bayern Museum is so worthwhile: "Let's take a look around at what has been created thanks to you!" As part of the celebrations for the tenth anniversary of the club museum, the German record champions had invited exhibit donors and benefactors to say thank you. "You are all connected with our club in a very special way - and FC Bayern with you," explained Hainer. "The multitude of exhibits makes our museum come alive."
On the day of the home match against VfB Stuttgart, around 100 long-time supporters of the museum came together and enjoyed a jolly afternoon. Before kick-off in the match, which the guests watched together from a box, Hainer, museum director Petra Leufstedt as well as Bayern legends Franz "Bulle" Roth, Klaus Augenthaler and Giovane Élber checked out the current permanent exhibition. The legends talk provided some laughter, while Hainer's talk emphasised the importance of the invited guests.
7,500 exhibits collected in FC Bayern Museum archive
Around 650 to 700 exhibits are currently on display in the permanent exhibition and in the two special exhibitions "Mr FC Bayern – Uli Hoeneß, The Man" and "50 Years of the Olympiastadion - FC Bayern Under the Tent Roof". In addition, the archive has more than doubled in size since it opened in 2012. At that time there were 3,000 exhibits, and now there are around 7,500.
The development that the documentation of the club's history has taken in the past decade is particularly impressive. After all, the development of a real archive only began with the planning of the club's museum. A few posters and a few memorabilia quickly turned into several thousand exhibits after the calls from the Bayern Magazin. There is no end in sight. "For us, every single exhibit is important, a piece of the puzzle of a great myth - the myth of our club," said Hainer and announced: "We are constantly developing and want to leave our mark on the next decade as well."
Hainer: 'We're proud that you belong to our FC Bayern family'
Both in the club museum and later over food, drink and Bundesliga football, it became clear how many facets there are to the history of FC Bayern. Many anecdotes were heard, many happy faces were seen - and Hainer concluded: "We are proud that you belong to our FC Bayern family. Thank you again!"