Mathys Tel and Alphonso Davies in roles other than on the football pitch in a circus ring, their teammates and families, FC Bayern Basketball players and the FCB club bosses in the audience alongside children from different cultural and social backgrounds, whom the club had specially invited. Together they experienced a magical journey into the spectacular world of Circus Roncalli on Monday in Munich's Werksviertel with the scent of popcorn in the air, which at the instigation of the German record champions held a special event to bring joy to around 1,000 girls and boys.
Thomas Müller and the other players enjoyed the afternoon in the company of the Bayern family.
President Herbert Hainer, together with Roncalli director Bernhard Paul, took over the welcome on behalf of the club. He first thanked honorary president Uli Hoeneß, who had the idea for this afternoon and who, like directors Jan-Christian Dreesen, Michael Diederich and Andreas Jung, as well as first vice-president Professor Dr Dieter Mayer, was sitting in the audience. This year's Roncalli programme is "All For Art For All!", said the president - and it was a very good fit: "Art, the circus, football - the beauty in life is there for everyone, for every human being. We have invited children from various social institutions who are not so well off, and we are very happy to see you here in the audience alongside our players. This afternoon should belong to you! Let's be enchanted and inspired together - and maybe in the end take something home from the circus world into our real world!”
FC Bayern president Herbert Hainer during his speech next to Roncalli director Bernhard Paul.
The more than two-hour programme under the eyes of players Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller, Harry Kane, Leroy Sané and Joshua Kimmich as well as head coach Thomas Tuchel, sporting director Christoph Freund and basketball players Niels Giffey and Jan Niklas Wimberg left nothing to be desired in the midst of much laughter from the children. Colourful projections created lifelike elephants; artists and acrobats broke through imagination, the laws of physics and the physical possibilities of ordinary mortals - both in the ring and high above the heads of the enthusiastic guests. FC Bayern and football can captivate people. The diversity of the circus can do the same. The only question left open at the end was whether one of the often unbelievable acts could also be transferred to the playing field in the future...
Hainer had said in his welcome: "The clown is only as good as his audience." The girls and boys in the tent took this to heart throughout the performance. They showered the artists in applause and cheers. Bernhard Paul: "Circus Roncalli will always be by the side of FC Bayern." Finally, there was a group photo of the team with the performers in the ring after the performance.
FC Bayern had organised the invitation together with, among others, the City of Munich, social institutions and foster families. In addition to girls and boys from Ukraine and groups with refugee experiences, children from, for example, the Munich Orphanage, the organisation ‘buntkicktgut’, Diakonie München und Oberbayern, the ‘Arena of Change’ at the FC Bayern Campus, the Nicolaidis YoungWings Foundation, the inclusive institution Luzia Sonnenkinder, SOS-Kinderdorf e.V. and Bellevue di Monaco also came.
An open training session was held at Säbener Straße on Monday morning:
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