Starting the new year with a win is important – Kingsley Coman knows that all too well. “I’m sure we’ll be ready,” said the Frenchman in an interview looking ahead to Bayern’s opening game of 2024 at home to Hoffenheim on Friday. The record champions are very much aware of that, winning their first Bundesliga game of a calendar year in over half of their 58 previous top-flight campaigns (W30, D15, L13). Before play resumes in Germany, fcbayern.com has taken a look back at some memorable opening matches of the year.
Derby victory in maiden campaign
After a lengthy hiatus like a winter break, players are obviously keen to get back to action. That motivation is no doubt even greater when you’re kicking off with a special game. For Bayern, that saw a derby against city rivals 1860 in the Reds’ maiden Bundesliga campaign in 1965/66. Promoted Bayern were flying high in second place, behind only their local rivals from the district of Giesing. Cik Cajkovski’s team quickly showed how the Munich footballing landscape would change in the coming years, claiming a comprehensive 3-0 win over Sechzig at the Grünwalder Stadion on 8 January 1966 thanks to second-half goals from Dieter Brenninger, Rainer Ohlhauser and Rudolf Nafziger.
Big wins in Leverkusen and Berlin
Bayern have twice won their first Bundesliga fixture of a calendar year by a four-goal margin. On 21 January 1984, the Bavarians were away at Bayer Leverkusen and returned home with a 5-1 victory thanks to a hat-trick from Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, plus further strikes from Wolfgang Grobe and Hansi Pflügler. Some 36 years later, FCB repeated their best-ever start to the second half of a campaign by beating Hertha Berlin 4-0 in the capital on 19 January 2020 with goals from Thomas Müller, Robert Lewandowski, Thiago and Ivan Perisic.
Not the first such encounter with Hoffenheim
This is the third time Bayern will face Hoffenheim in the first Bundesliga match of a calendar year. The Munich club won both previous such meetings. The first was a 2-0 success at the Allianz Arena thanks to Martin Demichelis and Miroslav Klose on 15 January 2010, while the most recent encounter nine years later brought a 3-1 Bayern victory in Sinsheim thanks to a Leon Goretzka brace and another goal from Lewandowski.
Lewandowski’s brilliance for late win
Bayern also played the first Bundesliga fixture of a year back in 2017 when they visited Freiburg on a freezing Friday night. The game was even throughout, Lewandowski cancelling out a fourth-minute opener for the hosts inside the first half. It looked like the match was going to end all square until the prolific Pole produced a moment of magic in added time, chesting down a high Franck Ribery cross inside the penalty area, juggling it on his thigh before putting the ball away with his left foot. A world-class goal for a last-minute victory to kick off 2017.
Comeback vs. Mainz for most recent win
Due to the pandemic, the new Bundesliga year started early in 2020/21 as Bayern hosted Mainz at the Allianz Arena on 3 January. It looked like being a horror resumption for the champions as the visitors took a 2-0 half-time lead. However, a second-half comeback with goals from Joshua Kimmich, Leroy Sane, Niklas Süle and a Lewandowski brace ensured a comfortable victory for Bayern. Unfortunately, that remains the last time Bayern opened a calendar year with three points. Last year saw a 1-1 draw away at RB Leipzig, while 2022 brought a 2-1 loss to Borussia Mönchengladbach. It’s time to set that record straight as we kick off 2024.
Here's further facts on the Hoffenheim game:
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