The stadium announcer welcomed the Bayern XI featuring Andreas Ottl, Daniel van Buyten & Co. to "thunderous applause" when they took to the pitch in Langerwehe in glorious sunshine. Around 9,000 spectators – more than half of the inhabitants of Langerwehe in the Düren district in North Rhine-Westphalia – were waiting for the duel between the German record champions and a local district XI from sixth-tier clubs Germania Lich-Steinstraß, Viktoria Arnoldsweiler and Borussia Freialdenhoven. A Bayern fan club from Düren had won the chance for the match.
They were not disappointed. The lively friendly in May 2011, straight after the end of the Bundesliga campaign, ended in a 4-3 win for Munich. Two-goal Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Holger Badstuber and Mario Gómez, Bundesliga top scorer back then, scored for Munich. Bayern had trailed 3-2 until the 84th minute. Franck Ribéry & Co. gave autographs and posed for photos with numerous fans after the final whistle before heavy rain forced them off – not quite the thunder the stadium announcer had imagined.
FC Bayern back in Düren after 13 years
13 years later, Bayern return to the region this Sunday at 15:30 CEST when they take on a fourth-tier side in the neighbouring town of Jülich to deliver on a promise they had made during the corona pandemic. 1. FC Düren, founded in 2018, took on Bayern, treble-winners back then, in the first round of the DFB Cup. Matches had to take place without spectators back then, so they gave up their right to play at home and spared the FCB pros the trip. On Sunday Bayern return the favour.
"FC Düren were deprived of a unique experience back then and we're now happy to make up for it for the fans in this region," FC Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said when the friendly was announced: "As FC Bayern, we want to be both approachable and accessible - we're looking forward to playing against Düren."
Debuts in cup clash
The cup match in October 2020 ended in a 3-0 victory for Bayern. "From the first minute to the last, they did not look like a fifth division team, they attacked aggressively," Thomas Müller praised the side after the final whistle. The then new signing Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored two goals and won a penalty in his first competitive match in Bayern colours. Besides the Cameroonian, seven more players made their debut for Bayern. A certain Jamal Musiala made the starting line-up for the first time at the age of 17 years and 232 days, only just missing David Alaba's record (17 years, 231 days) of the youngest Bayern player in a cup match.
Friendly in Düren exclusive on FC Bayern TV PLUS
All that happened behind closed doors. There will be spectators for Sunday's reunion in Jülich. A good atmosphere at the stadium is guaranteed, as are motivated FC Bayern pros who want to show new head coach Vincent Kompany what's in them. You can watch the game live on fcbayern.com and on the FC Bayern app with a subscription to FC Bayern TV PLUS.
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