The fans inside the Allianz Arena were singing “European Cup winners” as the heroes of the 1974 triumph entered the pitch. The former players had travelled from as far away as Scandinavia and even Benin in Africa for the reunion as the club icons including Uli Hoeneß met to swap anecdotes until long after the end of Sunday’s match. Bayern’s 2-0 win against Freiburg saw the club honour the team that established the Bavarians at the top of the world game 50 years ago with three successive triumphs in the European Cup. CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen gave the welcoming address (“We are proud and grateful for what you achieved for this club”), and president Herbert Hainer and honorary president Hoeneß agreed in their speeches at the ceremony in the FC Bayern Museum: “This team established ‘Mia san mia’.”
Honoured ahead of kick-off
Before kick-off, Hainer, Dreesen and vice-chairman Michael Diederich presented flowers to Heidi Beckenbauer and Hildegard Lattek, and a team picture from 1974 to Hoeneß on the pitch in front of 75,000 fans in the sold-out Allianz Arena. Paul Breitner and some of his old teammates were accompanied by their grandchildren. “This is the FC Bayern family,” said Franz ‘Bulle’ Roth. “This club never forgets anyone, and it's just nice to be together again.”
From Conny Torstensson from Sweden, the Danes Johnny Hansen and Viggo Jensen, to Gernot Rohr, who had travelled from Benin via Paris, they all came. One in particular was celebrated: Hans-Georg ‘Katsche’ Schwarzenbeck. Without his long-range effort in the last minute of the original final against Atlético Madrid, “the history of this club would have been different”, said Dreesen. In his speech in the museum, Hainer later called for an extra round of applause, and the entire room, including vice-president Professor Dr Dieter Mayer and the two honorary vice-presidents Professor Dr Fritz Scherer and Bernd Rauch, applauded enthusiastically. In a video played about the 1974 triumph, Schwarzenbeck explained: “We could’ve given up back then, but we are FC Bayern!”
Gerd Müller and Hoeneß also received extra applause when their braces in the 4-0 win in the replay were mentioned. “Uli, your solo runs will never be forgotten,” said Hainer in his speech and, to the amusement of the guests, vividly described how “we all wanted to be like you back then - I also wore my hair down to my shoulders. You were our idols, back then we all became staunch Reds. It was a cultural shift.” According to the president, we shouldn't forget: “Less than 10 years earlier, FC Bayern had only just been promoted to the Bundesliga and had already reached the absolute top of the world. That was the beginning of Bayern's unshakeable dominance, which continues to this day. It was then that the now world-famous FC Bayern gene was anchored in our club. You are the founders of ‘Mia san mia’.”
Hoeneß: “Ushered in the international era of FC Bayern”
Hoeneß picked up the ball in his speech: “My dear friends, we ushered in the international era of FC Bayern. You played a huge part in the honour of FC Bayern.” Looking back, he is certain that “‘Mia san mia’ was born during the two games against Atlético. We were actually done for, all out of energy, and then we played one of the best games a Bayern Munich team has ever played. You can all be very proud of that. Thank you all, and we want to celebrate that together today.”
Later on, long after the final whistle, the circle of chairs in Eventbox 7, which had formed around Hoeneß, kept expanding to reminisce. One by one, teammates joined in, from Rohr to Hansen and Jensen to Herbert Zimmermann and Bernd Gersdorff, who jokingly said to the honorary president: “You're a dog, but a good dog!” Rainer Zobel, for many the best man on the pitch in the replay, rightly said: “We were the beginning.” And at the end, photos were taken once again with the European Cup and the Bundesliga trophy, which the team won three times in a row, which was a first at the time.
This team was “the perfect mix of incredibly talented footballers who grew together as a team over the years, and FC Bayern still applies this philosophy today,” said Hainer. “You wrote history, and generations of Bayern players have continued this success story chapter by chapter after you. You made your history our history, that of the entire club and its fans. You remain unrivalled and will never be unforgotten. Thank you for everything you have given and made possible for this club!”
