Member no. 1 Heiner Jüngling turns 85 - Herbert Hainer: 'FC Bayern keeps you young and agile'

Diligent handshakes, firm hugs and plenty of pats on the back: when Heiner Jüngling recently visited FC Bayern's boardroom on the fringes of the 3-0 win over Union Berlin at the Allianz Arena, he was warmly welcomed by president Herbert Hainer, CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen and supervisory board members Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Franz ‘Bulle’ Roth immediately vacated a seat at his table."‘Sit down with us, tell us your story again," he said. Jüngling, FC Bayern's number one member since the 2022/23 season, was happy to oblige. And he has many stories to tell. Today, Wednesday, the Munich native celebrates his 85th birthday.

Still at almost every home game at 85

Franz Beckenbauer, in his inimitable manner, used to always say with a wink that as member number one of FC Bayern, you were living close to the pearly gates, Hainer recalls – "but Heiner Jüngling proves our Kaiser wrong. With Heiner Jüngling the clue is in the name, and FC Bayern evidently keeps you young and agile." Jüngling has been registered with the club since birth, his father once played for the Bayern reserves, and even at 85 he rarely misses a match at the Allianz Arena. Beckenbauer was his idol, Hoeneß also impressed him with his humanity, and in general: "FC Bayern is family for me."

Raised in the Schwabing borough of the city, Jüngling was enthusiastic about football by the time he was nine, when he was given a round leather ball as a present. From then on he kicked it about among the ruins of bombed Munich and in the English Garden, which at the time was still like a forest, as the birthday boy recalls. He's still glad that his father signed him up with Bayern when he was born, as he could've ended up with the other Munich club, he says with a sly look. "Thank God I became a Red – and I still am through and through." The friendly interaction with Hainer, Hoeneß, Rummenigge, Dreesen and Roth fits perfectly with the image of his Bayern. "Everyone is part of the family here, which is what I love about this club," he said.

Herbert Hainer: 'Proud to have such loyal members'

"I congratulate Heiner Jüngling on his 85th birthday on behalf of FC Bayern and wish him good health, happiness and much more joy from our club," Hainer said. "When someone is a member for 85 years, that is something very special, even for a club like FC Bayern. We're proud to have such loyal members, and a true Bavarian, born in Munich to boot – it all just fits together." With over 360,000 members, FC Bayern is the biggest sports club in the world, and over the past 12 months there's been record growth, pointed out the president. "This shows that FC Bayern is reaching people, that the dialogue formats developed by the club are working and that the fans appreciate what FC Bayern stands for off the pitch. We want to be a big family – and Heiner Jüngling has been part of it for decades."

The fourth away Stammtisch for FC Bayern members was held in Hamburg at the weekend: