Every year, FC Bayern's officials and players put a smile on the faces of young and old alike with a special tradition: on Sunday, Herbert Hainer, Jan-Christian Dreesen, Vincent Kompany and Co hit the road for Bayern's popular fan club visits. Having been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic and then in 2022 because of the World Cup, and postponed to January last winter due to heavy snowfall, the events were now traditionally held before Christmas again. Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller and colleagues once again provided happy moments and an unforgettable afternoon for Bayern supporters one day after the 2-1 defeat at Mainz.
"It's always a wonderful gathering, it was a lot of fun today," summarised president Hainer. "It's an absolute FC Bayern tradition and a living example of 'Mia san mia'. You get to talk to the fans and I only ever hear positive feedback from our players."
Bayern cover three countries
The Bavarians travelled throughout the country and even beyond. Hainer visited the "Frankenwaldpower" fan club in Helmbrechts, while CEO Dreesen dropped by "Red-White-China Dietfurt" in Dietfurt an der Altmühl. His board colleague Michael Diederich spent his Sunday with "Rollwagerl '93 e.V." in Munich. Sporting director Christoph Freund travelled to his native Austria, as he did in January - this time to the "Natternbach" fan club.
Head coach Kompany made his fan club debut at "Obing '84 e.V." in Traunstein in Upper Bavaria. Josip Stanišić travelled beyond the border to the "Ahrntal" fan club in Italian Longomoso in South Tyrol.
Debuts and challenges
João Palhinha enjoyed his fan club visit debut. | © FC Bayern
All of the players and officials received an extremely warm welcome. João Palhinha, for example, made his debut at the fan club visits and was thrilled after his visit to "Forever “94 Schönbrunn” in Hohenau, Lower Bavaria: "It's wonderful to see so many children with my jersey and the happy families. Something like that makes me proud and I really enjoyed the day. I hope next year I can answer even more in German," said the Portuguese summer signing, who was welcomed by brass band music and tried his hand at stein lifting and barrel tapping, among other things.
The players and staff busily signed autographs, posed for photos, answer questions and gave out presents from the club - including a signed shirt. They also competed with and against fan club members in various challenges. Jamal Musiala ("De Griabig'n vo Niederquick e.V."), who practised his Schuhplattler skills to great effect, threw baskets, as did Kingsley Coman ("Höchstädter Schlosspanther e.V."), while Dayot Upamecano ("Vilstal “94”) and Müller ("Stammtisch Woppmannszell") demonstrated their skills at the barrel tapping. As befits his status, born-and-bred Bavarian Müller only needed two hits.
'Thank you for the reception and hospitality'
"Thank you for this great reception and hospitality," was the message in the town's Golden Book from Joshua Kimmich, who tried his hand at the goal wall at "Falken 09 e.V." in Dürbheim, like Serge Gnabry did at "Bavaria 12 e.V." in Simbach and Michael Olise at "Red-White-Champions e.V." in Tittling. Olise scored with his left foot on his third attempt on his fan club debut and was then delighted to receive several gifts from Tittlingen - including an honorary membership.
Davies: Video call with international fan clubs
Alphonso Davies spoke in three calls to fans from different continents. | © FC Bayern
As Matthijs de Ligt did for the first time in January, Alphonso Davies now took part in multiple video calls with international fan clubs at Säbener Straße. The Canadian entertained around 200 fans from Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, China, the USA, Hong Kong (China), Canada, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico. The 24-year-old answered fan questions, played games such as city guessing and bingo, and did keepy-uppies for enthusiastic children in front of the screens.
From Helmbrechts to Mexico, the FC Bayern fan club visits were once again a complete success in December 2024. On that note, dear FCB fans: we hope for a Bayern win over Leipzig on Friday night and then a happy Christmas!
After the disappointment against Mainz, the Munich men want to end the year on a high against Leipzig:
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