First an entry in the Golden Book (in which Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, among others, have also immortalised themselves), then a procession to the ‘Star of the South’ and applause from the 300 attendees - and finally an extensive question and answer session, followed by autographs and selfies. Max Eberl took a lot of time for the Gneiding fan club in his first appearance at FC Bayern's traditional Christmas visits. "For 30 years I've only ever followed these visits in the media - now I can finally be part of the FC Bayern family," said the board member for sport. "Our fans are the basis of our club. It's an honour to be here with you today."
„For 30 years I've only ever followed these visits in the media - now I can finally be part of the FC Bayern family. Our fans are the basis of our club. It's an honour to be here with you today.”
Max Eberl, FC Bayern Munich board member for sport
'Event like this touches my heart'
During his visit, Eberl left no doubt as to how important it is to him that Bayern remains the close-knit club that he himself experienced when he took his first steps at Säbener Straße as a five-year-old and became the first to go through all the junior teams to the pros. "For me, 'Mia san mia' means home, solidarity, and it makes our club so special that we fill this attitude with life through traditions such as the fan club visits," he said. "Uli Hoeneß is also my mentor in such matters, and we want to carry on the way he made this club what it is. An event like this touches my heart."
Anecdote with Uli Hoeneß
On the stage next to Eberl, a Christmas tree in red and white created a festive atmosphere in the colours of FC Bayern, and the programme included an open question and answer session as well as a competition involving shooting at a small FCB goal. Head coach Vincent Kompany received a special round of applause when he was mentioned. "A great person, a great personality," said Eberl and revealed an anecdote: Uli Hoeneß had told him on the way to the negotiations that he was not allowed to leave Kompany's house without him saying yes. The board member for sport almost spent the night on the couch of the man he was courting; but in the end, the agreement was finalised. In between, Eberl was asked in the gym how he liked his Leberkäsesemmel. He grinned and said: very good, he just didn't get round to eating it - because he was asked so many interesting questions.
The Gneiding fan club is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year and has a remarkable 633 members out of a population of 100. In the first year of its existence, the club hosted the then head coach Jupp Heynckes, later Mehmet Scholl and then Philipp Lahm. Eberl was born just over an hour away in Bogen - the fact that he dropped by for the club's anniversary was "an absolute winner for us", said Alois Leipold, fan club chairman and founding member. Eberl's farewell song was Franz Beckenbauer's hit "Gute Freunde kann niemand trennen" ("Good friends can never be separated") - and the whole hall sang along.
Here's what Vincent Kompany & Co got up to on Sunday:
