FC Bayern fans travel from all over the world to support their team at away matches – even if it takes them hundreds of kilometres through snow and cold. We want to get to know those who spare no effort or expense to see their beloved Bayern away from the Allianz Arena a little better: our away fans with their special stories, their love and their passion for FC Bayern.
Christoph Heerdt has watched well over 1,000 FC Bayern matches live at the stadium, but many of them away from Munich: “Away matches are our home matches in the Bundesliga,” he says. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Willingen in the Sauerland region, a town of 5,000 people between Kassel and Dortmund. It takes eight hours to the Allianz Arena by fan bus, two drivers are required because of the driving times. It takes three and a half hours by train from Kassel. But Christoph Heerdt still has a season ticket, a matter of course for him as chairman and founding member of the FC Bayern fan club Rot Weiße Upland Bazis. When his children were not yet born and he was not in a leading position at work, he also had a season ticket for away matches. “That’s not possible any more, but we go to the matches with the whole family whenever it’s possible.”
‘Other people buy cars for that’
They have been to Rotterdam, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan and even in the Allgäu region for friendlies. “I’ve seen a lot thanks to FC Bayern, we’ve travelled a lot through Europe,” says Heerdt. They like to stay for a few nights for sightseeing and to get to know the country and its people. They have spent a lot of money on the trips. “Other people buy cars for that,” says Heerdt: “FC Bayern has always been my passion.”
Heerdt swapped tickets with another fan club and invited his mother, an ardent Bayern fan for decades, because his wife and his older daughter were sick. “I’ve always loved FC Bayern,” says Rosemarie. The 76-year-old once played as goalkeeper and at left-back in Korbach, “in the first women’s team the club had,” she says proudly. That’s where she met her husband, a Hamburger SV fan. “It was too late when we got married, I couldn’t change his mind any more,” she says. Love endured, even though she passed on her love for FC Bayern to only one son. Christoph’s brother is an ardent Schalke fan. “Let’s put it this way: we’re a football-loving family,” says Rosemarie.
Premiere for eight-year-old daughter
But the visit to the BayArena was still special for the longstanding Bayern fans. On the one hand, it took only two and a half hours by car, but above all it was the first time at a stadium for eight-year-old Amelie. “My granddaughter is a big Musiala fan,” says Rosemarie. “She couldn’t wait to go to the stadium all week,” her dad says. Amelie was very pleased about Jamal Musiala’s contract extension this week, and now she can finally watch her favourite player live: “I like him because he scores so many goals and is just a great player,” says Amelie.
Jamal Musiala and FC Bayern failed to score on Saturday, but the draw still felt like a victory for the Heerdt family. “The atmosphere, the people – we know each other. It’s like a family in the fan block away from home,” says Christoph Heerdt. He usually has standing tickets, but this time they were in a seated block: “Because of the little one,” says Heerdt. “Be honest,” says Rosemarie, grinning: “And because of the old one.”
The analysis of the top match:
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