In honour of FC Bayern's 125th birthday, fans were given the opportunity to select their favourite game in the history of their beloved club – the votes have now been counted! Supporters of the German record champions have crowned the 2013 Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund as their favourite, with almost a third of the votes going to that magical night at London's Wembley stadium. A nail-biting Bundesliga finale as well as a UCL penalty shootout drama also ranked highly among the fans. fcbayern.com presents the top five matches.
1st place: The crowning of 'Generation Wembley'
Every Bayern fan will always remember this evening in May 2013. At the footballing mecca of Wembley, the golden generation of Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Co ascended to Europe's throne. Exactly 372 days on from the bitter defeat in the 'Finale dahoam', the Munich men celebrated a 2-1 victory in the all-German final against BVB thanks to Arjen Robben's late winner. With that, the German record champions lifted the famous trophy into the night sky for the fifth time in the club's history. FCB supporters look back to this triumph particularly fondly, with nearly 30 percent of them voting for it as their favourite game.
2nd place: The famous eight-goal spectacle against Barça
When two footballing giants like Bayern and Barcelona meet in a Champions League quarter-final, you expect a high-quality encounter. However, very few people would've expected the masterclass that FCB delivered at Lisbon's Estádio da Luz on 14 August 2020. The Bavarians demolished the Blaugrana, putting eight goals past a star-studded side featuring Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez. Wonderful moves, Alphonso Davies' solo effort and a brace from Barça loanee Philippe Coutinho – there were numerous highlights for fans of the German record champions to savour in this clash, which is why 21 percent of them voted for it as their favourite Bayern game.
3rd place: Andersson fires FCB top in 94th minute
Patrik Andersson wrote himself into the history books on 19 May 2001. In the match between Bayern and Hamburger SV on the final day of the season, it was the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time when the Swedish defender placed the ball down 10 metres from the opposition goal. The Munich men had been awarded an indirect free kick in the dying seconds and needed one goal to equalise and move back above Schalke at the top of the Bundesliga table. The Royal Blues were already celebrating what they thought was a safe victory – too early, it turned out. Andersson took a long run-up and, after the ball was laid off, hammered it into the net with full power to make it 1-1.
This put Bayern back at the top of the table. And with the full-time whistle following shortly after, the trophy went to Munich after all. Oliver Kahn's legendary celebration with the corner flag, ecstasy for the German record champions, dejected faces at Schalke – it was a memorable afternoon on which FCB were crowned German champions at the last second. The fans voted the clash with HSV (8%) into their top three favourite Bayern matches.
4th place: No chance for Messi and Co – FCB thrash faltering Barça
It wasn't just the fans of the German record champions who were left rubbing their eyes in amazement after this match. When referee Viktor Kassai blew the final whistle in the first leg of the semi-final between Bayern and Barcelona, the scoreboard in the Allianz Arena read 4-0. In words: FOUR-TO-ZERO! Head coach Jupp Heynckes' side humbled the successful team of Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi, who had turned European football on its head with their dominance in previous years. As superior as Bayern's performance was and as clear as the result was in the end, in hindsight it could also be seen as a statement victory on the way to the 2013 triumph in Europe's premier club competition. Especially as Munich left no doubt in the second leg at Camp Nou (3-0) as to which team would go through to the final. The clash with Barça (7%) certainly deserves its place in the top five of Bayern's favourite matches.
5th place: The penalty drama of Milan
There haven't been many tenser games in Bayern's history than the 2001 Champions League final against Valencia CF, which also got around seven percent of the votes and finished in fifth position. It's no surprise that this encounter is among the absolute highlights for FCB fans, given that the Reds lifted the cup with the handles for the fourth time after an engrossing final in Milan. The two goals in normal time also came from the spot, with Gaizka Mendieta giving the Spaniards the lead in just the second minute and captain Stefan Effenberg equalising for Bayern in the 50th minute. After the score remained 1-1 following extra time, a penalty shootout was required. Oliver Kahn, having already saved two of Valencia's spot-kicks, then parried Mauricio Pellegrino's effort, sparking wild celebrations.
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