From Alan McInally to Daniel Peretz: Red rarities

Hundreds of players have pulled on the Bayern jersey over the years. Most of them came from Germany - but a few form a special collective: 13 pros who are the only ones from their home countries to have played for the German record champions. They include Alan McInally, Ásgeir Sigurvinsson, Pasi Rautiainen, Pablo Thiam - and also Daniel Peretz from the current senior squad. FC Bayern club magazine ‘51’ asked them what it means to them to be a red rarity.

Daniel Peretz

• born in: Tel Aviv/Israel
• at FC Bayern: since 2023, 7 appearances
• 4 caps for Israel

"To get an idea of what it means to be the first player from Israel to wear the FC Bayern jersey, you only have to go back a few months. Last December, against Shakhtar Donetsk, I stood between the posts for the first time in the Champions League - and at home in Israel, a TV station promptly changed its programme schedule to broadcast the game in full. That shows how much people in my home country are watching me - and how proud they are that an Israeli is playing for this great club.

There are a lot of Bayern fans in Israel, and I've always been one. It started when I was seven or eight years old. One of my first memories was when Arjen Robben scored with a volley against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The emotions afterwards just blew me away. I'll never forget it. After that, I closely followed what happened at FC Bayern from afar, and my focus was naturally on the many great goalkeepers at the club. Manuel Neuer in particular was always my role model. To know him personally now, to be on the training pitch with him every day - I'd never have dreamed of that.

After my move to FC Bayern was announced, I received many messages from Israeli footballers who had already played in the Bundesliga. They gave me tips, be it for everyday life or for learning German. That really touched me. Time and again, I feel how many people in my home country are behind me, which means I'm never alone on my journey."

Ásgeir Sigurvinsson

• born in: Vestmannaeyjar/Iceland
• at FC Bayern: 1981-82, 25 appearances (1 goal)
• 45 caps (5 goals) for Iceland

"There are many people in Iceland who like German football. And for many, FC Bayern is their favourite club. So my move to Munich in 1981 certainly garnered a lot of attention. Even back then, you couldn't have gone to a bigger club. Bayern was full of stars: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Paul Breitner, Dieter Hoeneß and many others. For me, the move was a huge opportunity and a huge challenge. I almost ended up at 1. FC Köln, but then Uli Hoeneß called – and I didn't have to think twice. I really wanted to try my luck in Munich.

It was just a shame that I arrived there with an injury. I had previously played for Standard Liège - and in my last game in Belgium, the cup final, I injured my knee. Instead of going on holiday, I went to Munich to see Dr Müller-Wohlfahrt. But it took a while before I was 100 per cent fit again. I also had to get to grips with the language and mentality. None of that was easy.

Nevertheless, I did make a few appearances. Unfortunately, I was almost never able to play in my favourite position as an attacking midfielder, as that was of course Paul Breitner's position. So I usually switched to the left flank. Only once, when Paul didn't play, was I allowed to play in the centre, at Nürnberg - and I scored a goal straight away. Overall, I have very fond memories of Munich. We won the DFB Cup and reached the European Cup final. I felt very at home in the team. Even though I would have liked more appearances, it wasn't a wasted year.

To this day, I'm the only Icelander to have played for FC Bayern. The people in my home country haven't forgotten that. But I'm pretty well known here anyway. I voted Footballer of the Year several times, Sportsman of the Year twice, and I was also the national coach. There are now some good young Icelanders playing in Europe. Fast, technically strong players. At some point, the next Icelander will definitely end up at Bayern."

Alan McInally

• born in: Ayr/Scotland
• at FC Bayern: 1989-93, 56 appearances (14 goals)
• 8 caps (3 goals) for Scotland

"It is fantastic that I'm the only Scot to have ever played for Bayern. I've consistently said what a great opportunity it is for Harry Kane to play for Bayern today. He came from Tottenham, I played for Aston Villa and Glasgow Celtic before that. They're all big clubs, but Bayern is just something else. In Munich you not only have to win every Saturday and Wednesday, in Munich you also have to win every five-a-side in training. To have the privilege of playing for Bayern - it doesn't get any better than that.

However, my compatriots like to play that down. We have a saying: ‘Don't get too big for your boots’. Meaning: ‘It's nice what you've achieved in your career, Alan. You've played for Celtic, Aston Villa and then even Bayern Munich. You've done really well. But please calm down, my boy, keep your feet on the ground.' That's just the way we Scots are.

Of course, my move to Munich was a big topic in Scotland and England. At that time, only two UK players had ever moved to Europe: Chris Waddle to Marseille and me to Munich. So it wasn't something that happened every day. I remember when I met Uli Hoeneß, Jupp Heynckes and Fritz Scherer in the hotel at the end of May 1989 after an international against Chile - we won 2-0 and I scored a goal. Uli asked: ‘Alan, would you like to become an FC Bayern player?’ My father was there too, and instead of putting on a poker face, he immediately nodded: ‘Yes, yes, yes, he wants to.’ Of course I wanted to. I've made good and bad decisions in my life - that was one of the best.

When I arrived in Munich a few weeks later, I had my kilt with me - but I soon started wearing lederhosen and felt like a Bavarian. I still have my lederhosen at home today, as well as my traditional hat with the feather. I'll never forget how we celebrated the league title with the fans at Marienplatz at the end of my first season. There were 30,000, 40,000 people there - absolutely fantastic! I have so many fond memories of that time. If I hadn't injured my knee, I would definitely have stayed in Munich for ten years or more. I'm a proud Scot, but to this day I'm also a Bavarian."

Pablo Thiam

• born in: Conakry/Guinea
• at FC Bayern: 2001-2002, 28 appearances (0 goals)
• 31 caps (1 goal) for Guinea

"When I moved to Munich, there was no social media where people would immediately comment on everything. Nevertheless, I quickly realised that I was attracting a whole new level of attention. In Guinea, too. Right at the start of my spell at Bayern, we played in the UEFA Super Cup final against Liverpool. Of course, everyone in Guinea watched the game. Unfortunately, we also lost 3-2 due to a mistake I made. That was the moment when I realised how much I was suddenly being scrutinised by an entire country. The World Cup win a few months later was also a moment like that, this time with a better outcome for all of us.

Guinea is a poor country, but football is something that has always made the people there happy. The focus is mainly on the leagues in France and Belgium, because French is spoken there, and of course the Premier League. But even back then, every child knew FC Bayern because the club consistently played in the Champions League.

I was only at Bayern for a year and a half and had a long, successful career at Köln, Stuttgart and Wolfsburg, but no matter where I go, FC Bayern is the club that people talk to me about the most. Once you've been at FC Bayern, you carry this positive stamp forever. Today I live in Berlin - and people still keep coming up to me, saying, ‘Man, back then you were one of the few Africans in the Bundesliga.' They tell their children: ‘Look, that was our African in the Bundesliga.' You can feel a certain pride, and that's nice.

FC Bayern was one of the best things that happened to me in my career, even if it wasn't easy for me in Munich in sporting terms. Seeing how this club works and getting to know Uli Hoeneß shaped me for the rest of my life. One day the next player from Guinea will join FC Bayern. I would definitely advise any player to make the move to Munich if they have the opportunity. FC Bayern is simply one of the biggest clubs a player can turn out for."

Pasi Rautiainen

• born in: Helsinki/Finland
• at FC Bayern: 1980, 1 appearance (0 goals)
• 29 caps (1 goal ) for Finland

"To this day, people ask me what it was like back then at the great FC Bayern. Every year, someone who wants to make a book or a film gets in touch. But I don't think the time has come yet. I still have all my own hair.

In the summer of 1980, I moved from HJK Helsinki to Munich. There was a huge reaction at home. There had only been two Finns in the Bundesliga before, neither of them at FC Bayern. Many saw me as a bridge-builder between Finland and Germany. But I think I created the wrong image of us Finns in Munich. In 2010, I met up with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeneß again for a TV programme. Kalle said: ‘Back then, we all thought Finns were tall, stubborn, no-nonsense, reserved - and then you came along, a little boy with long hair and a south European temperament.' There is just something of the southern Italian in me, I've always remained a bit of a child. And that's how I played football, full of love and enthusiasm.

I'm very proud to have had the privilege of wearing the Bayern jersey, even if it was only for one match. In hindsight, I can say that Bayern came too early for me. Also because I couldn't speak German back then. I never thought that 15 years later I would emerge from the Cologne Sports University as a football coach. It was only after being in Bayern, Bremen and Bielefeld that I showed that the little Finn could hold his own in the Bundesliga.

I learnt a lot for my life during my six months in Munich. I also learnt that Finns and Bavarians have a lot in common. We share this family feeling of togetherness. Once FC Bayern, always FC Bayern! And: when we celebrate, we do it properly - but then we get back to work.

You never forget all the things you do for the first time in life: your first love, your first time drunk, your first goal... Bayern was my first real professional club, my first spell abroad - I still have the club in my heart today."

This article appeared in the April issue of club magazine ‘51’.

Extra Easter Monday shift for Neuer and Upa: