Grade A in Chemistry: The special team spirit at FC Bayern

Possession, running distances, pass completion – FC Bayern's top form can be proven with various stats. But there's one element of success that's harder to measure: team chemistry. The secret superpower of Kompany's men. FC Bayern magazine 51 asked our players how their spirit has become so strong – and what they can now achieve together.

Team spirit is a fleeting phenomenon; hard to define, sometimes it becomes invisible for a moment and then suddenly it’s fully there again. For example on Matchday 18 in Leipzig: FC Bayern are 1-0 down at half-time and have got off lightly. But after the break, Vincent Kompany’s side again demonstrate what has set them apart this season: they run, battle, tackle and thus work themselves up into a frenzy. A 1-0 deficit quickly becomes a 4-1 lead. Bayern look like a machine where one cog interlocks with the other. And at the same time, like a group of good friends who have fun together, know each other well, want success for one another and support each other. In short: a true team.

Numerous sports scientific studies have shown that a good team spirit has a positive effect on performance. That make sense. But what does that mean exactly? And how does a good team spirit arise? We asked a number of Bayern about it, who all have different roles in the squad: leaders, non-stop runners, stalwarts, newcomers and convalescents. But they all sense that something special is coming together at FC Bayern – and keeps growing. Listening to them, six reasons for the perfect team chemistry emerge.

Sure, Sepp Herberger’s mantra “you have to be 11 friends” is 70 years old. Being a footballer is a job, and a very demanding one at that with detailed training plans, marketing commitments and long trips abroad. Sitting together deep into the night and philosophising about god and the world? That’s tricky. Yet even in modern football, it’s important not to just see it as a job. Good relationships between players evidentially still positively affect sporting results.

Serge Gnabry: “I enjoy coming to Säbener Straße every day. In my eight years here I’ve not only developed sporting relationships, but also true friendships – in the team and also with the staff.”

Hiroki Ito: “There’s a relaxed, good atmosphere. Music plays a big role too. There are always various DJs in the team before matches or at the training ground – lots of different styles and tastes. It’s fun.”

Konrad Laimer: “There are players who do things together off the pitch too, but there’s no pressure. Everyone’s different, everyone needs different things. All that matters is that everyone feels comfortable in their role. And that appears to be the case at the moment.”

Harry Kane: “We already played very good football and won the league last year, but that was still the coach’s first year. This season you notice that the team has grown. The players understand each other and the processes better, and feel more comfortable in their positions and movements.”

The FC Bayern squad comprises 23 players – fewer than all other Bundesliga teams. Before the season, some analysts questioned whether that would be enough to compete in the league, cup and Champions League. Six months later, we can safely say: yes, it’s enough. And in fact, it appears to be an advantage. The smaller the group, the more tight-knit it is – Canadian sports psychologist Albert Carron demonstrated this correlation back in 1990 in a study of basketball teams of different sizes. Incidentally, other top European clubs like Barcelona (23) and Paris Saint-Germain (24) are also opting for smaller squads.

Konrad Laimer: “I don’t find our squad small. We have two players in almost every position – you don’t need more than that.”

Hiroki Ito: “When a squad is very large, little cliques emerge or strong rivalries for individual positions. With our setup, it’s manageable; everyone knows everyone well. That also helps new players like me to integrate more quickly.”

Manuel Neuer: “Because of that, there aren’t any pure squad players who you have to take care of because they might be unhappy.”

Konrad Laimer: “Everyone has the feeling: if you put in the effort and play well, you’ll get your chance. Everyone’s needed in the end.”

English, German, French, Dutch – Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany is fluent in four languages. But regardless of which one he’s speaking, one thing always stays the same: he never criticises his players publically or in front of the group. If there’s something to clear up, he’ll address it clearly and respectfully in a one-to-one conversation. An appreciative approach that seems to have spread to the entire team – and connects everyone.

Manuel Neuer: “When I turned pro, there were clearer hierarchies. Over the course of the years, it’s become the popular approach to distribute the responsibility across multiple shoulders.”

Hiroki Ito: “We come from different cultures – I’m from Japan, others from Africa or Europe. This diversity is a positive thing, but it only functions when you respect each other. For me, that’s the foundation of everything.”

Manuel Neuer: “It’s important that particularly the young players feel good. It’s the job of senior players like me to ask them for their opinion and integrate them quickly. They should be able to express themselves and be brave and confident. You see with Lennart Karl how much everyone ultimately benefits from that.”

Konrad Laimer: “But that doesn't mean that things can't get a little loud on the pitch from time to time. That’s part of football. The key thing is not to go overboard. It’s important that we can discuss contentious topics in the dressing room normally.”

Recurrent metatarsal fracture for Hiroki Ito, cruciate ligament tear for Alphonso Davies, broken leg for Jamal Musiala – three important Bayern players suffered long-term injuries at the start of this season. Multiple studies prove that shared painful experiences can lead to a greater togetherness. A research group led by Australian psychologist Bastian Brock, for example, came to this conclusion after asking students to perform various painful tasks, such as holding their hands in ice-cold water or eating very hot chillis. These experiments might not relate directly to football and FC Bayern, but it’s clear that the FCB team has grown even closer together as a result of painful moments and has overcome them together. 

Hiroki Ito: “The time after my second metatarsal fracture was a tough period. Thankfully I had Phonzy and Jamal, who I met every morning for rehab at the club centre. We spent a lot of time with each other, ate together, shared ideas and also went to the stadium for home games together. The coach supported us a lot as well. One line that he often repeated was: ‘One day closer.’ Every day brings you closer to your comeback.”

Konrad Laimer: “When someone’s injured for a long time and comes back, everyone’s pleased for him. That was the case for Hiroki just as it was for Phonzy and Jamal. Everyone knows how bad it is when you’re not fit and can’t do what you enjoy so much.”

Hiroki Ito: “I always felt part of the team – even though I couldn’t be involved on the pitch. The contact never broke off.”

To be successful as a team, it’s not enough for the players to get along well. You also need a common goal that connects them. That’s why, in team dynamics research, ‘task cohesion’ is analysed along with ‘social cohesion’. At Bayern, the goals are clearly defined. Anyone who plays for the record champions wants to win every match and every competition. End of. However, Kompany has also managed to convey to his players the manner in which this objective should be achieved: through hard work on and off the pitch. Even our centre-forward Harry Kane is not above making tackles by his own corner flag.

Konrad Laimer: “The coach and staff constantly demand that we go the extra mile. And everyone who’s on the field lives by that at the moment.”

Hiroki Ito: “Our performances remind me a bit of the Japanese mentality: we respect each other, fight for each other and give everything for the club. I don’t just sense that in matches but also in every training session.”

6-0, 3-2, 3-2, 5-0, 3-1, 4-1, 4-0, 5-1, 3-0, 2-1 – Bayern started this season with 10 straight wins, some by big margins, and were on a high. Psychologists Brian Mullen and Carolyn Copper proved as early as 1994 that wins increase group cohesion in sport. It seems as though Bayern find themselves in a self-reinforcing upward spiral this season: every victory contributes to the team chemistry, which in turn increases the chances of winning. And even when things aren't going well, the management and players remain steadfast in their approach. “We don’t need to question everything now, but accept that today was not our day,” said Kompany after our long winning streak in the Bundesliga came to an end with a 2-1 defeat to Augsburg. Frustration? Panic? Blame game? None of that to be heard. Where can this lead?

Harry Kane: “When you start a run, momentum develops. Then you feel almost unbeatable.”

Hiroki Ito: “We won a lot of games in the Bundesliga, but then lost to Augsburg and drew against Hamburg. That happens. The important thing was that we stayed calm and kept doing what we’d been doing – with the same attitude and team spirit.”

Serge Gnabry: “Even at critical moments, we stay calm, pull even closer together and focus on our performance. I certainly see similarities with our treble-winning team of 2020, even if it’s still early to make big claims. But in my view, the atmosphere in the team is currently the best it’s been since then.”

Article taken from the March edition of FC Bayern Members’ Magazine ‘51’ – here in an abridged version.