Two Bayern fans live out their Champions League dream

Bayern fans travel from all over to support their team at away matches – even if it means travelling hundreds of kilometres by motorway or rail, across oceans and through deserts. 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. These are our away fans with their special stories, their love and their passion for Bayern

Kevin and Moritz will be right in the thick of it, rather than just watching from the sidelines when Bayern take to the pitch at the Bernabéu this Tuesday. For these two fans, this trip to Madrid isn’t just another Champions League away fixture, but a moment they’ve been eagerly anticipating for years – full of memories, big matches and that special sense of excitement that only such European nights can bring.

Kevin is 33, Moritz 32 – both are from Cologne, and both grew up supporting Bayern. And both know what it feels like to grow up as a Bayern fan in a city where Köln is everywhere. For Kevin, it all began in 1999, with the dramatic Champions League final against Manchester United. Back then, he was a young boy, just beginning to discover football for himself. His father played football for fun, and that’s where his love for the sport first took root. But on that evening, it became something more. The family sat together in front of the TV, supporting “Bayern as the German team”, and Kevin suffered along with them. The images of Oliver Kahn and Mehmet Scholl, sitting dejected by the goal, are still vivid in his mind today. “I grew to love the commitment, the passion and the team,” he says. Sympathy turned into closeness, and closeness into a bond.

How childhood memories turned into a love for the team

Moritz’s Bayern history also dates back to his childhood. He was particularly influenced by his father, who has been a Bayern fan since the 1970s. “Just think about it – that’s over 50 years of family history that we associate with Bayern,” he says. For him, it all began in the traditional way, with Bayern bed sheets, posters of Claudio Pizarro or Owen Hargreaves from Bravo Sport, and a Bayern shirt on his Christmas wish list. And with those special evenings during the week when there was a Champions League match and he was allowed to stay up at least until half-time. It is precisely these memories from the late 90s and early 2000s, says Moritz, that have bound him emotionally to Bayern for life.

The 2001 Champions League final against Valencia was a defining moment for both of them. Kevin remembers exactly how he watched the penalty shootout “wrapped up in my Bayern bed sheets” and probably woke the neighbours when Kahn saved the last penalty. Moritz describes this final as the first one he really remembers. Nights like that stay with you. They are what fan life is all about.

Going against the grain as Bayern fans in Cologne

Yet being a fan in Cologne wasn’t always easy. Kevin recalls his school days, when, as a Bayern fan, he had to put up with quite a bit of teasing. On top of that, he had Italian friends and classmates with whom a constant sporting rivalry developed during the glory days of Juventus, Milan and Inter. It was the European fixtures in particular that shaped him, partly because, in his eyes, Bayern didn’t yet play with the air of inevitability that one perhaps associates with them today. This made the appeal of these clashes with the very best all the greater for him. Matches against Real Madrid, in particular, were “always something special”.

Here’s all you need to know for your trip to Madrid:

Moritz, too, associates Real Madrid with this grand European stage. When he looks back, he thinks of legendary names, epic stadiums and childhood dreams. From an early age, he wanted to be in the stadiums of the clubs that have shaped Europe: at Old Trafford or the Santiago Bernabéu. Almost three years ago, he ticked off the first box with Manchester United. And now Madrid is next – in a Champions League quarter-final.

Memorable nights, painful moments, lasting memories

Bayern have given both of them unforgettable memories from live matches. Kevin’s parents once gave him tickets for a match in Munich against Hoffenheim back in the 2008 season when the newly promoted side were causing a stir in the league. He flew to Munich with his father, spent a day there and, that evening at the Allianz Arena, witnessed one of the best football matches he can remember. Seats right behind the goal, plus Luca Toni’s stoppage-time winner into that very net – “an unforgettable moment”, he says. Moritz’s first Bayern match live took him to the old Müngersdorf Stadium in Cologne. He still remembers that match to this day, partly because Bayern had to play in training vests, as they didn’t have their away kits.

Then there are those evenings that every Bayern fan can picture in their mind’s eye. The 2012 semi-final against Real Madrid, when Bastian Schweinsteiger fired Bayern into the final. Kevin remembers watching the match with a group of people in a friend’s living room and celebrating the evening “ecstatically” afterwards. Just a few weeks later came the Finale dahoam, watched together at Moritz’s with a barbecue, family, friends and the hope of the long-awaited title. But instead, it turned out to be one of the most painful moments of his time with Bayern. All the greater was the relief a year later when they managed to make amends against Borussia Dortmund. Kevin travelled to Munich with friends, watched the final at the public viewing in the Allianz Arena and then celebrated the Champions League title with everyone. For him, it remains one of the coolest moments ever.

Long road to a special European night

For Moritz, his connection with Bayern later took on a whole new dimension. He studied sports management in Cologne, completed an internship with Bayern in Munich during his master’s degree, and spent six months working at Säbener Straße. Getting a glimpse behind the scenes, seeing the players, experiencing the training ground and understanding how this club works, all of that was, as he says, a dream come true for him. He’s now lived in Munich on and off for almost 10 years and can visit the Allianz Arena time and again. Yet even for him, what lies ahead is something quite different.

Clue up on the pre-match facts:

After all, Madrid is more than just a venue for both of them. For Kevin, a Champions League match for Bayern had long been on his bucket list. “It’s been on my list for a very long time,” he says. It had never worked out before. It almost happened in 2022, but then the surprise exit against Villarreal got in the way. So the joy is all the greater now that it’s working out with an away match in Madrid – the knockout stage, the Bernabéu, Real. For Moritz, it’s also an absolute highlight, one that he “already knows I’ll never forget”.

Highlight of a long journey with Bayern

So this day in Madrid holds a lot of significance for both of them: childhood memories, family history, memorable football nights, and the excitement of facing an opponent who has always held a special place in the hearts of generations of Bayern fans. Kevin says he’s “really excited” about the match and is looking forward to the atmosphere with the Bayern fans in the away section. Moritz is hoping for a “wonderful time” and for memories that might one day be passed on. Perhaps even to his own children, just as he once inherited his passion from his dad. But for now, it’s all about the match against Real, or as Kevin puts it at the end: “Pack ma’s!”

Read Leon Goretzka’s thoughts ahead of the quarter-finals: