After FC Bayern president Herbert Hainer had laid a wreath at the memorial to the victims of the 1958 Munich Air Disaster at Old Trafford during the first leg of the UEFA Women’s Champions League tie between FC Bayern Women and Manchester United, a joint commemoration was held at Manchester Platz in Munich the day after the 2-1 victory in the return fixture at the Allianz Arena. Matt Johnson, director of women’s football at United, led the English delegation comprising the women’s team, whilst FC Bayern were represented by vice-president Walter Mennekes and long-standing manager Karin Danner, who is now part of the club’s hall of fame. The fan club Red Docs Munich, which has organised the memorial in Munich for many years, was represented by Maren Salzmann-Brünjes.
At the small ceremony, during which United laid flowers at the memorial, Mennekes began by conveying greetings from the entire club on behalf of the executive committee, before offering a personal insight. He said he could still remember 6 February 1958 vividly: “I was 11 years old, playing football myself in my village, at school and everywhere, and we were all devastated when we heard about this terrible tragedy.” Twenty-two people died, including eight players from the unforgettable Busby Babes. “Sir Bobby Charlton, whom I later had the privilege of meeting, survived, and with him survived the Flowers of Manchester, which will never fade. For this tragedy binds FC Bayern and Manchester United together forever in a special way. Matt Johnson, please take our heartfelt condolences with you on your journey home to Manchester! The dead live on in our memories and in the history of our two clubs. Our response to the tragedy is the friendship between two great clubs, spanning generations,” said Mennekes. “I’m very proud to be representing FC Bayern here today at this special moment,” added Danner. “FC Bayern stands for solidarity and respect. The fact that such a special relationship with Manchester United has developed over the decades through our shared remembrance is a wonderful sign that football is not always just about rivalry but that it brings people together.”
As a personal memento, Mennekes presented Johnson’s delegation with a scarf. Johnson addressed words of thanks to FC Bayern: “The Manchester Air Disaster is a defining moment in the history of Manchester United, and it was important to us to take the time during our stay in Munich to pay our respects to the 23 men and women who lost their lives on 6 February 1958. It’s a moving experience to visit this memorial, and we’d like to thank the representatives of FC Bayern Munich who accompanied us here this morning.” Following the recitation of the poem ‘The Flowers of Manchester’, the commemoration concluded with a minute’s silence.
A total of 23 people died in the crash on 6 February 1958, including eight Manchester United players. The team had made a stopover on its return journey from a European Cup match in Belgrade. Since then, thousands of fans have travelled to Munich on the anniversary to honour the memory of the Flowers of Manchester. FC Bayern is regularly represented at these special commemorative events by members of its senior management, such as president Hainer, honorary president Uli Hoeneß and long-serving CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. To mark the 50th anniversary of the disaster, Manchester Platz was inaugurated in Munich in 2008, and since 2020 a dedicated memorial shrine has commemorated what happened.
Topics of this article