Recap: Bayern's Sunday on Jeju Island

FC Bayern have arrived on Jeju! Following an eleven-hour flight, the record champions kicked off this year’s Audi Summer Tour on the South Korean island. The men from Munich will continue their pre-season preparations here until Wednesday, before travelling on to Hong Kong. After an extremely warm welcome from the South Korean fans, there was plenty going on around the record champions on the very first day. Here’s our recap.

Frenetic welcome

Hello, Korea! A large crowd of fans turned out to welcome FC Bayern at Jeju Airport at 1 pm local time. Luis Díaz and his teammates took the time after their arrival to fill the many requests for autographs and selfies from the supporters, who gave the German record champions a very warm welcome.

Neuer: Want to show ourselves at our best

On arrival, Manuel Neuer and Joshua Kimmich immediately took part in a brief press conference with South Korean journalists. “Wherever we train and play, wherever there are fans, we’ll go over to them and happily sign autographs. We want to show ourselves at our best,” said captain Neuer. “But even though we really appreciate that, we’re not doing the Audi Summer Tour just for the fans. We’re also doing it for ourselves, because we’re in the middle of pre-season. We have important matches coming up against Jeju and, later on, against Aston Villa in Hong Kong. We’re approaching this with 100 per cent commitment and discipline.”

First workout on Sunday afternoon

Just a few hours after landing, head coach Vincent Kompany called his team onto the training pitch for the first time. Here’s more on the first training session of the Audi Summer Tour:

Welcome event for reporters

After arriving on Jeju, president Herbert Hainer, vice-president Prof. Dr Dieter Mayer, board member for sport Max Eberl, board member for marketing and sales Rouven Kasper, and sporting director Christoph Freund welcomed German media representatives to the Audi Summer Tour. The club officials praised the excellent conditions on site and explained, among other things, why an island – rather than, for example, the South Korean capital – was the tour’s first destination this time. Konrad Laimer also popped by the hotel terrace after the team’s first training session and answered questions against the magnificent backdrop of the Pacific Ocean.

Makaay and Élber visit pop-up store

There was a huge turnout in the afternoon at the FC Bayern pop-up store at Jeju World Cup Stadium. From 1 to 4 August, fans can pick up a wide range of official merchandise, including the special jersey designed exclusively for Jeju, which the team will wear in their match against Jeju SK. Two FCB legends also dropped by the pop-up store in the afternoon: Roy Makaay and Giovane Élber signed autographs and posed for photos with the many fans. Mascot Berni also paid a visit to the store.

Evening media events

After training, the players took part in a number of evening media sessions. Among other things, the players spoke to various South Korean outlets and to the German journalists who had travelled with the team.

Here’s all you need to know about the Audi Summer Tour: