A 6,000 full house flocked to the Penzberg Nonnenwald stadium on Sunday and were rewarded with a carnival atmosphere, glorious weather and a torrent of goals, as Bayern took on Thomas Müller’s hometown club, local league side TSV Pähl. “It would be nice if we can keep it under 20,” Thomas’s brother Simon said before kick-off, but the Pähl midfielder’s wish was not to be fulfilled: FCB won the game 22-1.
However, the score was unimportant at a family festival, which began with the matchball delivered by a parachute jumper, and featured 80 VIP seats on the stadium terrace, music from the Pähl brass ensemble, and a marching band. The supporting programme was just as important as the action on the pitch in Penzberg, hometown of former Bayern legend Ludwig “Wiggarl” Kögl.
Seven for Petersen
However, FCB were not simply visiting the Bavarian countryside as tourists. All the stars were there, with the exception of Arjen Robben, Mario Gomez, Daniel van Buyten, Ivica Olic and Breno. The top scorer on the day was seven-goal Nils Petersen, with the other goals coming from Franck Ribéry, Takashi Usami (3 each), Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos (2 each), Philipp Lahm, Thomas Müller, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Diego Contento und David Alaba.
TSV Pähl’s historic consolation goal was scored by Christian Mühlbauer, while TSV keeper and player-coach Peter Krems kept the score within halfway reasonable limits with a string of brave saves. All proceeds from the clash between the Müller brothers will go towards the construction of a new sports hall in Pähl, scheduled for completion next spring. Munich spontaneously agreed to take part in the match a while ago. “It's vital we stay close to our fans,” explained director of sport Christian Nerlinger.
As an intriguing aside, Bayern once previously played a benefit match in Penzberg, some 20 years ago. The FCB line-up featured the likes of Kögl, Stefan Effenberg and Michael Sternkopf – and was coached by a certain Jupp Heynckes.
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