Brass bands, Goißlschnalzer (Bavarian whip-crackers), alpen horns and FC Bayern - the eighth Dream Game was again a very special football event. This time fan club Red Baroons Dietmannsried e.V. in Memmingen gave Germany's record champion an inspiring reception. The entertaining showdown on Friday evening ended with a comfortable 3-0 win for Bayern.
This time the Dream Game did not just make a dream come true for an amateur team. The team's traditional game against a fan club was also a significant moment for one of Bayern's first-team players. After 594 days out with injury, Holger Badstuber made his long-awaited comeback in his hometown. The 25-year-old captained the team and played 58 minutes in the middle of a three-man defence.
Pep Guradiola had seven first-team players available in his first pre-season match. Eleven U-23 and U-19 players made up the rest of the squad due to the absence of the many players involved in the World Cup. Robert Lewandowski, Franck Ribery, Claudio Pizarro and Diego Contento are all still restricted to light training and missed out. Newcomers Sebastian Rode and Juan Bernat did make their first appearance in a Bayern shirt though.
Alaba with a double
11,150 spectators packed the sold-out Fußball Arena in Memmingen to watch the game in the hot summer temperatures, as the seating capacity had to be doubled to accomodate the attendance. On the pitch, Bayern's mix of senior and youth players had a comforatble outing. A clutch of youth players, Lucas Scholl and Gianluca Gaudino in particular, had good outings.
It did not take long for goals to come either. David Alaba scored an excellent long-range goal (5) and added another on a free kick (37). Daniel Hägler secured a 3-0 lead by half-time. Only the post and a save from goalkeeper Philipp Beigl (78, 87) prevented a higher scoreline in the second half. The Red Baroons, predominantly made up of players from Regionalliga FC Memmingen, very rarely got out of their own half. In the 40th minute Andreas Mayer nearly had a consolation goal but could not force the ball past Bayern goalkeeper Tom Starke.
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