Bayern Munich - Reasons why it's the most popular German club

Most Successful Club in Germany:

FC Bayern Munchen, commonly known as FC Bayern Munich, is a widely popular football club as it is the most successful German club in the world. Incredibly, the German club has won 22 League titles and 4 European trophies. No other German club is anyway near when compared to the success achieved by Bayern Munich which is a major reason for its global popularity.

History:

FC Bayern Munich was founded 112 years ago in the year 1900. However, they won their first trophy 32 years later, in 1932 by clinching the national championship. Remarkably, Bayern finished third in their first Bundesliga season and won the German Cup. However, Bayern gradually gained success and created history by winning three successive European Trophies in the year 1974, 1975 and 1976 under the leadership of Franz Beckenbauer. Bayern Munich has had great success in history which makes them one of the finest football clubs. Bayern is historically the most successful team in German football, as they have won the most championships and the most cups. They are also Germany’s most successful team in international competitions, having won six trophies. Bayern is one of only three clubs to have won all the major European competitions and also the last club to have won the European Cup three times in a row, entitling them to wear a multiple-winner badge during Champions league matches.

Legends:

Since the establishment of the club, Bayern Munich have created some great talents. Conrad Heidkamp, considered as Bayern’s first ever legend, became the captain of the club in 1932 with a victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the final of German football championship, winning FC Bayern Munich’s first ever trophy. Franz Beckenbauer, nicknamed as ‘The Emperor’, is regarded as the greatest German footballer of all time and one of the greatest and most decorated footballers in the history of the game. Beckenbauer was twice named as the European Footballer of the Year and is one of only two footballers to have won the World Cup both as a player and as a coach. As a player, Beckenbauer has won 4 Bundesliga titles and 3 European Cups. Gerd Müller, another Bayern legend, is considered as one of the best goal-scoring player to have ever been born. He holds the single-season Bundesliga record with 40 goals in 1971-72 season. Described as the greatest goal-keeper ever, Oliver Kahn has won 8 Bundesliga titles and one Champions League trophy with Bayern in his 14 years of career in Munich. Most of the Bayern Munich legends are Germans including the likes of Sepp Maier, Paul Breitner, Lothar Mattaus and Stefan Effenberg.

Fan-following:

As we know, football is a massive game in Germany. Significantly, the Germans have won 3 World Cups which justifies their position as a dominating nation in the game. Bayern Munich, being the most successful as well as the most popular German club in the world, has amazing fan-following all around the world.

Scouting and Signing:

Bayern Munich is a club which makes big-money signings as well as are dependent on the scouting system of the club. Current first team members like Phlipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller and Holger Badstuber were from the localities of the city Munich which were scouted and later signed by the club. Bayern are amongst some of the big-spending clubs in the world. In 2009, Bayern signed Arjen Robben from Real Madrid for around 25 million euros. However, in August 2012, Bayern made a much bigger transfer by paying the buyout clause of 40 million euros for Javi Martinez from Athletic Bilbao. The Munich club has created some amazing talents in the past including Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, Sepp Maier and Oliver Kahn, who is said to be one of the finest goalkeeper in the game. At his farewell game, Oliver Kahn was declared honorary captain of Bayern Munich. Bayern have had many dominant and world-class players in their squad, which gives them a vital reason to be one of the most popular club in the world.

Present:

In recent years, Bayern Munich have won five of the last ten Bundesliga titles which indisputably makes them the most successful club in Germany. In 1999, Bayern Munich reached the Champions League Final but were defeated by Manchester United with 2 goals in injury time. Even today, the 1999 final is considered as the most dramatic Champions League final to have been ever experienced. In the year 2001, Bayern won the Champions League for the fourth time in the history by defeating Valencia CF. In 2010 and 2012, Bayern reached the Champions League final but were defeated by Inter Milan and Chelsea respectively. Currently, in the 2012-13 season, Bayern Munich became the first team in history to win their first eight matches in the German Bundesliga after their 5-0 away win to Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Bayern announcing the arrival of Pep Guardiola at the end of the season has seen the club and its fans giving a boost and a gesture of better future for the club. Combining successful past as well as present, FC Bayern Munich is and always will be considered as one of the most successful football club on the planet.