The FC Bayern München Files
DE

10 Words

Wise Words — Soccer Memes and Wisdom

What players, coaches and executives of FC Bayern have come out with over the years. Between genius and madness.

The Bayern Legends

In football, a lot gets said. At FC Bayern, a particularly large amount gets said.

Franz Beckenbauer

There are only three possibilities: win, draw or defeat.

The Kaiser, known for his elegant play, was less elegant at the microphone. His logic loops are the stuff of legend.

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Udo Lattek

All the great coaches drank, after all: Weisweiler, Happel, Zebec. And I'm one of the greats, too.

Lattek on the drinking habits of his profession. Unapologetic, self-aware, and not entirely wrong.

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Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

Football is not mathematics!

Rummenigge after the 2-2 against Bolton United, in which coach Hitzfeld had rotated too heavily. Diplomatic, but with a tendency towards the obvious.

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Thomas Müller — Philosophy

My calves are so thin that no opponent can hit the bones because they're so hard to see.

Where there are no muscles, you can't hurt yourself. Müller reduces football to its essentials. 13 championships, thin calves or not.

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DFL Licence Check

FCB · FY 2023-24
Equity positive
€570.5M
Pass
Equity ratio > 30%
55.3%
+25.3 pts margin
Liabilities < 50%
28.4%
21.6 pts margin
Full balance sheet →

The Controversials

Rudi Völler

Before I go to Bayern, I'd rather go to Sudan or have my hand chopped off.

Völler, then at Werder Bremen, on the prospect of joining FC Bayern. A renegade's declaration of independence.

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Uli Hoeneß on Jürgen Klinsmann

If he is the Obama of German football, then I am Mother Teresa.

Hoeneß's verdict on Klinsmann — delivered after the Californian's failed stint as Bayern coach. Direct, unvarnished, Swabian.

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Lothar Matthäus — Self-Assessment

A Lothar Matthäus does not allow himself to be defeated by his own body; a Lothar Matthäus decides his own fate.

Matthäus delivered quotes for decades that oscillate between genius and madness. Further samples: A Lothar Matthäus cannot afford to embarrass himself. A Lothar Matthäus does not need a third person. He manages perfectly well on his own. And, in English: I hope we have a little bit lucky.

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Sammy Kuffour

We want red-and-white shirts!

Kuffour's contribution to colour politics, sung from the town hall balcony during title celebrations.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most famous Bayern quote?
Trapattoni's Was erlauben Strunz? is the most quoted, but Beckenbauer's There are only three possibilities: win, draw or defeat is equally legendary for its logic.
Who delivered the most legendary quotes?
Lothar Matthäus is by far the most prolific supplier of legendary quotes — mostly unintentionally funny. Oliver Kahn and Thomas Müller are close seconds.
What did Kahn say after the 2001 championship?
Keep going, always keep going — three words that sum up an entire mentality.
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