BERLIN: Bayern Munich have won the Bundesliga for the eighth consecutive year and are German champions for the 30th time in the club’s proud history.
They have secured the German title 15 times since 2000 and, if they beat Leverkusen in the German Cup final on July 4, will have won the domestic double 12 times since the turn of the century. Through a clear ethos and transfer policy of cherry-picking Germany’s best players alongside some foreign imports, Bayern have largely dominated the Bundesliga since the 1970s. They last failed to win the league in 2012, when Jurgen Klopp led Dortmund to the second of back-to-back titles.
Bayern’s revenue of 660 million euros ($741 million) placed them fourth in the latest Deloitte Football Money League, only behind Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United.
Their financial might is the result of former president Uli Hoeness, who was at the helm for 40 years before stepping down in November.Hoeness, who ran a successful sausage-making business, insisted on growth being financed solely by the club’s revenues and no debt, and he was determined not to let majority investors take control.”We have no patrons, only partners,” Hoeness proudly proclaimed with Audi, Adidas and Allianz each holding an 8.33 percent share — the remaining 75 percent is held by club supporters.
Bayern recruit top names, but it is then down to the players to find their place in the club’s “family” ethos.
Thomas Mueller, top-scorer Robert Lewandowski, on a career-best 31 league goals, Jerome Boateng and Manuel Neuer are pillars of the current team, just as Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery were before them. (AFP)
