BAYERN GAME February 2025
TODAY THE CLUB INSPIRES MILLIONS , THROUGH FOOTBALL AND BEYOND
Thomas Müller
For Thomas Müller and Aleksandar Pavlović , it doesn ‘ t
Ftake long to settle in on their journey through time . The
Ftwo are sitting next to each other on a wooden bench ,
Fwaiting for the photographer to rearrange the set , and Müller nudges his team-mate in the side : “ Pavlo , just imagine : We ‘ re about to play in a Munich derby , we ‘ re going to thrash them , because we ‘ re FC Bayern – and then there ‘ ll be ‘ Kesselfleisch ’ ( boiled belly pork ) for everyone !“ Typical Müller , and Pavlović has to laugh . There ‘ s no question that on this day , the duo really do look like they ‘ re on their way to an FC Bayern football match in 1900 , with what they consider to be a contemporary meal afterwards to round off the day .
Thomas , what question would you like to ask one of the founding fathers of FC Bayern ? Thomas Müller : Hmm , let ‘ s see … How big was the squad ? I think they were 17 when they started , weren ‘ t they ? So , what I would ask them is who were the main rivals , the best in the district so to speak , and which club was the most progressive ? Along the lines of “ that ‘ s where we want to be , we want to compete with them , we want to beat them at some point because they ‘ re setting the benchmark right now ”. It would be interesting for me to know what were the main reasons FC Bayern was founded , for fun or with ambition ? Aleksandar Pavlović : Personally , I think people got together for football to have fun . They just wanted to do what they loved . This passion for football and for Bayern is what connects us across all generations . When we wear the jersey , we give everything for the club , then as now . Do you have a specific question for the first president Franz John ? AP : As Thomas already said : how did it all came about ? How did he come up with the idea of founding FC Bayern in the first place ? How did they manage it financially ? What were the big challenges back then ? I ‘ d be interested to know that .
What would the founding fathers say today if they saw FC Bayern 125 years later ? TM : Phew , I wouldn ’ t want to put words in anyone ‘ s mouth . That would almost be presumptuous . There ‘ s no such thing as a crystal ball , nor was there one back then . But you don ‘ t have to be a psychic to suggest that 125 years ago , hardly anyone would have imagined what FC Bayern would be like now . It ‘ s impressive how incredibly vast numbers of people around the world are inspired by this club today , how many millions see it as something extremely positive in their lives , through our football , but also through many things at Bayern that go beyond football .
The FC Bayern players stayed behind at Säbener Straße for a so-called marketing day after training . They were positioned all over the site to create videos , be available for photo shoots and provide statements . A large room in the basement was converted into a changing room , and when Müller and Pavlović slipped into outfits from 1900 at the start of their journey through time , their teammates looked on in astonishment . Dayot Upamecano immediately whipped out his smartphone to take a photo of the pair .
How does it feel to slip into the historic jersey ? AP : ( struggling with the buttons on his trousers ) Did they really play football in shirts back then ? Should it be this big ? Just getting dressed would take me too long ( laughs ). But I ‘ d be very curious to find out what it was like to play in these clothes . How well you could run around in them , when it rained for example . How they actually played football back then . I find that exciting . It ‘ s completely different , not really my style at all . And the fact that people used to play football in it … I don ‘ t think I could do it . Although it ‘ s looser than I thought . TM : Well , I think you could play in these clothes . I certainly don ‘ t feel uncomfortable in them . I ‘ m not sure I ‘ d have the trousers necessarily going to below the knee , but they ‘ re very airy and you can move well in them . Maybe the length was also helpful when slide-tackling . I honestly don ‘ t know if it was possible to play on the finest grass everywhere back then . AP : How do you wear the socks ? Like with lederhosen ? It looks a bit like you could go straight to a garden party afterwards . Kind of classy . TM : From our modern perspective , the players were dressed quite formally back then . Wouldn ‘ t hurt one or two roughnecks today ( grins ). AP : But I have to say one thing : this shirt is bluish . There ‘ s
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