5 reasons why some fans dislike Bayern Munich
On 26 May 1999, Manchester United played Bayern Munich at Camp Nou in the Champions League final. In the 6th minute, Mario Basler scored a low free kick to give Bayern the lead. As a fan in a bar in Kiel (in the northern tip of Germany) would later recall, Bayern's goal hardly elicited any response among the people – they were busy drinking, chatting and playing cards.
But when Manchester United equalised in the 91st minute, a loud cheer went around the room. When they scored the dramatic winner, everyone celebrated wildly; hugging each other and dancing.
Bayern Munich is not the biggest fan favorite team in the world – and the animosity they face within their own country itself is staggering, to say the least. Online blogs are full of stories by Bayern Munich fans, who recollect the cold stare and shake of the head that fellow Germans greet them with when they reveal where their loyalties lie.
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So why are Bayern Munich disliked by a section of the fans? Here, we examine 5 reasons:
#1 Poaching players
Mario Gotze, Robert Lewandowski, Mats Hummels – the backbone of Borussia Dortmund's 2010-11 and 2011-12 title push. It is expected that a club like Borussia would eventually have to part with these players when offered crazy money; but when all three are poached by their direct rivals, Borussia is right to feel hard done by.
It isn't just the matter of the last few years either. Bayern have traditionally poached the best from other German teams – Oliver Kahn from Karlsruhe and Manuel Neuer from Schalke are just a couple of examples.
Eventually, the fans of these teams naturally build up a resentment towards Bayern; rumours of Bayern hovering around for yet another player leads to outrage.