History
Strange as it may seem to those more accustomed to the slick, successful Bayern of today, when the club was founded in 1900, it consisted of eleven students, shopkeepers and office workers from the bohemian Munich neighbourhood of Schwabing. Under ambitious long-term president Kurt Landauer, the club nonetheless clinched a surprise first national title in 1932.
After the Second World War, Bayern slid into relative obscurity and were not even admitted to the inaugural Bundesliga of 1963/64. The club's fortunes improved with the emergence of gifted youngsters Sepp Maier, Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller, however, and German Cup wins were followed by an unexpected UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph in 1966/67.
Domestic dominance was soon established and continued into the 1970s, when a side bolstered by the likes of Uli Hoeness and Paul Breitner stepped up another notch and claimed three consecutive European Champion Clubs' Cups between 1974 and 1976. Bayern overcame Club Atlético de Madrid (4-0 in a replay after 1-1 draw), Leeds United AFC (2-0) and AS Saint-Etienne (1-0) in the finals.
Slowly the stars left or faded, but a new generation headed by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge picked up more domestic silverware, as did a talented lineup led by Lothar Matthäus. With Jürgen Klinsmann scoring the goals and Beckenbauer in the dugout, Bayern claimed ten Bundesliga titles during the 1980s and 1990s, and lifted the UEFA Cup in 1995/96.
The end of the decade brought more renewal by another crop of gifted players, not least goalkeeper Oliver Kahn and playmaker Mehmet Scholl. Though UEFA Champions League glory painfully escaped their grasp against Manchester United FC in the 1998/99 final, Ottmar Hitzfeld's men bounced back against Valencia CF two years later to return Bayern to the pinnacle of the European game. However, they were denied a famous treble under Louis van Gaal in 2009/10, winning their 22nd domestic title and 15th cup but losing 2-0 to FC Internazionale Milano in the UEFA Champions League final.
