Everything you need to know about Bayern Munich Feature News

We’ll head to Germany in the Champions League quarter-finals when we tackle Bayern Munich - an opponent with plenty of history, and not just in matches against ourselves.

The six-time European champions are one of the biggest names in world football, but if you need a refresher or just want to know more about what lies in wait, here is our complete guide to our last eight opponents:

The history

With 33 league titles alongside their European Cup and Champions League successes, Bayern are Germany’s most successful club. They were founded in 1900 but it would take until 1932 for their first national title to arrive. That solitary success and financial problems meant they were initially overlooked for a place in the newly-created Bundesliga in 1963, but two years later they won promotion and never looked back.

Four German Cups were claimed in the next five years, as well as the European Cup Winners Cup in 1967 and a first Bundesliga in 1969. They lifted their maiden European Cup in 1974 which they would retain for three years under the captaincy of the legendary Franz Beckenbauer and powered by the goals of Gerd Muller.

After fleeting periods of dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, the new millennium began by claiming their first Champions League title as part of a treble in 2001, a feat they would repeat in 2013. Despite a string of managerial changes, they have gone on to win the past 11 Bundesligas, with their most recent European title coming in 2020.

The stadium

Bayern have been playing at the Allianz Arena since 2005 when they moved out of their famous Olympiastadion home. The 75,000-capacity venue is famous for its colour-changing exterior, and is the second biggest stadium in Germany behind Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion.

It was previously shared with city rivals 1860 Munich but now Bayern are the sole occupant. Built for the 2006 World Cup where it held six matches, it has also hosted the 2012 Champions League final where Chelsea beat Bayern in the final.

The eye-catching stadium also was a venue for Euro 2020, and is set to have six more matches at this summer’s Euro 2024. The 2025 Champions League final is also going to be held in the stadium, which hosted its first NFL regular season match in 2022.

The manager

Thomas Tuchel is in his final couple of months at the helm, as he is due to step down at the end of the campaign. He only recently completed a year in charge, with the highlight seeing him claim an unexpected league title last May by leapfrogging Dortmund on a dramatic final day.

That was the third championship of his managerial career, which began at Mainz in 2009 after a modest playing career. The German took them into the Europa League twice before succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Dortmund where he spent two years, and then moved on to Paris Saint-Germain.

He won two Ligue 1 titles there and nearly completed a quadruple in 2020 but lost to Bayern in the Champions League final. After his departure, he was soon picked up by Chelsea whom he went one step further with to become European champions in 2021, but his time in England ended in September 2022.

The squad

Bayern boast one of the most star-studded teams in world football, and broke their transfer record last summer by adding Harry Kane to their ranks for £85 million. Skippered by veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, they also have 34-year-old striker Thomas Muller - the most decorated German footballer of all-time with 33 medals to his name and will soon to be Bayern’s record appearance holder.

That experience is offset by some of the best young players in the game including winger Jamal Musiala, left-back Alphonso Davies and teenage striker Mathys Tel, while Dutch international centre-back Matthijs de Ligt marshalls the defence. Kingsley Coman is a World Cup winner with France, while Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka are mainstays of the German national team.

A host of former Premier League players also ply their trade at the Allianz Arena, including ex-Gunner Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and recent acquisition Eric Dier.

The season so far

Bayern’s recent monopoly over the Bundesliga is under serious threat, as they trail unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen by 10 points with 11 games to go, which has been the catalyst for Tuchel’s hasty departure.

Draws in September against the champions-elect and RB Leipzig saw them playing catch-up early doors, and four defeats since, including a 3-0 loss at Leverkusen last month, stretched the gap even further. That is despite the goals of Kane, who has 30 in just 25 league matches, including four hat-tricks.

Early exits in the two domestic cup competitions mean Bayern could go trophyless for the first time since 2012, unless they go all the way in the Champions League. They topped a group including Manchester United, Copenhagen and Galatasaray without losing a game, but did fall to a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their last-16 clash against Lazio. However, a Kane brace plus a Muller strike saw them progress at Allianz Arena.

The previous meetings

We have taken on Bayern 12 times in our history in competitive action, all of which have come in the Champions League. The first meeting was in December 2000 when we were pegged back from 2-0 ahead to draw 2-2 in the second group stage, before losing 1-0 in March 2000 in Munich.

Bayern have knocked us out of the competition on four occasions, all at the round of 16 stage. The first came in 2004/05 when despite a 1-0 win at Highbury, we lost 3-2 on aggregate. A 2-0 success at the Allianz Arena wasn’t enough to overturn a 3-1 loss in the first leg in 2013, while we also bowed out to the Germans in 2014 and 2017, which was the last time we faced off.

Our other meetings came in the group stage in 2015/16, when we won 2-0 at Emirates Stadium thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil, the third and last time we beat Bayern.