![]() ![]() As Hesse reminds us that “like everyone else, Bayern was an amateur club that generated revenue only through membership fees and gate money.” Or we learn that through most its history, Bayern has never had or owned its own ground. For example, even during those old heady days of beating Nordstern FC 15–0 in 1898, we learn from Hesse that Bayern was never rich. Hesse digs out various moments of conflict and uncertainty that could have steered Bayern’s identity and status in any number of directions. Luckily for readers, Bayern’s story is not one of unimpeded progress. However, if Bayern’s story was a straight-arrow, linear narrative of progress toward “superclub” status, Hesse’s newest book would be pointless. ![]() However, the news gets worse, as Hesse explains: “Less than two months after its formation, demolished one of the oldest football clubs in town, Nordstern FC, by a score of 15–0.” Fast forward to 2016 and this ancient result certainly sounds on par for a global giant who’s won the Bundesliga four years in a row and 26 domestic league championship total. ![]() Hesse laconically states something to this effect when reporting on Bayern’s first decade of existence in the 1900s. However, one identity anchor is indisputable when Hesse confirmed my worst suspicions: Bayern Munich have always been good. Instead, Hesse skillfully navigates through all the identity anchors, fashioning the most complete, meaningful, and entertaining work on Bayern to date. In Uli Hesse‘s newest book, Bayern: Creating a Global Superclub, the famed German Fußall writer avoids reducing Bayern’s history to any one of these readily available identity anchors. Or, more prosaically, between its long list of global superstar footballers and its equally long list of unsung footballers, who themselves won many a crucial match in the most opportune moments for Bayern. The first thing you need to understand is that FC Bayern Munich is a club of contradictions - or seemingly baffling tensions - between the likes of its regionally-grounded Bavarian identity and its global reach, or between its “superclub” status and its famous “family” ethos. ![]()
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