Dispatch from Abroad – Sarah in München – September 2024
Hallo aus München!
It’s a beautiful evening for football here in the Bavarian capital and I am heading to the
Allianz Arena for the match between FC Bayern Munich and Bayern 04 Leverkusen. It’s
my first time to the Allianz and I am very excited!
We took to U-Bahn from the city, and it took about 18 minutes to get to the Fröttmaning
station. While the station name might not convey it is the stop for the Allianz, there is no
mistaking it is! The first giveaway is you can see the iconic Allianz from the train. The
second is that from the minute you step off the train, there are vendors selling FCB
scarves, hats, etc. Upon leaving the station, there are vendors selling wursts and a
biergarten along the short walk to the Allianz.
Walking around before kickoff, the stadium and concourses are large with plenty of
space. I went into the massive fanshop on the second level and while I was tempted to
purchase something, the line to check out wrapped around the entire store, so I decided
against it. Afterall, I wanted to watch the match, and I would have still been in that line at
halftime! I left the shop and proceeded back downstairs to the main concourse and had
a pre-match beer – a Paulaner – and pretzel. Then it was time for the match.
We bought tickets on the secondary market, so our seats were in the Leverkusen
section, which was ok, I just had to zip my jacket to cover up my Bayern shirt. The seats
were great and on a corner, so we had a birds eye view of all the action on the pitch. No
food or drink allowed in the seats, which is pretty common across Europe.
The match was lively – this was the Oktoberfest home match for Bayern and
Leverkusen won the Bundesliga last year after going undefeated, so there was a lot to
play for – and there were two first half goals. Leverkusen scored first on a strong strike
from Andrich at the top of the box off a corner. Bayern equalized soon thereafter on a
stunning strike from Pavlovich beyond the arc. The Südkurve went wild. I personally
love when the PA announcer formally announces the goal to the crowd and says the
player’s first name and the crowd shouts his last. Very fun to participate in that!
Ah, I should pause. The Südkurve is the Bayern equivalent of The Kop. When I watch
on TV, I call it the “flag section” because supporters there are constantly waving
massive flags. It is also the section where there is non-stop singing, jumping,
choreographed jumping, and Tifos. We were directly opposite it and man, did I want to
be over there!
Back to the match. There were other opportunities for goals, but it ended in a 1-1 draw.
Probably fair. Sides were evenly matched and neither team deserved all three points.
Wirtz was the best player on the pitch, hands down, and impressive to watch.
At the full-time whistle, I thought we would be promptly asked to leave. Much to my
delight, I was wrong! The concession stands were open and serving food and drink for
about an hour after the match. So, we had a beer, took photos, watched the subs do
their post-match workouts on the pitch, and took it all in. How smart to keep
concessions open after the match and allow people to have a drink and a chat after the
match and wait out the rush to the train.
All in all, a great experience and I look forward to going back.
Mia san mia.