Bayern Munich; the Bavarians

Bayern Munich are yet another continental side that began its life as a sports club. The club was based in the grand setting of Munich, the capital of Bavaria, where myriad sporting pursuits were available to members, including skiing. Bayern are one of Europe's most historically powerful teams, winning 4 European Champions League titles, 1 UEFA Cup, and a Cup Winners' Cup. The mighty Bavarians have also pocketed 2 Intercontinental Cups, and, last but by no means least, no less than 20 national championships, and 13 domestic German Cups. The club is membership based, and boasts better than 135,000 members, with only SL Benfica and FC Barcelona beating them for sheer numbers. The sports club still maintains departments for handball, basketball, gymnastics, table tennis, and several other sporting activities. Munich, of course, is famous for other activities than sport, and every year the Oktoberfest attracts masses of people to the picturesque city, where they sample some of the most refreshing, cleanest, and strongest beers in the world. If you can time your visit to Munich for this time of year, you've got it made, my friend...

Bayern's Allianz Arena is one of modern football's most modern stadiums, featuring myriad state-of-the-art aspects that are a joy to behold. The translucent outer layer of the Allianz can be illuminated in various colours, creating a stunning, other-worldly effect, and the stadium played a major role in the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany.

Current Bayern manager Ottmar Hitzfeld, a legend at the club, will be replaced by Jürgen Klinsmann on 1 July 2008, probably with typical German precision. Hitzfeld won 4 Bundesliga titles, two DFB Pokals and the prestigious 2000-01 UEFA Champions League trophy.

Bayern have suffered a number of setbacks in the 2006-7 season. They finished fourth in the league, and failed to qualify for the Champions League. lost This was a tragedy to the massive Bavarian club, but they will bounce back, nothing is surer. Munich were hit by injuries too, such as those sustanined by Lukas Podolski, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Willy Sagnol, Mehmet Scholl and Ali Karimi. With these players hurt, it is no surprise our German friends didn't play to their usual high standard. In the UEFA Champions League, Munich were knocked out by eventual cup winners AC Milan 2-4 on aggregate. Rest assured, the boys in red from the mighty mountains will be back to fight another day!