bundesliga

Harry Kane and Michael Olise in attendance as FC Bayern players enjoy their annual Oktoberfest visit

22.09.2024

Bayern Munich's players and staff embraced their clubs tradition by donning their lederhosen and unwinding at the Oktoberfest in Munich while Harry Kane reflected on what has been a very successful week for the club.

Just one day after their resounding 5-0 victory away to Werder Bremen, Bayern's players, staff, and their families gathered in Theresienwiese – wearing the traditional dress, of course – for the first Sunday of the Oktoberfest. It is a long-standing tradition for Bayern and all the stars were in attendance, to celebrate a very successful week on the pitch and to welcome in the festival.

Kane, Musiala, Olise and Tel were were in attendance, complete with their lederhosen. - CHRISTINA PAHNKE via GettyImages

It was a first for many at the club. “I’ve never experienced this before – and then to do it in lederhosen. It’s Bavarian culture and tradition”, said head coach Vincent Kompany. New signings Michael Olise and João Palhinha were also there for the first time and fully kitted-out. The Frenchman seemed to be enjoying himself after getting two goals and two assists against Bremen. For the new faces, it was a good opportunity to get to know their teammates and their families.

FC Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany joined in at Oktoberfest. - ALEXANDRA BEIER via GettyImages

As for Harry Kane, he raised a toast alongside Konrad Laimer, Joshua Kimmich and Eric Dier, having scored a whopping eight goals this past week. In an interview at the festival, he said: “It’s been a fantastic week, to score the amount of goals we have and to win the games in the fashion we have has been amazing. It’s been a great start to the season so far but as always, we want to continue it. We’ll enjoy it here today at the Oktoberfest and then we'll look forward to next week.” He’ll be hoping to continue his excellent goalscoring form into next Saturday’s mammoth clash with reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen. But for now, he and his teammates can enjoy themselves and are even allowed to sink one or two litres of the Oktoberfest’s finest.

Alphonso Davies enjoyed his time at the Oktoberfest celebrations. - Imago

As for why Bayern do it, it’s no mere PR stunt. Bayern are a club rich in tradition, founded in February 1900 over a beer, of all things, in the Munich city centre café ‘Gisela’. So, every year, all the players don their lederhosen, enjoy a beer and join in with the local community. They also have a long-standing partnership with Paulaner, one of the six breweries which provides the beer for Oktoberfest. It’s a tradition that Bayern embraces and one that distinguishes them from other massive European clubs, as they stay in touch with their roots and the local community in which they were founded.