Munich (Germany) (AFP)

Fifteen titles of German champion in the 21st century, including eight consecutive, the most recent acquired Tuesday: Bayern Munich crushes competition in the Bundesliga with an explosive cocktail based on money, recruitment and a family spirit now legendary .

- The "biz-Hoeness" model -

Bayern achieved the fourth largest turnover in Europe (660 million euros, excluding subsidiaries) in 2019-2020 behind Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid and Manchester United.

The result of four decades of work by former President Uli Hoeness, whose philosophy was clear: growth financed 100% by own income (stadium, TV rights, derivatives, sponsorship), no debt, and stubborn refusal to let majority investors enter the capital.

"We have no patrons, only partners", he trumpeted proudly before handing over, at the end of 2019. Bayern belongs mainly to its supporters, and its main sponsors only hold 25% of the shares.

The "war chest" placed in the bank, in line with the philosophy of German post-war entrepreneurs, allowed the club to emerge in too much damage from the coronavirus crisis.

- Iconic players -

Bayern strive to recruit for the long term, and chooses its players on the ability to integrate into the Bavarian "family". Müller, Lewandowski, Boateng, Neuer are pillars, who have fully identified with the club for years, as were Robben and Ribéry before them.

The new generation of Coman, Pavard, Gnabry or Süle is also not intended to be sold to make capital gains. The idea is to create a hard core of executives ready to embody the house spirit and to make their entire career in Bavaria.

In this perspective, national identity is also important for managers: six of the current holders are German. A rarity among the clubs of the European top-10.

- "Mia san Mia" -

"Mia san Mia": literally translated from Bavarian, the club's motto means: "We are We".

All of Germany knows these three words, which perfectly synthesize the soul of Bayern: an incredible self-confidence which draws its strength from the Bavarian roots for the fans, or an unbearable arrogance for the anti-Bayerns.

"This club is special," says coach Hansi Flick, "and our + Mia san Mia + is an asset when we negotiate with players who are also tempted to go somewhere else."

Few clubs in the world cultivate the cult of victory to this extent. As in Real Madrid, only "winning" is acceptable in Munich, and any other result is interpreted as the possible start of a crisis.

But in recent years has also appeared the requirement for an attractive game. "When I was a player at Bayern, remembers Flick, only the victory counted, even 1-0, the way did not matter. Today, the single victory is not enough anymore."

- The government of the ancients -

As in most clubs, the coaches have a limited life in Munich: Hansi Flick is the eighth on the bench for ten years.

But at the top, stability over the very long term is however cultivated as one of the main ingredients for success. Bayern operates as a family business, recruiting almost exclusively former club players as managers.

Hoeness, triple winner of the C1 in the 1970s, remained at the helm for 40 years. Rummenigge, another idol of the club from the 1970s and 80s who is now president of the management board, has been in the governing bodies since 1991. His designated successor is Oliver Kahn, the legendary goalkeeper. Not to mention sports director Hasan Salihamidzic, also a former player.

The only deviation from the rule, the man who succeeded Hoeness to the presidency, Herbert Heiner, is not an old glory of the club but the former boss of Adidas. But he is also part of the family: after failing to become a professional footballer, he spent his life in the world of sport and at Adidas, one of the main sponsors of the club. In this capacity, he long sat on the governing bodies of Bayern before being elected president.

© 2020 AFP