5 big moments at the Allianz Arena | OneFootball

Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena: 5 big moments from the stadium's first 20 years

As Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena celebrates its 20th birthday and prepares to host the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League final, we look back at some of the iconic stadium's milestone moments.

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1) The opening

"Watching football," said Bayern legend and local boy Franz Beckenbauer, "should be really fun and a great experience." Der Kaiser's words in March 1997 were the catalyst for the ambitious project that began to take shape north of Munich city centre, far from Bayern's traditional home at the Olympic Stadium.

The design of the stadium caught the imagination of fans as soon as it was opened in May 2005. (Sven Simon)

Bayern initally shared the Allianz Arena with their neighbours 1860 Munich. In fact, 1860 were the first team to play a competitive match there as they opened with a celebratory Bavarian derby against Nuremberg, winning 3-2, with musical entertainment from Right Said Fred as part of a lavish ceremony. The very next day, Bayern played the Germany national team, winning 4-2, and the stadium's story was up and running.

The 2024/25 Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan will be the 788th game played behind the 2784 "cushions" that give the stadium that instantly recognisable facade.

Since 2017, it has been Bayern's home alone, and the original capacity of 66,000 has been increased to the current 75,000 to cater for the ever-rising demand to see the German record champions in action. Over 13 million litres of beer and more than 11 million sausages have been sold there to date.

1860 Munich shared the Allianz Arena with Bayern until 2017. (IMAGO / ActionPictures)

"The building of our Allianz Arena was one of the major milestones of Bayern's 125-year success story," said club president Herbert Hainer in the 2024/25 season. "We're at home here, we celebrate with our fans here, the heart of the club beats here."

2) First Bundesliga game

It was always going to sell out as history was made on 5 August 2005 and Bayern stepped out to face Borussia Mönchengladbach for the very first Bundesliga match at the Allianz Arena. Owen Hargreaves gave Bayern a first-half lead, and though defender Valerien Ismaël was sent off just before the break, Roy Makaay scored twice late on to ensure the hosts' party was not pooped.

Bayern would go on to win their next 10 home matches in the German top flight before tasting defeat for the first time on Matchday 24 against Hamburg. Later that campaign, Felix Magath's side would celebrate winning the title in the Allianz Arena, the first of 15 Meisterschale they have lifted since its opening.

Bayern and Gladbach players became the first to enter the Arena for a Bundesliga match in August 2025. (Imago/Team 2)

3) A World Cup stage

Germany welcomed the world in 2006, and the Allianz Arena was one of 12 venues that staged World Cup games. In all, six matches featuring 11 countries were played there in front of a collective 396,000 fans, including the tournament's opening game as Jürgen Klinsmann's hosts defeated Costa Rica 4-2.

It has been a major international tournament venue twice since then. At EURO 2020, four matches were played there, though COVID-19 pandemic restrictions reduced the capacity to 14,500.

It was full, however, during EURO 2024 as the Allianz Arena provided the backdrop to six matches, including Germany's tournament opener against Scotland, and the semi-final between eventual winners Spain and 2022 World Cup runners-up France.

Germany fans have made the trip to the Allianz Arena on many occasions - including for the opening EURO 2024 match against Scotland. (IMAGO/Moritz Mueller)

4) A European stage

Coming to the Allianz Arena has generally been a nightmarish experience for Bayern's European opponents. The first Champions League game played there was a 1-0 win over Club Brugge on 27 September, 2005, setting the tone for Bayern's European performances there.

With their defeat of Slovan Bratislava in January this year, Bayern extended their unbeaten run in the Champions League group stage/league phase to a competition record 34 home matches.

The stadium has also seen the competition's fastest ever goal: Makaay's strike after just 10 seconds in the 2006/07 round of 16 second leg against Real Madrid.

It has also seen too many memorable performances to mention, but one that stands out is the 4-0 defeat of a Barcelona team featuring Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and others in the semi-finals en route to the final and the treble of 2012/13. Thomas Müller got two, while Mario Gómez and Arjen Robben also found the net to make it an unforgettable European night.

The Allianz Arena has twice been the venue for the Champions League final too. Bayern were in one of them, losing to Chelsea in dramatic fashion in 2012, with the 2024/25 final between PSG and Inter the other.

5) A place to remember

Sharing 20 years of memories of all shades has made the Allianz Arena synonymous with Bayern. The huge club museum is also located there, and it became a meeting point for mourning fans following the death of Beckenbauer, the club and German football's greatest legend, in January 2024.

Over 30,000 fans, as well as players past and present, came to pay their respects to Der Kaiser at an emotional memorial service at the Allianz Arena. "Franz Beckenbauer is no longer with us, but he'll always be present," said presenter Stephan Lehmann.

Indeed, Beckenbauer's presence was permanently marked with the stadium taking a new address of Franz-Beckenbauer-Platz 5 in May 2025 - a fitting tribute also due to the icon's role of a driving force behind the construction of the arena.

The fact the stadium is hosting both the Champions League and Nations League finals within weeks of its 20th birthday is an indication of the esteem it is held in beyond Munich and Germany.

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