Matchday 34 title thrillers, farewells and wonder goals

Matchday 34 is always a very special one. It marks the end of a long and exhausting Bundesliga season. On this day, the title is finally decided and legendary players take their leave. Before Bayern end another season as champions on Saturday, we look back at some special season finales.

2001: The mother of all season finales
19 May 2001 is considered the mother of all season finales. Bayern went into the away game in Hamburg with a three point lead over closest pursuers Schalke, but a worse goal difference. FCB needed at least one point to secure the title. When Sergei Barbarez gave Hamburg the lead in the 90th minute and Schalke wrapped up a 5-3 win over Unterhaching, the champagne was put on ice in Gelsenkirchen – for four minutes. But in injury time Patrik Andersson scored from an indirect free kick to equalise, and FCB were champions. Oliver Kahn’s “Keep going, just keep going!” after conceding and “There it is!” during the celebrations with the Meisterschale have achieved cult status.

2000: Thank you Haching

At the 2000 title celebrations in Munich’s Marienplatz, Bayern knew exactly who to thank.

It was similar the year before, when Bayern made up a three-point deficit on the final matchday. The Munich side completed their own task at the Olympic stadium and led 3-1 at half-time. Leaders Leverkusen played against SpVgg Unterhaching just a few kilometers away – and stumbled. The team from the Munich suburbs beat the league leaders 2-0 and the trophy went from the Hachinger Sportpark to the Olympic Stadium. Equal on points, FCB won the title with a superior goal difference of seven.

2019: First title in the Allianz Arena and emotional farewells

In their final game at the Allianz Arena, Arjen Robben, Rafinha and Franck Ribéry lifted the Meisterschale one last time.

Bayern fans don’t have to look that far back to remember an emotional season finale. In 2019, the championship was also wrapped up on the final matchday. FCB secured the title win in the Allianz Arena for the first time with a 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. In addition, three club legends said a tearful goodbye on an incredible day. After eight, ten and twelve years respectively, Rafinha, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry played their last game in front of their home fans. The latter two even scored one last time – the day couldn’t have been better.

1972: Perfect debut in the Olympic Stadium

A fantastic sight: From 28 June 1972 until the summer of 2005, FC Bayern played their home games at the Munich Olympic Stadium. At the end of the first game, the new display was immediately able to announce the best news ever.

As well as perfect goodbyes, there have also been fantastic debuts on Matchday 34. On 28 June 1972, FC Bayern ran out onto the brand new Munich Olympic Stadium pitch for the first time and the fixture schedule threw up an absolute cracker. FCB hosted Schalke for the season finale, with both teams separated by just a point at the top of the table. Bayern quickly asserted their dominance and led 2-0 at the break. In the end, Franz Beckenbauer & Co. beat their opponents 5-1 and celebrated the first championship in the new stadium. It wouldn’t be the last.

1994: Two dream goals for the championship
In 1994 the title was again decided on the final matchday and, again, Schalke were the visitors at the Olympic Stadium. The rivals for the title were Kaiserslautern (won 3-1 in Hamburg simultaneously) and the Palatinate side were just one point behind the leaders from Munich. Coach Franz Beckenbauer’s team struggled for a while but captain Lothar Matthäus (49′) converted a free-kick to take the lead. Eleven minutes later, Jorginho wrapped things up with a remarkable long-range shot. His celebration in memory of compatriot Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna, who had recently died, was legendary. For the first time since 1990 Bayern lifted the trophy again.

2013: Ribéry dream goal and Wembley warm-up

The title had long been in the bag, so Matchday 34 was the dress rehearsal for the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium in London a week later. In addition, it was Jupp Heynckes’ then final Bundesliga game as Bayern coach (he returned in 2018) – against his former club Borussia Mönchengladbach. Bayern started poorly in Gladbach and fell 2-0 behind after five minutes. FCB fought back strongly, crowned by Franck Ribery’s incredible 53rd-minute goal to level the scores at 3-3. After a pass from Philipp Lahm, the Frenchman took the ball from the edge of the box and buried it into the net. In the end, Bayern won 4-3 in a brilliant game, and travelled to Wembley with great confidence. The rest is history!

1996: Augenthaler makes four substitutions

The title celebrations were probably the reason why Klaus Augenthaler made four substitutions in the season finale against Düsseldorf. Emil Kostadinov, Dieter Frey and Mehmet Scholl were swapped for Alexander Zickler, Andreas Herzog and Marcel Witeczek at half time. Augenthaler – and referee Lutz Wagner – overlooked the fact that Oliver Kahn was forced out of the action and had to be replaced by Michael Probst after 45 minutes due to a shoulder injury.

On the last day of the season, assistant coach Klaus Augenthaler temporarily stood in for his boss Franz Beckenbauer, absent due to a renal colic. The former Bayern captain made a total of four changes in the 2-2 draw against Düsseldorf – but only three are permitted. “I wanted to give other players the opportunity to lower the blood alcohol limit,” Augenthaler later deadpanned to kicker magazine, referring to his team’s celebration marathon after the UEFA Cup win during the week. Düsseldorf decided not to appeal – and everyone had a laugh during the subsequent celebrations.

2015: Schweinsteiger’s 500th and final game

There were flowers for Bastian Schweinsteiger before the game, he won his eighth league title (then a Bundesliga record) and in between the ‘Football God’ scored the second goal in a 2-0 win – his last competitive goal for FCB.

On Matchday 34 of the 2014/15 season, Bastian Schweinsteiger played against Mainz for his 500th competitive appearance in an FC Bayern jersey – a great milestone for Munich’s home-grown superstar. The ‘Football God’ crowned this achievement with a goal in the 2-0 win, and afterwards there was a proper celebration with the trophy. A few weeks later, Schweinsteiger signed for Manchester United – the game against Mainz was his last in an FCB jersey.

2017: The captain bows out

A great farewell for two great players. Philipp Lahm and Xabi Alonso ended their careers after the home game against Freiburg on 20 May 2017. At the subsequent championship celebration, Alonso showed that despite playing precise passes over huge distances, a beer shower still caused problems after three years in Munich.

Philipp Lahm wore the FC Bayern jersey for 22 years and helped shape one of the most successful periods in club history. The 2013 treble, in which Lahm led the Munich team as captain, will never be forgotten. On the last day of the 2016/17 season, the Munich native laced his boots one last time for the record champions. In addition to Lahm, world star Xabi Alonso also said goodbye to FCB and football. It was an extremely emotional day at the Allianz Arena – crowned with the championship trophy, of course.

2014: The first beer shower for Pep Guardiola

With brilliant and thrilling football, FC Bayern secured the championship trophy in Pep Guardiola’s first season in 2013/14. It was a record-breaking campaign and everyone was excited to see how the Catalan coach would take the traditional beer shower. With his arms spread out, he waited for the storming Jérôme Boateng – a picture for the annals! In his three years in Munich, Guardiola experienced this feeling three times. But the first time is always something special.