1860 München vs Bayern II – Sunday, October 22, 14:00 BST/15:00 CET – Städtisches Stadion an der Grünwalder Straße, Munich. The Münchner Derby
1860 München vs Bayern II – Sunday, October 22, 14:00 BST/15:00 CET – Städtisches Stadion an der Grünwalder Straße, Munich.
1860 München vs Bayern II will take place at the Städtische Stadion an der Grünwalderstraße. (Ampfinger/CC-BY-SA-3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0)
The Münchner Derby 1860 München vs Bayern has always been an integral part of the city’s football folklore. During 1860’s heydey in the 1990s and early 2000s the match was hotly contested and a main event in the Bundesliga calendar. Coached by Werner Lorant 1860 frequently qualified for European football and more than once managed to take points from their glamorous city rivals. But then in 2004 1860 was relegated to the Bundesliga 2 and the city has not seen a Münchner Derby in the Bundesliga since.
In fact, it has been almost nine years since the city of Munich has seen a proper Munich derby. Drawn together in the 2007/08 DFB Pokal quarterfinal Bayern eliminated 1860 München thanks to a questionable penalty in extra time. With the lack of a proper derby, the Amateur-Derby between the two clubs reserve sides in the Regionalliga has more or less become an ersatz-derby for fans of both clubs.
The relegation of 1860 München’s first team from the Bundesliga 2 and the subsequent refusal by investor Hasan Ismaik to pay for the Liga 3 licence has meant that 1860’s first team has replaced 1860’s reserve side in the fourth division Regionalliga Bayern. Dropping down two divisions has been labelled a major catastrophe for 1860 at first, but since the start of the season, the blue half of the city has felt a significant revival and home games at the Grünwalder have turned into festivals.
The drop down two divisions has meant that 1860 München have been able to get out of the Allianz Arena contracts and return to the Stadion an der Grünwalder Straße, which is located in the district of Giesing where the club has its historic home. Back in their old neighbourhood with a squad that mostly consists of the 1860 reserve side that finished second in the Regionalliga Bayern last season plus several additions from the Bundesliga 2 team it is no surprise that the Grünwalder Stadion has become a real fortress for die Löwen.
One of the main question ahead of Sunday’s game, however, has been whether this is a proper derby. There is indeed a general sense of excitement in Munich ahead of the event on Sunday. At the same time, there is also a sense of nostalgia to the days when these two teams met in the Bundesliga. The derby has been a central discussion point on the Planet 1860 München – The International Supporters Group Facebook forum. A livelong 1860 supporter Matt Boban told the Futbolgrad Network “For me…nothing to be ashamed of in this derby. As fans, we’ve proven our dedication to 60 through the recent tumult. It’s a chance to show the football world we’re still here, still dedicated, not plastic or erfolgsfans. True love is hard, and Sunday may prove that one way or another. Hopefully, though we get a chance to celebrate our true love with a win.”
Thomas Saunder in the meantime told the Futbolgrad Network: “For me, it’s AmaDerby Version 2.0, after all, it’s the same league, same ground, same manager and almost the same team as the 1860 II v Bayern II match last season! The only difference is a slight change in the name of the home team. I’m enjoying the fact that 1860 are in the rare position of being clear favourites to win against a Bayern team!”
Currently, in first place in the Regionalliga Bayern with 38 points, nine points ahead of FC Ingolstadt 04 II, die Sechzger are the favourites on Sunday. With an almost perfect record die Löwen have been virtually unstoppable and after matchday 16 have won 12 games, drawn two and lost another two. Furthermore, fellow promotion candidates 1.FC Schweinfurt and FC Bayern München II have shown inconsistency this season, which means a win on Sunday could be a big step towards securing a spot in the relegation playoffs that take place at the end of the season.
Bayern München II in the meantime showed ambitions ahead of this season to achieve promotion to Liga 3. Bayern have recently spent €70 million on a new youth academy, and president Uli Hoeneß has recently stated that Bayern’s goal must be to counter the transfer insanity on the world market by bringing up world stars from their academy. Having a team compete in Liga 3 would be crucial for Bayern’s aspiration, and Bayern have therefore reshuffled their entire youth coaching department promoting successful youth coach Tim Walter, who guided Bayern to a U17 championship in 2017, to take over the reserve side. Using several players from the youth sides, including the highly talented Timothy Twillman, Fabian Benko, Felix Götze, younger brother of Mario Götze, and goalkeeper Christian Früchtl Bayern were considered a likely candidate for promotion.
The Regionalliga, however, is a big step up from youth football and the German academy system means that the league is full of players that have undergone Bundesliga training, but for one reason or another failed to make the step to professional football. The young side, therefore, has struggled to come to terms with senior football and with 16 games gone in the season and 14-points off league leaders 1860 are unlikely to compete for promotion this season. With this in mind, 1860 will be a big favourite for the game on Sunday, which although not being a proper derby will indeed bring back memories of an era long gone.
1860 München vs Bayern II – Players to Watch Out For
Sascha Mölders #9 – 1860 München
Sascha Mölders is one of the 1860 München players, who decided to stay with the club despite the drop to the Regionalliga Bayern. Slightly overweight the 32-year-old striker seems to enjoy life in the Regionalliga having already scored eight goals and seven assists in 15 games. The striker’s dedication to the club and the fact that he does not look like a model athlete has helped to endear him to the 1860 fans who see their club as the embodiment of Munich’s working-class culture. It also did not hurt that he scores the critical goals and puts up a work rate that is unprecedented within the squad.
Sascha Mölders is one of the fan favourites at 1860 München. (Photo by Micha Will/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Timothy Tillman #17 – Bayern München II
Timothy Tillman is perhaps the hottest prospect in Bayern München’s youth setup. The 18-year-old attacking midfielder and current U-19 German national team player is often named as one of the internal candidates, who in the long-term could replace the likes of Frank Ribéry and Arjen Robben at Bayern. In May Tillman made national headlines for missing the decisive penalty in the U-19 German championship match against rivals Borussia Dortmund.
Timothy Tillman is considered one of Bayern’s biggest talents. (Photo by Lukas Schulze/Bongarts/Getty Images)
1860 München vs Bayern II – Match Stats
- 1860 München last played Bayern II during the 1992/93 Bayernliga season.
- Promoted at the end of the 1992/93 season 1860 won the match in the Hinrunde and then tied Bayern II in the Rückrunde.
- Coached by Werner Lorant 1860 München would follow promotion to Bundesliga 2 with a straight promotion to the Bundesliga—the first side in German history to achieved double promotion from the third to the first division.
- 1860 München are still undefeated at the Grünwalder Stadion this season.
Futbolgrad Network Prediction: 1860 München vs Bayern II 3-1
1860 München vs Bayern II – Possible Starting Lineups
1860 München
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Hiller – Steinhart, Mauersberger, Berzel, Weeger – Wein, Hursán – Karger, Ziereis, Helmbrecht – Mölders
Manager: Daniel Bierofka
Bayern München II
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Weinkauf – Köhn, Feldhahn, Awoudja, Obermair – Dorsch, Fein – Tillman, Benko, Pantović – Wriedt
Manager: Tim Walter
Manuel Veth is the owner and Editor in Chief of the Futbolgrad Network. He also works as a freelance journalist and social media editor at Bundesliga.com. He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in History from King’s College London, and his thesis is titled: “Selling the People’s Game: Football’s transition from Communism to Capitalism in the Soviet Union and its Successor States,” which will be available in print soon. Originally from Munich, Manuel has lived in Amsterdam, Kyiv, Moscow, Tbilisi, London, and currently is located in Victoria BC, Canada. Follow Manuel on Twitter @ManuelVeth.
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