The Greatest Bayern Munich all time XI: Difficult pick sees top keeper miss out

Ever wanted to know the greatest Bayern Munich all time XI? We've picked out the very best of the best ever to represent the nearly 125-year-old club, and taken a trip down mastery lane…

Although the club has been around for more than 12 decades, it wasn’t before the late 1960s that Bayern started establishing themselves as the strongest club in Germany. At a time when the country (at least the western half) was turning a post-war corner on and off the pitch, Bayern eventually set down the foundations of their Bundesliga domination in the decades to come, alongside six European Cup / Champions League successes.

It is quite a challenge to pick an all-time starting XI of a team that can boast players who have grabbed so many individual and team awards during their illustrious careers. However, a good start always comes from picking the right formation, and the traditional German 3-5-2 is the only one that can fit enough Bayern legends to make it a fair assessment.

Now, let's meet the first entrant into this squad of immortals…

The Greatest Bayern Munich all time XI: Our picks

GK – Sepp Maier

Manuel Neuer only just misses out. Between contemporaries Sepp Maier and Oliver Kahn, you might as well flip a coin to decide who would find their place between the sticks. Both of them have decorated themselves with all the major trophies which one player can have at the end of his career.

Kahn spent 14 seasons with the Bavarians and was considered twice for the Ballon d’Or award, each time finishing among the three finalists. He was voted four times as UEFA’s best goalkeeper and was also named Bundesliga’s best keeper on seven occasions.

On the other hand, Maier was voted as Germany’s goalkeeper of the century and was awarded with the ‘German Footballer of the Year’ three times during the 70’s, so a slight advantage is given to ‘the cat of Anzing’, who spent 18 years at the back for Bayern.

RWB – Philipp Lahm

Lahm was renowned for his tactical intelligence, leadership skills, high work-rate and versatility, which allowed coaches to use him in different positions throughout his career.

The former Bayern skipper was not only famed for his intelligence, but also his ability to attack and defend in equal measure, with his distribution of the ball, movement and perfectly timed tackles being just a small part of his admirable game.

LWB – Bixente Lizarazu

Before he became a European champion in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2009, Lizarazu was actually a great left-back who joined Die Roten in 1997.  He was an important cog of the team that won five Bundesliga titles and the same number of German Cups, as well as the Champions League trophy in 2001.

Lizarazu was a dedicated, hard working player who was known for his lighting pace and accurate crosses which quite often caused all sorts of trouble to opposition. Even though he was French, he had a mentality of a typical German, which is only one of the reasons that makes him a perfect pick for this position.

SW – Franz Beckenbauer

Quite possibly the most complete player ever. Beckenbauer was a defender, a playmaker and it was not a rare occasion that his name was on the scoresheet. He is regarded as a player who invented the role of a modern sweeper (or libero) and played it to perfection.

Der Kaiser (The Emperor) was a joy to watch because of his elegance, control of the ball and ability to dictate the tempo of the game, and he was a main star of the team that won three consecutive European Cups in the mid-1970s.

CB – Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck

Schwarzenbeck was often overshadowed by his more famous teammate Beckenbauer, but he obviously didn’t mind that as he spent his entire career wearing the Bayern shirt. Although he was not as skillful and elegant, his aerial ability, astute positioning and hard tackling were essential to Bayern, simultaneously allowing Beckenbauer to flourish in his own role.

Imperious, dominating and a frightening figure for some, Schwarzenbeck’s contribution in the 1970s must not be neglected, as he definitely deserves a place in this lineup.

CB – Klaus Augenthaler

Another player who was beside his defensive artistry lauded for his magnificence when in possession, ‘Auge’ became an icon of Bayern during the 1980s. The European Cup eluded him, as Bayern were beaten twice in the finals of the competition (1982, 1987), but he was nevertheless an instrumental part of the team that enjoyed a great domestic success, winning seven Bundesliga titles and three German Cups in the process.

In the latter stages of his career with the Bavarians, he was mostly used in a libero role in which he excelled, and was often compared to Beckenbauer as a result.

CM – Lothar Matthaus

A true German legend, Matthaus also had two stints with Bayern. From 1984 to 1988 he was a box-to-box midfielder or occasionally a No.10, known for his thunderous shot, impeccable passing, excellent movement and tactical intelligence. During that time he managed to pick three Bundesliga titles, but his side lost to Porto in the 1987 European Cup final.

Upon his return from Inter in 1992 he became an impressive sweeper that led Bayern to more domestic success. But he suffered another heartbreaking loss on Europe's biggest night of the club calendar seven years later, with Manchester United scoring twice late on to clinch the Champions League trophy in 1999.

LCM – Paul Breitner

Versatility has never been uncommon, but you can hardly find a player in football’s history that was considered as the best in the world in two different positions. Breitner was that player.

In his first spell at Bayern between 1970 and 1974, he was a roaming full-back that was capable of both attacking and defending, but his game really stood out thanks to his creative mind and ability to link up with his teammates.

After his adventures with Real Madrid and Frankfurt, he returned to Bayern in 1977 as a refined and prolific midfielder and spent another six fruitful years in Munich. During this period, he formed a telepathic connection with the forward Karl-Heinz Rummenige, and the club was often referred to as ‘FC Breitnigge’ as a result.

RCM – Bastian Schweinsteiger

Before his move to Manchester United in 2015, Schweinsteiger previously spent 13 professional seasons at Bayern, where he was the brain and the main engine of a team that won eight Bundesliga titles and appeared in three Champions League finals, winning one of them.

He was used in every single midfield position throughout his time at Bayern, and did a stellar job in all of them, thanks to him being an indefatigable worker with neat technical skills and a great sense of positioning,

ST (Support) – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

In his ten years at Bayern (1974-1984), Rummenigge was the most skillful player that Germany could offer at the time. He was a nightmare for the opposing defences with his direct runs, shots from distance and brilliant movement in the final third.

He received two Ballon d’Or awards (in 1980 and 1981) and he netted more than 200 goals across almost 400 matches for Bayern, becoming their second-most prolific goalscorer in Bundesliga history. Overall, ‘Kalle’ has enjoyed great success with Bayern, managing to win the European Cup.

ST (Main) – Gerd Muller

Before Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo showed up to the scene, it was impossible to imagine a player that would match the goal ratio that Gerd Muller produced for Bayern. Indeed, Muller stood alone for decades as the only Bundesliga player to score 40 goals in a single season, only being joined in that regard at the end of 2020/21, during which Robert Lewandowski hit 41 and broke Muller's record only on the final matchday.

In the 15 years he spent at Bayern (1964-1979), Muller appeared in 605 matches and scored 564 goals in all competitions. He was a ghost for his markers and it was said that opponents were often unaware of his presence on the field until they looked at the scoreboard and saw Muller's name plastered all over it.

Summary of the greatest Bayern Munich all time XI

Will Harry Kane win the 2024/25 Bundesliga top scorer award?: Our prediction

As shown by the prowess of Muller and Lewandowski in different footballing generations, Bayern have a proud tradition of utilising frontmen with a clinical edge. Impressively, Harry Kane netted 36 times in 2023/24, coming incredibly close to hitting that 40 mark in his debut Bundesliga season. Going into October 2024, he did not lead the Bundesliga scoring charts, however, with his tally of five being one less than the leading marksman Omar Marmoush (Frankfurt).

That deficit is, of course, absolutely nothing to a striker of Kane's calibre. In his first season at Bayern, he netted four hat-tricks and never went more than three Bundesliga matchdays without scoring. Kane ultimately finished a whole eight goals ahead of Serhou Guirassy and got double the final tally of the fourth-placed scorer, Deniz Undav.

He remains well-backed by support acts who supply him with the goods needed to score on such a regular basis, and Bayern are the absolute masters when it comes to long-distance marathons, meaning that the smart money remains on Kane defending his top scorer award in 2025.