BAYERN MUNICH - HOME SHIRT 2003/2004
European powerhouses Bayern Munich, otherwise known as Die Roten or The Reds, are based in Bavaria in Southern Germany. They were founded in 1900 by eleven members led by Franz John. They remain the most decorated club in German football, with a record eleven consecutive Bundesliga titles from 2013 to 2024. At the time this shirt was worn, Bayern played their home matches at the Olympiastadion, the ground that hosted them from 1972 until the move to the Allianz Arena in 2005.
This classic home shirt was worn by Bayern in their 2003/2004 campaign, where the club had a very disappointing season by their standards, failing to win a single trophy. Ottmar Hitzfeld's reigning Bundesliga champions surrendered the title to Werder Bremen, finishing six points adrift in 2nd place on 68. The disappointment was compounded by being 3-0 down inside 35 minutes of a must-win meeting with the eventual champions in April - a 3-1 home defeat that effectively ended the title race.
The cup-runs offered no relief. In the Champions League, Bayern were dumped out at the Round of 16 by Real Madrid, a 1-1 home draw followed by a 1-0 defeat at the Bernabéu to a Zinedine Zidane strike. The DFB-Pokal ended more painfully still, a 2-1 quarter-final loss to second-tier Alemannia Aachen - who would go on to lose the final to a Werder Bremen side on the way to a domestic double at Bayern's expense.
The bright spot belonged to summer signing Roy Makaay, who arrived from Deportivo La Coruña for a club-record €18.75 million and answered the doubters with 23 Bundesliga goals. Behind the Dutchman was Oliver Kahn, Michael Ballack and Bixente Lizarazu but they couldn't do enough and Hitzfeld was dismissed on the final day once the title was confirmed to be out of reach after six years at the helm.
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