FC Bayern Munich mourns the loss of "member number 1"

Created: 03/03/2022, 14:42

By: Alexander Kaindl

There is a bereavement at Bayern Munich.

© kolbert-press / Imago

The longest-serving club member of FC Bayern Munich is dead. The German record champion mourns the loss of his former captain Otto Schweizer.

Munich – Otto Schweizer is dead. FC Bayern Munich* mourns the loss of its “number 1 member”.

Born in Munich, he died at the age of 97, as the German record champions announced on Thursday via their channels.

Schweizer was once a player at FCB himself: he played in the first team for ten years.

President Herbert Hainer said in the official club announcement: "Otto Schweizer came to FC Bayern as a young player and, as a loyal companion of our club, has experienced many, many extraordinary successes with his FC Bayern over a total of more than eight decades.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends: our heartfelt condolences on behalf of the entire FC Bayern family.”

FC Bayern Munich mourns Otto Schweizer: Former captain dies at the age of 97

Schweizer had been a member of FCB since he was 14, after his time as a youth he played in the first team until 1953, which he even led as captain at times.

In the Oberliga Süd he made a total of 186 appearances and scored 38 goals.

He was also third chairman of the association for a few months in the 1960s and part of the honorary council for twelve years from 2004 to 2016, as Bayern further announced.

Overall, the honorary member looked back on 83 years of membership at FC Bayern.

He has been number 1 since 2018 - i.e. the longest-serving member of the club.

The fans expressed their sadness on social networks.

A follower wrote under FC Bayern's Facebook post: "Well, that was something!

#1 member of the best club in the world.

He could have been proud of that.

At some point everyone has to go and 97 years is a great age.

RIP OTTO NUMBER ONE.”

Mourning for the "number 1": FC Bayern Munich is the club with the most members in the world

The FCB currently has - as of March 2022 - almost 300,000 members.

No sports club in the world has more.

Benfica Lisbon is currently in second place with more than 230,000 members, third place goes to Munich again: The section of the German Alpine Club has more than 180,000 loyal companions - an impressive figure.

This surpasses clubs like Borussia Dortmund (around 158,000) or FC Barcelona (around 150,000).