MAN Truck & Bus
A visit to the FC Bayern coach
Klaus Augenthaler and Lothar Matthäus, who represent the club’s bedrock, are amazed at what is considered normal for the modern era of FC Bayern Munich players and is essential for every home and away match. The coach in question is the MAN Lion’s Coach; the Munich players’ current mode of transport. Their amazement is not surprising, since with Michael Lauerbach it’s not just a different driver behind the wheel – the entire coach has become significantly more modern in comparison to the 1980s and 1990s. The two world champions of 1990 make themselves comfortable in the rear of the coach and begin to reminisce. Then coach driver Michael Lauerbach proudly shows them his workplace: “On board we really have everything a coach driver could ever wish for: cruise control, lane departure warning system, braking assistant, automated extinguishing system and so much more. There’s even a 360-degree camera. It helps when making a turn, but also in a traffic jam when an exuberant fan might want to attach a sticker to the coach”, Michael Lauerbach enthuses.
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Eye-catcher The modern smart-edge design of the MAN Lion's Coach distinguishes the FC Bayern München team bus.
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Ready to go Klaus Augenthaler, Bayern bus driver Michael Lauerbach, stadium announcer Stephan Lehmann and Lothar Matthäus (from left) are ready to board the team bus.
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Reflective Klaus Augenthaler Many memories of great moments of his football career come to life on the bus.
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Good humour Lothar Matthäus talks about his experiences with the team bus.
The high-quality fittings and the comfortable leather seats in the MAN Lion's Coach also aren’t lost on the two footballing legends. Especially Lothar Matthäus, who is sitting in “his” old regular seat and starts to let out some secrets: “This is exactly where I always sat with Uli Hoeneß, Mario Basler and our physiotherapist, Fredi Binder. The coach driver had barely turned the keys in the ignition and we’d already started playing card games.”
Klaus Augenthaler talks about championship celebrations on the coach and the stopovers at fuel stations that were used to stock up on beverages. After numerous anecdotes from times gone by, stadium spokesperson Stefan Lehmann brings the subject back to the current MAN Lion's Coach and praises other features of the 14-metre long team coach. In addition to the ambient LED night sky, individualised antimacassar head covers and “Mia san mia” logo projected onto the doors, the 500 PS coach also has a kitchen at the rear. This houses four fridges, a convection oven, a microwave and a coffee machine.
Michael Lauerbach admits that he’s unfortunately not a four-star chef. He leaves that to his colleague Armin Gritz: “He cooks carbohydrate-rich food for our players after every away match, so that they can replenish their energy reserves straight away.” Klaus Augenthaler recounts that previously there was also a small kitchen on the coach: “Only the nutrition plan wasn’t as professional. Occasionally we even had roast pork”, he jokes. Together with former World Cup footballer Lothar Matthäus, Augenthaler has visibly enjoyed their visit to the German champions’ current mode of transport. This team coach brought back memories of wonderful moments from two magnificent footballing careers.
A visit to the luxury team coachThe video on YouTube shows the complete guided tour with Klaus Augenthaler and Lothar Matthäus through FC Bayern Munich’s MAN Lion’s Coach.
