Not all is well in Munich football

FC Bayern Munich is Germany's biggest football club, but their city rivals are facing difficult times which could force them into administration and could be threatened with forced relegation. We are talking about second division Bundesliga side TSV 1860 Munich and 3.Liga side SpVgg Unterhaching, who both in the past have played in the top tier Bundesliga. And their big brother is the potential life line for both the clubs, who are known to be very social in such situations.


1860 Munich

1860 Munich have been facing problems over the last few years due to mismanagement, overspending and big thinking like financing half of the Allianz Arena project along with bigger and financially healther city rivals Bayern Munich.

Earlier this week 1860 Munich has been docked two points for providing inadequate information to the German Bundesliga (DFL) while obtaining its operating licence. The club didn't appeal against the ruling as the clubs business manager Robert Niemann described the punishment as "moderate."

Under the management of Niemann, who joined recently from the DFL, the club is trying to stabilize ship and reorganize itself. A matter of worry had been a dispute with Bayern Munich about the catering at the Allianz Arena. And if Bayern had stood by its legitimate demands, then 1860 as a club would have surely gone into administration or even worse might have closed down. But the relationship has become workable again over the last few weeks and the two clubs are working to sort out the issues in the interest of both sides. For 1860 it means clarity that in the hour need their bigger rivals are there with them.

But there are more pressing issues which 1860 will have to clear. They pay a huge amount as rent for the Allianz Arena after having to sell the stadium a few years ago to Bayern to stay alive as a club. Their attendency average is actually too low for the running costs of the arena, but the alternatives in Munich are all non-starters. Their old home the Grünwalder Stadium would need renovation which the club couldn't finance, while the old Olympic Stadium is off limits for football as per agreements with the new Allianz Arena.


SpVgg Unterhaching

The situation at third division SpVgg Unterhaching is much more precarious at the moment. Due to the fact that a sponsor, who was to pay them a seven digit figure as part of a sponsorship package, has not paid their dues as left a gap of up to 2,3 Million Euros in the budget of the club which it needs to close by the end of the month. This could actually force Unterhaching into administration as the club management is unsure on how to pay the salaries and running expenses in the coming weeks and months.

Here Bayern Munich come in, who have offered to play a charity match against Unterhaching in the Allianz Arena with all proceeds of the match going to the troubled club. Analysts believe up to 2 Million Euros could be raised from such a game and it could keep the club in business.