FC Bayern changes away game routine: 14-hour flight for match against Wolfsburg. For the first time this season, FC Bayern will travel to an away game on matchday. Kompany gives players extra recovery time. The decision is linked to the end of the season and the push for results.
FC Bayern unexpectedly changed its usual pre-match routine for away games: the team traveled to play VfL Wolfsburg only on the morning of the match day. Head coach Vincent Kompany made this decision so that the players could spend an extra night at home and have more time to recover after a demanding season schedule.
Changes in the schedule
According to BILD, the German champions abandoned the standard practice of arriving a day before the match. This time, two Private Wings jets carrying the players and staff took off from Munich to Braunschweig on Saturday morning—just a few hours before kickoff. The destination airport is only 30 kilometers from the Volkswagen Arena, which minimized travel time and helped avoid unnecessary fatigue.
Reasons for Kompany's decision
After being eliminated in the Champions League semifinals against Paris Saint-Germain, the coaching staff decided to give the players additional time to rest and train at the club's Säbener Straße facility. This is especially important at the end of the season, with 52 official matches already played and the DFB-Pokal final still ahead. Previously, this approach was used only for late cup games or short bus trips, but now, for the first time, it has been implemented for a Bundesliga away game involving a flight.
Return to Munich and plans for the end of the season
Immediately after the final whistle, the team will head back to Munich. According to the schedule, both planes are set to depart from Braunschweig late in the evening, making them the last flights arriving at Franz Josef Strauß Airport that day. The following day, the players will have a day off, and in a week Bayern will conclude the season with a home match against 1. FC Köln, where the championship trophy will be awarded.
Match attitude and the relegation battle
The decision to change the schedule does not mean a drop in motivation. Kompany emphasized that the team is taking the match against Wolfsburg seriously, despite their position in the relegation zone. According to him, the opponent will fight until the end, and goal difference could play a key role in determining the standings. Captain Manuel Neuer also noted that Bayern has no intention of making things easier for their rivals in the relegation battle.
In German football, such unconventional logistical decisions are rare, but at the end of the season coaches look for any way to keep the squad fresh. Similar questions about the approach to key matches and the fight for survival have arisen in other European leagues as well—for example, when Elche and Alavés were battling to stay in La Liga.
