Bayern touting a “strong” group for United States trip

Bayern Munich’s International Champions Cup squad will be without many stars, but will also feature some fan favorites when the squad crosses the Atlantic to face Juventus in Philadelphia, PA on July 25th (7PM EST) and Manchester City on July 28th (7PM EST) in Miami, FL.

The attractive matches form part of the now established International Champions Cup (ICC). New Bayern head coach Niko Kovač will also use them as important tests as he prepares his team for the new season. Kovač will have a strong squad at his disposal, including Arjen Robben, Franck Ribéry, Arturo Vidal, David Alaba, Javi Martínez, Kingsley Coman, Rafinha, Juan Bernat, Sandro Wagner, Sven Ulreich, Serge Gnabry and Renato Sanches.

Sure, seeing Thomas Müller, Joshua Kimmich, Robert Lewandowski, Thiago Alcantara, Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels, Niklas Sule, Jerome Boateng, Leon Goretzka, etc., would have been exciting for fans in Philadelphia and Miami, but there is still a strong contingent making the trip.

Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge spoke on how important the visit to the United States is in terms of the club marketing itself abroad.

Our summer tours are an important part of our strategy to compete in international markets with the big European clubs from England, Spain, Italy and France. America is one of our focus countries. With the 2026 World Cup being awarded to the USA, Canada and Mexico, the USA has now become even more important.

Bayern Board Member for Internationalization and Strategy, Jörg Wacker, spoke on how this tour helps Bayern build its brand globally.

The Audi Summer Tour is a key element in expanding our brand even more strongly in the global world. At the same time, our American fans have the opportunity to experience our stars up close. We look forward to the top games against Juventus Turin and Manchester City, the champions from Italy and England respectively.

Per Bayern’s press release, the club now has around 27 million followers in the USA. Since 2014, the number of fan clubs has increased tenfold to 138 in 39 states.

There are plenty of reasons to be excited when Bayern visits your area, but it does sting a bit with so many stars not making the trip. In some respects the decision of Niko Kovač makes sense for resting players who were deprived of a holiday due to World Cup duties. However, another angle is that is a lost opportunity for the roster to spend time working with Kovač as he tries to discover what works and what doesn’t with this version of Bayern.

There are two, quality sides to that argument, but either way, at least Bayern is coming to a stadium near you (well, if you live in Philadelphia or Miami) and offers American fans a chance to see the real thing without traveling to Munich.