TSV 1860 München (Germany)

Turn-und Sportverein München von 1860, or 1860 Munich as they are more commonly referred to in the UK, is a professional football club from the Bavarian city of Munich, who were formed on the 17th May 1860. Originally, the club was formed as a physical fitness and gymnastic organisation. 

Following various mergers, the club became known as Turnverein München. A football department was formed on 6th March 1899. In 1911, the club introduced a lion onto their crest, moving into Stadion an der Grünwalderstraße, or Sechzgerstadion as 1860 fans call it, before changing their title in 1919 to TSV München 1860.

Allianz Arena lit up for the TSV home game

‘Die Lowen’; The Lions progressed to Bezirksliga Bayern by the mid-1920s and progressed to the national semi-final in 1927, before reaching the final in 1930-31, where they were defeated 3-1 by Hertha BSC. Schalke 04 defeated 1860 in another semi-final in 1932-33. In 1933, under Third Reich rule, football in Germany was split into sixteen top Gauliga divisions.

TSV were placed in the Gauliga Bayern. Second-place finishes were achieved in 1933-34, 1937-38 and 1938-39 before the title was lifted in 1940-41. 1860 lifted their first major honour when they won the predecessor to the DFB Pokal, German Cup, the Tschammer-Pokal as it was known at the time, when they defeated Schalke 04 in Berlin in front of 80,000 fans.

Another Gauliga title was won in 1933-34 along with an appearance in the national championship. Die Lowen were placed in Oberliga Süd, one of five top-flight regional divisions, after World War II. In 1953-54, the club were relegated to 2.Oberliga Süd. After winning the title in 1954-55 and then again in 1956-57, the club were promoted back to the top flight.

Former German and Austrian international defender Max Merkel was appointed as team coach in 1961 as the side won Oberliga Süd in 1962-63. The timing was immaculate as TSV became a founder member of the Bundesliga for the 1963-64 season. The DFB didn’t want two teams from the same city in the inaugural campaign, so 1860 became a member two years before city rivals Bayern.

The form continued as 1860 won the 1963-64 DFB Pokal after defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in Stuttgart. This led to entry into the following season into the European Cup Winners' Cup. Victories over US Luxembourg, FC Porto, Legia Warszawa and FC Torino took the team to the final. In the Wembley showpiece, 1860 were defeated 2-0 by West Ham United. 

Stars of the time were Rudi Brunnenmeier, Hans Reich and Petar Radenković. Consolation came as TSV were crowned champions of the Bundesliga in 1965-66, before ending as runners-up in 1966-67. Merkel departed, and the side gradually broke up as coaches lasted no more than a year. 

The club were relegated to the second level Regionalliga Süd at the end of the 1969-70 season. In 1972, the club moved with Bayern München to the new Olympiastadion. Heinz Lucas was at the helm as the team regained their Bundesliga spot as league runners-up in 1976-77. Their spell back in the top flight lasted just one season, before Carl-Heinz Rühl led 1860 to the Regionalliga Süd in 1978-79.

Olympiastadion, TSV's home for three decades

In 1981-82, the club were relegated and then sent down a further division to Oberliga Bayern as financial problems led to the DFB denying the club their professional license. 1860 regrouped and moved back to their old Grünwalder Stadion home, becoming Oberliga Bayern champions in 1983-84, 1990-91 and 1992-93 as Werner Lorant became head coach.

Austrian international striker Peter Pacult scored the goals as 1860 won a second successive promotion as the club returned to the top flight with a third place finish in the 1993-94 2. Bundesliga season, as President Karl-Heinz Wildmoser oversaw club affairs.

1860 returned to the Olympiastadion as the team made astute signings such as Jens Jeremies, Manfred Schwabl, Olaf Bodden and Peter Nowak. 1860 consolidated their Bundesliga position as Abedi Pele added experience to the front line.

TSV in action at the Allianz Arena

German international veteran Thomas Häßler was added to the midfield in 1999 before the team finished in fourth place in 1999-00. Lorant was fired after a poor European campaign. Davor Šuker signed on as their former forward Pacult took charge of the team. 1860 was relegated back to 2. Bundesliga in 2003-04 under Falko Götz.

The club moved back to Grünwalder Stadion for their first season back in the second flight as the Allianz Arena was being completed. Wildmoser was ousted as fans were extremely upset with the upcoming move, exacerbated when he was caught in a bribery scandal that had awarded some of the building contract to his son's company.

An eventful 2004 saw Götz, Gerald Vanenburg, Rudolf Bommer and Reiner Maurer all have spells as chief trainers. The team came perilously close to relegation to Regionalliga Süd in 2006. The club hit severe financial trouble and sold its 50% stake in the Allianz Arena to rivals Bayern to ease the problem.

The transaction convinced the DFB to award 1860 their professional license to continue in 2. Bundesliga. Meanwhile, trainers came and went, with Maurer, Bernhard Trares, and Walter Schachner all occupying the position during 2006. Marco Kurz took over in 2007.

More chief trainers, Marco Kurz, Uwe Wolf, Ewald Lienen and the returning Maurer couldn’t propel the team back to the top flight as 1860 hit another financial crisis in 2011, as gates continued to hover around the 22,000 mark in a stadium holding 75,000. Bayern offered to help 1860 out financially, which went down badly with fans of both clubs.

Bayern were extremely worried that if 1860 went bust, they would be left short of the cost of the rent. 1860 was bought by Jordanian investor Hasan Abdullah Ismaik, although he was only entitled to 49% voting rights under German football regulations. Between 2012 and 2015, more chief trainers, Alexander Schmidt, Friedhelm Funkel, Markus von Ahlen, Ricardo Moniz and von Ahlen were all employed to look after the first team. 

The 2014-15 season saw 1860 avoid relegation when a last-minute goal from defender Kai Bülow saw off Holstein Kiel in the play-off as 57,000 fans flocked to the Allianz Arena. The 2015-16 season saw TSV narrowly avoid relegation once again, with Torsten Fröhling, Benno Möhlmann and Daniel Bierofka all having spells as team boss. 

The club began to look for an alternative to playing at the Allianz Arena, although the club had signed a deal to remain there until 2025. The 2016-17 season was another one of turbulence. Kosta Runjaić took charge of the team before Bierofka returned, having received his coaching licenses. 

However, he was dismissed during the mid-season break to be replaced by the Portuguese Vítor Pereira. Pereira’s side found themselves in the relegation play-off once again, where they faced SSV Jahn Regensburg after ending the season in sixteenth place. TSV lost 3-1 on aggregate to confirm their relegation. However, things were to get much worse.

A professional license was refused owing to the financial troubles at the club, as the team were placed in the fourth-tier Regionalliga Bayern with Daniel Bierofka appointed as the new chief trainer. The club entered bankruptcy before a new board was appointed. The new start allowed the club to leave their deal at the Allianz Arena and move back to the municipally owned Städtisches Stadion an der Grünwalder Straße. 

TSV in action at the Allianz Arena

Sascha Mölders, Nico Karger and Markus Ziereis provided the goals as the team ran away with the league table in front of full houses. 1. FC Saarbrücken were defeated in the play-offs as Die Löwen were promoted to 3. Liga, where they achieved a mid-table finish in 2018-19. Michael Köllner took over as trainer halfway through the 2019-20 season.

Fourth place was achieved the following season, which was replicated in 2021-22, with Marcel Bär leading the scoring. Maurizio Jacobacci arrived as the new trainer, who was replaced by Argirios Giannikis during a disappointing period. Patrick Glöckner led 1860 to eleventh place in 2024-25.

TSV 1860 München will play in 3. Liga in the 2025-26 season.

My visits

For the trip to TSV's former home venue of the Olympiastadion, click here.

Städtisches Stadion an der Grünwalder Straße

Friday 17th December 2016

My visit to Munich was on its second and final full day. I had already been to the southern extremities of the city to visit the homes of SpVgg Unterhaching and SpVgg 1906Haidhausen, from where I took the number 15 tram from Ostfriedhof to Tegernseer Landstraße.

After a full circumference of the stadium without finding an open gate, I managed to get some decent shots of a very decent arena through various vantage points. Grünwalder Stadion had very modern, neat open terraces at either end, with covered as well as open seating down the sides. 

It felt very much still like 1860 territory with its light blue seats and some graffiti on the walls. It certainly had an interesting past. Local rivals FC Bayern München moved into the venue, which is also known as Grünwalder Stadion or the Sechzger Stadion, in 1926 after being built in 1911 initially as the home of TSV 1860 München.

In 1927, the stadium was renamed Heinrich-Zisch-Stadion before becoming Sportplatz an der Grünwalder Straße in 1939 for a couple of years. Between 1941 and 1945, it was titled Hanns-Braun-Kampfbahn in memory of a German athlete who competed in the 1908 and 1912 Olympics. In 1948, a record attendance of 58,560 was attracted to Grünwalder Stadion for the Bavarian derby between TSV 1860 München and 1. FC Nürnberg.

In 1972, both Bayern and 1860 moved across the city to the new Olympiastadion. Grünwalder Stadion was then used by the under-19 or II teams of both clubs. 1860 returned for a few small spells during the 1970s before returning permanently from 1982 and 1995 as the club hit financial troubles.

They both returned for the 2004-05 campaign while the Allianz Arena was awaiting completion before the Grünwalder Stadion was modernised and the capacity cut to 12,500. Bayern’s women’s team moved in from the 2013-14 season to share with both clubs’ second teams before TSV would return in 2017.

Having exhausted every opportunity, I headed towards the Christmas Market in the city centre for some lunch before heading off to Olympiastadion for a proper look around another home of both Bayern clubs, before TSV's evening match at Allianz Arena.

The U1 from Wettersteinplatz to Sendlinger Tor, followed by a change onto the U6 to Marienplatz, soon had me tucking into a Gluhwein, potato rosti’s and a bratwurst in a really brilliant city.

 Allianz Arena

TSV 1860 München 1 FC Heidenheim 1 (Friday 16th December 2016) 2. Bundesliga (att: 15,300)

My visit to Munich had lived up to everything I had hoped for and more. However, I could find only one game of live football to attend.

I included visits to three Kreisliga venues: Unterhaching, Grunwalder Stadium and Olympic Park and Stadium, as well as a highly recommended walking tour of Dachau, which is one of the most thought-provoking things I have ever done in my life.

My hotel was in Moosach, which has fantastic transport links and handy amenities. U8, bus and then U6 to Fröttmaning, followed by a fifteen-minute walk to the breathtaking Allianz Arena, which was lit in neon blue.

The last time I had seen anything that space age was the Muse gig at Wembley Stadium. Before being allowed to pass through the turnstiles, I had a strict frisking and had to hand my phone charger in to a kiosk to collect at full time.

My print-at-home ticket had been purchased online for €14, with the programme an additional €1.50. The excellent concourse ran all the way around the rear of the lower tier and had fabulous concessions, which were purchased with a stadium card, which was given out free and credit was added to it.

The food on offer was hearty, so I had to award top marks to the stadium designers, who'd obviously been in contact with some leading Bavarian dieticians. How nice it was to enter a new build that had sympathy to those of us with ample girth and long legs as the seating tread and gaps between seats was most generous.

The Allianz Arena was a breathtaking venue. The lower tier had a section of terracing behind both ends with seats down the sides. The middle tier was all seated with corporate facilities towards the rear. The third level undulated to allow air flow to come through the wrap-around roof.

The game began with a slightly muted atmosphere, which built once the struggling Sechzig grew into the game, before they took the lead when Sascha Mölders converted a flick header from a free kick after twenty-seven minutes. Munich's original club continued to grow in confidence up to the interval.

After the break, it was more of the same as they attacked the end most populated by their vocal fans, and me! A mixture of poor finishing and a couple of saves from Kevin Müller kept them at bay. München were playing some smashing stuff with everyone putting in a real shift.

Referee Robert Kempter also tried to emphasise his presence as he handed out a total of nine yellow cards. He wasn't done there as he awarded a soft penalty to Heidenheim with eighteen minutes remaining. 

Marc Schnatterer sent Stefan Ortega Moreno the wrong way from the spot to level things up. The home side tried to press for a winner, but it wasn't to be. Special mention must be made to one particularly outstanding performance.

Anyone thinking of heading to a Sechzig game, I urge you to go in block 127 towards the front and enjoy the performance provided by a solo supporter. I honestly thought he was going to combust. Even during quiet periods of the game, he was off on the prowl like a frustrated detective.

When there was a misplaced pass or decision against 1860, he was off into a meltdown. Fans were harangued for their opinions and agreement. Even the poor lass selling beer from a tray was getting it, but she just shrugged her shoulders and carried on. I guess she's seen it every home game?

He must have covered every place in the first 8 rows during the night. It got to the stage where I was hoping for another 1860 error or a debatable decision. The ref played his part by making some strange calls. He was maybe in on it? The daft thing is that 1860 played pretty well. I'd love to see him in action when they take a pounding.

Whoever the gent was, he made a fantastic day even better. Forza Sechzig! From leaving the ground and waiting for a train, and taking the same journey back to catch the second half of the Hoffenheim against Dortmund match in a friendly bar around the corner from my hotel, took me less than an hour.

The following morning, I was up bright and early and heading to the airport for a 09:50 flight back to Luton for the extravaganza at Stratford in the Olympic Stadium between West Ham United and Hull City. The difference in stadium and value for money as a fan couldn't have been starker.