It was supposed to be a quiet night before one of the biggest games in European football. But Bayern Munich’s most fanatical supporters had completely unique ideas.
A group of Bayern ultras snuck through the shadows of the nearby Olympiapark and set off many fireworks right outside Real Madrid’s hotel in Munich early Wednesday morning, just as the players were getting settled into their rooms. Around 1 a.m., the rockets went off in a colorful and loud explosion. This was a bold act of psychological warfare meant to keep the Spanish giants from sleeping well. In the early hours of Wednesday morning — just as Real Madrid’s players were settling into their rooms at the Leonardo Royal Hotel in Munich — a group of Bayern ultras crept through the shadows of the nearby Olympiapark and unleashed a barrage of fireworks directly outside the squad’s hotel. The rockets exploded in a blaze of color and noise at around 1am, a brazen act of psychological warfare designed to rob the Spanish giants of a good night’s sleep.
Caught on Film
Spanish TV show El Chiringuito, still airing its nightly football coverage when the fireworks went off, filmed the chaos live. Videos quickly spread on social media, showing rockets lighting up the night sky in Munich right outside the hotel where the players’ rooms are located. The Real Madrid security team quickly ran toward the explosions, but the people who did it had already disappeared into the darkness of the Olympiapark, using the green space as a quick way to get away.
Just a Few, But Very Important
German news outlet SPORT1 says that only a few Bayern fans were actually behind the prank. But the pictures spread around the world in just a few hours, making a short disturbance that lasted about a minute a topic of conversation all over the world. No one was arrested. The criminals got away without a trace, leaving hotel security with nothing but the smell of gunpowder.
High-Stakes Setting
The timing couldn’t be worse. Real Madrid came to Munich already behind in the tie, having lost the first leg 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu. Los Blancos will have a challenging time on Wednesday night in the second leg at the Allianz Arena. They need to make up the difference if they want to get to the Champions League semi-finals. It looks like Bayern fans were willing to do anything to help their team, even if it meant breaking the law at 1 a.m.
This isn’t the first time a team hotel has been attacked before a Champions League game. Four Ajax ultras were arrested in 2019 for setting off fireworks outside Real Madrid’s Amsterdam hotel in the early hours before a last-16 match. And last season, Feyenoord fans did the same thing outside Bayern’s hotel in Rotterdam before their UCL game.
Madrid won’t be shaken up.
It is not known if the fireworks really bothered any of Madrid’s players. No matter what, Carlo Ancelotti’s team will need all of their focus and energy for what will be a fierce European night in Bavaria, with or without fireworks.
