Which Fanbase Do You Have an Irrational Dislike For?

Munich—Bayern Munich’s dominance on the pitch is matched only by the swirl of emotions it provokes across Germany and Europe. Success breeds admiration, but it also manufactures grudges that linger long after the final whistle. Ask any Bayern supporter which set of fans makes their blood boil for reasons they can’t quite articulate, and the answers arrive faster than a Alphonso Davies sprint.

Inside the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund tops the list. The Yellow Wall’s choreography is universally lauded, yet the perpetual “plucky underdog” storyline can exhaust even neutral observers. After tight defeats, the moral-victory rhetoric—celebrating brave losses as moral triumphs—chafes against Bayern’s expectation of nothing less than victory.

Schalke 04 represent another thorn. Even when the Gelsenkirchen club languish in mid-table, their supporters remain reliably vocal in their anti-Munich sentiment. Whether rooted in Ruhr district pride or decades-old slights, the volume never dips.

RB Leipzig offer a newer, more ideological irritant. Debates over the club’s ownership model and meteoric rise turn every fixture into a referendum on the soul of German football. The clash feels less like a derby and more like a seminar on 50+1 rules—passionate, polarizing, and impossible to tune out.

Venture beyond Germany and the irritants multiply. Real Madrid’s European pedigree brings an air of inevitability to every Champions League tie; their fans’ confidence can feel pre-ordained. FC Barcelona’s global megaphone ensures that discussions about style, identity, and “right” way to play persist even after resounding Bayern victories. Meanwhile, Chelsea FC evoke visceral memories of knockout heartbreak, the scars of past finals coloring every future encounter.

These animosities rarely withstand strict scrutiny; they thrive on emotion, on late-night social-media spats, on the echo of painful defeats. Yet that irrational edge is precisely what fuels the spectacle. Without it, the game would be reduced to tactics and statistics—interesting, but never personal.

So, Bayern faithful, the question stands: which fanbase do you harbor an irrational dislike for? No justification required; football fandom has never been a court of logic.