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FC Bayern Munich has clinched its 35th Bundesliga title-but once again, the club will celebrate without the iconic Meisterschale trophy

Although FC Bayern Munich’s players and staff had just clinched their 35th Bundesliga title with a 4-2 win over VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 30, the official league trophy had not yet been presented to them. Instead, a different, special trophy was on hand.

The Bayern players reacted with subdued celebrations at the final whistle, giving the impression that their 35th Bundesliga title win was almost secondary—a sentiment perhaps explained by the remaining title deciders this season.

AFP
When the championship shirts were handed out to the squad and the back-room staff, a few smiles broke out. The white top featured a cockatoo donning the classic Bayern home strip—red with white sleeves, just as the purists prefer. The bird simply held the championship trophy; nothing else. No “35”, no “German champions”, no “Forever Number 1”, no explanation needed.
No further explanation was needed: any Bayern player or fan with a memory stretching back to last May would instantly grasp the inside joke. Eventually the bird itself reappeared; Leon Goretzka held aloft the porcelain cockatoo that has been part of the German record champions’ trophy room since their first title celebration with Vincent Kompany.

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FCB: League champions without the traditional trophy, yet with a unique award.
For those who aren’t Bayern Munich supporters or whose memories have been swamped by AI-driven information overload (we feel you), here’s the scene: during last season’s title celebrations on 10 May 2025, manager Vincent Kompany suddenly placed a white porcelain cockatoo on the podium to amuse his players.
It later emerged that the bird had been spirited away from the upmarket restaurant Käfer the previous week, when the squad had gathered there to celebrate effectively winning the title after their closest rivals, Bayer Leverkusen, drew 2-2 with SC Freiburg. Someone had taken the ornamental bird with them, and it instantly became the team’s talisman. Käfer’s owner, Michael Käfer, later gifted the team the €1,000 bird, and it even travelled to the Club World Cup.
At the Club World Cup it remained locked in a case, but now the bird is back on centre stage—and if Bayern have their way, it will not be the last appearance this season.