FC Bayern Munich II

FC Bayern Munich II (FC Bayern Munich Amateure until 2005) are the reserve team of German association football club Bayern Munich, currently playing in the Regionalliga Bayern. In 2010–11, they played in the 3. Liga, having qualified for its inaugural season in 2008, and have consistently played at the third level of German football (the highest permissible level for reserve teams) – they played in the Regionalliga Süd from its formation in 1994 to 2008, when it was usurped by the 3. Liga. They have generally achieved at least mid-table finishes at this level, and won the Regionalliga Süd title in 2004. In 2010–11, Bayern II finished last in the 3. Liga, and were thus relegated to the Regionalliga. They afterwards regained promotion by winning the 2018–19 Regionalliga and won the 3. Liga in 2019–20. The following season, they were relegated from the 3. Liga after an 18th-place finish.

The team is intended to be the final step between Bayern's youth setup and the first team, and is usually made up of promising youngsters between the age of 18 and 23, with a few veteran players drafted in to provide experience.

Bayern II has made several appearances in the DFB-Pokal, even facing the senior Bayern side in a fourth round tie in 1977 losing 5–3.

The team's first appearance in the top-league of Bavarian football, the southern group of the Amateurliga Bayern, came in 1956, when it won the tier-four 2nd Amateurliga Oberbayern A and advanced to the next level through the promotion round. After finishing its first season in this league in mid-table, it ended 1957–58 as runners-up, two points behind local rival Wacker München. It repeated this achievement in 1960–61, this time coming second to 1860 Munich II. Both reserve sides then descended in the league table and, in 1963, when the German football league system was severely altered, they both missed the cut-off for the new single-tier Amateurliga Bayern. Bayern Amateure had to finish seventh to qualify but came only 14th and found itself grouped in the new tier-four Landesliga Bayern-Süd.

It took the team four seasons in this league to work its way back up, improving year by year and, in 1966–67, it finished first and earned promotion back to the Bayernliga. Bayern started well in the league, coming fourth in the first year, but then declined and was relegated again in 1971. It only took two seasons this time for the team to return to the third division and another league win in 1973 moved the team back up.

For the next 21 seasons, the team was to be a member of the Bayernliga without interruption. However, in all the 21 seasons there, the team could never win the league either, being ineligible for promotion from there to professional football anyway.

The team had few bad seasons in this time, coming relatively close to relegation only once, in 1982. It managed three runners-up finishes in the league, in 1983, 1984 and 1987 and generally existed as an upper-table side.

In 1994, with the introduction of the new tier-three Regionalliga Süd, the team qualified comfortably. It was to be a long-term member of this league, too, belonging to it until 2008, when the 3. Liga was formed. After mostly finishing in mid-table in the league, Bayern earned its first league title in over 30 years when it won the Regionalliga in 2004. Being already a member of the highest league in which reserve teams are permitted, the side could not take up promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga and had to stay at this level. In 2005, all reserve sides of clubs in the first and second Bundesliga changed their name from Amateure to II, meaning FC Bayern Munich Amateure became FC Bayern Munich II.