Alexej Makeev was part of the inventory at the training ground on Säbener Straße for years. From a Ukrainian fan who felt part of the FC Bayern Munich team.
Alexej Makeev was never allowed to play for FC Bayern at the weekend, but other than that his everyday life differed very little from that of the Munich pros for years. He completed the same training sessions as the players on Säbener Straße and was even kitted out by the club.
Then came Corona, the already growing distance between fans and club suddenly increased. Suddenly there was no more room for fans like Makeev. Regular training peewits have spotted him occasionally on Säbener Straße in recent months, but his presence is no longer a matter of course.
Makeev comes from the Ukraine and is around 40 years old, that much is known. Sometime in the late noughties it first appeared on the club premises, where it then belonged to the inventory for years. In sun, in snow and in rain. When things were going well for the team, he was there. And if not, then too. Sure, he felt like part of the team.
Next to the pros’ training ground, Makeev mirrored their drills: he ran when they ran. He stretched when they stretched. And when they practiced shooting at goal, he slammed his ball against his goal, a concrete wall. When he scored, he yelled, “Gooor!”
Sikorski on Makeev: “He was in love with the club”
Professionals, coaches and officials alike knew him, he was known by his nickname “Forrest Gump von der Säbener”. Ottmar Hitzfeld once brought him onto the pitch during a training session, Louis van Gaal willingly informed him of the training times, Arjen Robben once returned his ball to him when Makeev accidentally shot it over the fence.
And most important of all: Christian Nerlinger gave him a complete set of training equipment during his time as manager, which he wore proudly from then on. Later he got new products every year. “In the beginning he came with normal shoes. After he got his equipment, he always wore his football boots,” recalled Daniel Sikorski in an interview SPOX and GOALS.
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The Austrian moved to the boarding school on Säbener Straße in 2005, fought his way up to the professional team thanks to many goals for the reserve team, but he never played for it. He left the club in 2010 and now plays for Aris Limassol in Cyprus.
If you ask Sikorski about Makeev, he knows right away. “I can still see his face exactly in front of me and I can remember his laugh clearly. He was a funny guy, always very happy. It was always fun when he was there,” says Sikorski. So always. “He was just in love with the club.”
Until the coronavirus hit the world, closed-door workouts were Makeev’s biggest love blocker. “There were often problems with the securities. He was always waiting for him to come in somehow. If he wasn’t disturbing and things were more relaxed, then sometimes he was actually allowed in,” says Sikorski. “Otherwise we saw him running behind the barrier at the top of the hill. That’s how he showed that he’s still going for it.”
