The most recent Bayern Munich Supercup photograph, taken following their victory over Borussia Dortmund on August 22, 2026 securing their 14th DFL Supercup title, demonstrates how far the club’s unusual trophy-photo tradition has progressed.
Rather than simply standing behind the trophy for a traditional team photo, the players purposefully spread themselves out in various poses.
In the back rows, several players like Dayot Upamecano cross their arms over their chests in a gesture similar to the “Wakanda Forever” salute as Harry Kane covered his mouth and pointed to his temple, a celebration copied from former Bayern player Mathys Tel.
Other players in the middle press a single finger to their lips in a “shush” gesture, while Joshua Kimmich in the front row lies completely on his side beside the trophy, resting his head on one hand.
Manuel Neuer, dressed in his orange goalkeeper kit, also does the pose which stands out in the center. The photo was taken immediately following Bayern’s 2-1 victory at Signal Iduna Park, with Nathaniel Brown and Michael Olise scoring the goals for the German club.
The tradition dates back to the 2017 Supercup against Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park. Bayern won 5-4 on penalties following a 2-2 draw, and the players posed for a deliberately unusual group photo on the field. Arturo Vidal, Thomas Muller, Joshua Kimmich, Franck Ribery, Rafinha, and Robert Lewandowski appeared in a “Stillleben”, essentially a posed tableau, according to contemporary coverage.
What can be established is that the players staged the unusual tableau after the victory, with each player doing something different rather than posing normally around the trophy. Bayern’s retrospective later dubbed the image a “Monumentum” and described it as a joke made during the euphoria of the moment.
That is the most straightforward origin story: a spontaneous post-game quip that became iconic enough to be associated with Bayern’s Supercup celebrations.
It was a spontaneous piece of post-match humor that became synonymous with Bayern’s Super Cup celebrations. There is no reliable evidence in the sources that it was copied from a specific fashion shoot, hip-hop album cover, or club tradition.
When Bayern Munich won the Supercup again in 2018, defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 5-0, the team continued to stage the trophy photo. Instead of simply recreating the previous image, the players varied the levels and poses, making the image appear more like a deliberate group composition. The concept was already recognized in the media as a unique Bayern photo style rather than a typical trophy celebration.
This unique tradition continued as they won the DFL Super Cup through years, with Muller playing a key role.
The enduring strength of the “Supercup Pose” tradition again continued in this new era, as the squad fiercely protects Muller’s legacy despite his retirement from active play.
On August 16, 2025, after defeating VfB Stuttgart 2-1 at the MHPArena to win the competition under its newly rebranded name, the inaugural Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, the team delivered an expressive group stance, marking the first squad iteration since Muller’s departure.
Ultimately, what distinguishes the Bayern tradition from a typical trophy photograph. There does not appear to be one official meaning for each pose. The recurring theme is that players are permitted, and seemingly encouraged, to transform the obligatory winners’ photograph into a playful team statement.
The poses vary from generation to generation, but the concept of avoiding a traditional, rigid lineup has persisted since the 2017 Dortmund celebration.
