Few sounds in European football carry the same dread as Bayern Munich's goal music. The familiar strains of the can-can echo through the Allianz Arena with startling regularity — and in the 2025/26 season, opponents are hearing it more than ever.

Under manager Vincent Kompany, Bayern have evolved into a relentless scoring machine. Their Bundesliga title was wrapped up in mid-April with a 4-2 win over Stuttgart, a result that pushed their league tally to 109 goals in just 30 games. In 15 home matches this season alone, they have found the net 60 times — an average of four goals per game.

The music behind the madness

The piece that rings out after each Bayern goal is rooted in classical tradition. The can-can originates from Jacques Offenbach's 19th-century opera Orpheus in the Underworld, and its upbeat, almost theatrical energy suits the atmosphere of a Bayern demolition perfectly.

Bayern first adopted the can-can as their goal music in the early 1990s, when the club still played their home games at the Olympiastadion. The precise reason this particular composition was chosen remains unclear, though its celebratory and lively character made it a natural fit. Many German clubs lean on classical pieces tied to their regional identity after scoring, and Bayern's tradition has endured long past their move to the Allianz Arena.

They are not alone in choosing the can-can — second-division side Bochum have used it, and Borussia Dortmund also played it for a period during the 1990s.

A sound that now defines an era

The music took on fresh prominence last week when Bayern put four goals past Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, with the can-can blaring through the Allianz Arena's speakers after each strike. For the visitors, it carried an almost mocking quality — a sensation that many sides conceding heavily at Bayern's home ground know all too well.

Now associated with the goals of Harry Kane, Luis Diaz, and their teammates, the can-can has become inseparable from Bayern's modern identity. Paris Saint-Germain, who face Bayern in the Champions League semi-final, will be desperate to ensure they do not spend the evening listening to Offenbach's most famous melody.