AS anyone with even a passing interest in football is well aware, Bayern Munich are the new dominant force in the European game.

The German giants won the Bundelisga by a 25-point margin this season and added the Champions League title when they beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at Wembley.

In the semi-final of the latter competition, they defeated a Barcelona team many believe to be the best ever by a 7-0 aggregate scoreline.

If Jupp Heynckes' team overcome VfB Stuttgart in the German Cup this Saturday they will complete a Treble.

The chances are high, too, that the club known throughout the world as FC Hollywood is set to get even better in the seasons to come.

Pep Guardiola, the former Barcelona manager, will succeed the ageing Heynckes during the close season.

And when Bayern pay off their futuristic 71,137-capacity Allianz Arena in 2016 they will have an extra €33million a year to spend.

As things stand, though, disposable income does not seem to be a particular problem for the Legendary Bavarian outfit.

They have already secured the services of Mario Gotze, the wunderkind of German football, from main rivals Dortmund for €37m.

Karlheinz Wild, chief reporter for Kicker football magazine, revealed that the five-time European champions had no difficulty making that acquisition.

"Bayern Munich have about €100m sitting in a bank account," he explained. "When they want a player they just take the money out and buy him.

"Last season when they bought Javi Martinez (the Spanish defender who is their record signing) they took out €40m and paid Athletic Bilbao."

The Financial Fair Play rules being championed by Uefa president Michel Platini will make their position stronger still.

Yet, Bayern Munich have not always enjoyed such rude good health. There was a time when they toiled on the field of play and were in some disarray off it.

The club was experiencing considerable financial difficulties when their former player Uli Hoeness took over as general manager in 1979.

His appointment followed a revolt by the team, led by Paul Breitner, Sepp Maier and Hoeness, over the proposed sacking of manager Pal Csernai.

Aged just 27 and having just retired due to a knee injury, the former West German international had none of the qualifications needed for the position.

However, he has been largely responsible for transforming the club into one of the largest, richest and most successful in the world in the last 34 years.

In the process, he has enlisted the help of other legendary former players – most notably Franz Beckenbauer and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

It is little wonder, then, that Ally McCoist is such an admirer of the Bayern business model and would like to see a similar structure involving great Rangers players in place at the Ibrox club.

Wild said: "Hoeness's father owned a small butcher's shop when he was a boy. He learned how to earn money from a young age, saw how to make a company profitable.

"Very early on in his time as general manager, Hoeness set out to improve the merchandising of the club. He travelled to the United States and saw how their leading sports clubs conducted their business.

"He saw the megastore that the San Francisco 49ers American football team owned. He did the same with Bayern Munich. He was also very influential in persuading major companies in Germany to become sponsors.

"He also loved the club and did everything he could for it. He worked seven days a week. He can be very aggressive if the club is criticised. His nickname in Germany is Mr Attack.

"His philosophy is simple. He always says: 'We do not spend more money than we earn'. The success of the club is very simply the consequence of lot of hard work over many years."

Beckenbauer, the former World Cup-winning captain renowned as Der Kaiser, became president in 1994 and helped drive Bayern Munich further forward.

Wild recalled: "Beckenbauer has great charisma and is renowned not just in his own country, but also in Europe and all around the world.

"If Bayern were experiencing any difficulties in their relationship or in negotiations with a company or with a player, one phone call from Beckenbauer tended to sort it."

Hoeness, who has succeeded Beckenbauer as club president, is facing possible prosecution for tax evasion in Germany. But he has certainly been responsible for the financial health of Bayern Munich.

Wild stated: "Bayern Munich did not rob a bank. They do not have Russian oligarchs, wealthy Arabs or a company in the United States in charge. They worked very intensively to get where they are. They want to be chief of their own club."