Bayern arrange Diamonds deal

Mutual benefit
The arrangement will see the Bundesliga leaders lend support to former German international Guido Buchwald's Urawa side while the Japanese club assist Bayern's marketing plans in the region. It will also involve exchanges between youth players and coaching staff while Urawa will supplement Bayern's Asian scouting network. In addition, the teams have agreed to meet in a friendly match in Tokyo, provisionally pencilled in for 6 August.

'Ideal partner'
"We have been looking for a thoroughly stable club that we could totally trust for a long time," said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. "In Urawa Reds, we have found the ideal partner to help us achieve our targets." Urawa general manager Takaji Mori added: "Bayern look back on more than 100 years of history, but the J-League was only founded a decade ago. It follows that we can and must learn a great deal from them."

'Clear vision'
Bayern have adopted a long-term strategy to increase their profile in Asia, which is beginning to pay dividends. "Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and general manager Uli Hoeness have a clear vision," the club's head of international affairs Martin Hägele told uefa.com. "They want to become the best club in the world. So we also have to become a highly regarded brand in Asia.

'Give and take'
"Many clubs in Europe regard the Asian market as a cow to milk but not to feed," Hägele continued. "But the people in Asia only build up confidence and trust very slowly. We want to have partnerships in which both sides give and take. We do not go to Asia just to sell shirts. We go there in order to arrange friendships and serious partnerships.

'Huge market'
"I am convinced the Asian market is not sated. The market over there is huge, and it is open to everybody who acts appropriately. On the one hand they can learn from us how to organise and structure a club and how to coach young players. On the other we profit by establishing our name and our brand over there."