After the dismissal of sports director Oliver Kahn, a lot of criticism rained down on the decision-makers at FC Bayern. The way was styleless, according to numerous ex-professionals and football experts. Club patron Uli Hoeneß defends himself against this representation and unpacks the conversation with Kahn.
Shortly before the championship final, FC Bayern pulled the ripcord: Sport Director Hasan Salihamidzic and CEO Hasan Salihamidzic had to vacate their posts. In addition to club president Herbert Hainer, one of the key drivers was Munich club patron Uli Hoeneß.
Criticism then rained down from all sides. “Enough dirty laundry has been washed. I find the measures that have been taken and the way they have been decided disrespectful,” Axel Kahn, brother of the Bayern boss who was ousted, then took sides against “Sky”. He would have wished that they had “maybe sat down a few months beforehand and explained to him that they wanted to separate in the summer”.
In a fan survey commissioned by “SID”, 63.4 percent saw the timing as inappropriate, and 66.9 percent even rated the handling of the layoffs as “unprofessional”.
Hoeneß now defended the explosive timing of the dismissal. “It would not have been fair to only discuss such important decisions with those affected 24 hours before the supervisory board meeting,” said the 71-year-old in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. The Munich supervisory board did not meet until May 30th, i.e. three days after the victory at 1. FC Köln, which ultimately made it possible to celebrate the eleventh championship in a row.
Uli Hoeneß: “It got loud for a while”
“We wanted Oliver and Hasan to find out directly from us, we wanted to keep the topic away from the team before the game in Cologne and we wanted to inform the public immediately after the announcement in the dressing room,” Hoeneß explained the background.
What has already been documented in detail: The discussions with Oliver Kahn were anything but silent. “It got loud for a while,” confirmed Hoeneß, who also saw through that the separation had been initiated internally in the club. “The news that he wasn’t going any further didn’t come out of the blue: we had repeatedly indicated to him that this possibility existed,” said the club boss. Kahn was then “rushed off” after three quarters of an hour.
The 53-year-old did not travel to Cologne, and according to his own statement, he was even denied a visit to the stadium. Hasan Salihamidzic, on the other hand, reacted with understanding to the Bayern exit in public and was present at both the championship final and the celebration in Munich City Hall.