In 2025, a big dream came true for the Füchse by winning the first German championship. Managing director Bob Hanning believes in a great future.
In 2025, a big dream came true for the Füchse by winning the first German championship in the club’s history. When looking back, Berliners are not only happy. The separation from coach Jaron Siewert and sports director Stefan Kretzschmar shortly after winning the title caused unrest. Managing director Bob Hanning is now looking ahead to a great future.
rbb|24: Mr. Hanning, do you have a favorite number from the Füchse year 2025?
Bob Hanning: (laughs) A favorite number? My favorite number is always one. That’s where you like to be and by winning the championship we’ve done that. My second favorite number is currently 30. Because we succeeded, with Lasse Ludwig, Matthes Langhoff, Tim Freihöfer and Nils Lichtlein to retain our four German national players until 2030. That makes me a very happy person.
rbb|24: We have another number suggestion for you. What do you think of the three?
Hanning: Three? I have to think about that.
rbb|24: Then let’s help: German Championship, Supercup and Berlin Team of the Year.
Hanning: Oh yes. Then I’ll take the three too, but I don’t want to find them in the table (laughs).
rbb|24: If you had to give the year 2025 a grade, what would it be?
Hanning: I would say a one minus to two. The Winning the German championship Last season was the biggest success in the club’s history and we still have that Champions League Final Four reached. We have already qualified directly for the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Thank God we are still close to the Champions League places in the Bundesliga, but Magdeburg is already ahead of us. They are having an outstanding season, you have to accept that. We simply left too many points behind for that.
Bob Hanning on the separation of Jaron Siewert and Stefan Kretzschmar
At the end of the day the decision was hard, but the right and consistent one.
rbb|24: In addition to all the success, the Foxes were also shaken up quite a bit in September. They became champions, the new season barely started and then Coach Jaron Siewert and sports director Stefan Kretzschmar were gone. How do you rate this decision today, with a little distance?
Hanning: Unfortunately there was no alternative to the decision. We agreed in the last few weeks of the season that we would under no circumstances enter into personnel discussions in order to keep the focus on the big dream of the German championship. If I had known that this would be the result in September, then you could certainly question it. But you always have to make the right decision at the time of action. At the end of the day the decision was hard, but the right and consistent one.
rbb|24: You were heavily criticized for this, especially on social media. What did that do to you?
Hanning: That’s part of society. There are fewer and fewer people willing to take on responsibility. And even fewer who are prepared to make difficult decisions with responsibility. But today there are always people without responsibility who talk about such things on social media. You have to endure that. I have dedicated my whole life to the club and always wanted to make the right decision – for the club and not for myself.
rbb|24: The successor decision is: Nikolej Krickau. Now we are at the end of December. How do you like the new man so far?
Hanning: We are incredibly happy that we were able to win him over for this project because he brings a lot of things to the table. In addition to his professional and social skills, he has the opportunity to open doors. We have now succeeded in this in many respects. We were faced with the difficult decision about what happens in 2026 and 2027. We knew from the start that our… Goalkeeper Dejan Milosvljev would like to go. We knew that Lasse Andersson leaves. And we know that we have to provide Mathias Gidsel with a team that is competitive and can compete for the best in the world in the next few years. The whole thing was at stake.
With Nikolej Krickau we got the partner who, together with me, was able to quickly make adjustments to bring the ship into calmer waters. We are very happy, the team is very happy and the development of the young players proves us right at the end of the day. Even if we are missing four points in the Bundesliga due to many injuries.
Bob Hanning about fox DNA
I’d rather play Euroleague with my own people than Champions League with a team I bought.
rbb|24: Krickau works in a dual role as trainer and sporting director. Will he also be paid twice?
Hanning: (laughs) No, he won’t. Thank God he didn’t insist on that either. For him it is also a huge opportunity to train a big team, develop them further and establish them among the world’s best. That is our goal, without losing sight of our own DNA. It’s a balancing act, but anyone who knows me knows how important it is to me. I’d rather play Euroleague with my own people than Champions League with a team I bought. That’s exactly what we did. The path we are taking is unique, but one hundred percent the right one.
rbb|24: Financially, the club is not a bed of roses. How did the Füchse still manage to extend Mathias Gidsel’s contract until 2029, sign Simon Pytlick and now Dika Mem is supposed to come too?
Hanning: For us, volunteering reduces a lot of costs. So we have a small amount of additional costs. In addition, we had two very above-average years and, as a result, the audience revenue was behind us. In addition, we are changing supplier for the new season and are actually sold out. Especially in the last four months, a lot of people have come along who want to accompany us on our journey. This means that on the one hand we can buy world-class products, but on the other hand we also have our own identity.
rbb|24: Let’s talk specifically about new additions again. As of now, is Simon Pytlick coming in summer 2027?
Hanning: He has with us signed a contract from 2027, but also has an offer for 2026. We know that he is still under contract with another team and are currently in the process of coming up with a plan B. So we could bridge the year with another very good and interesting player who fits well into our system and has expressed his willingness to help out.
rbb|24: And Dika Mem?
Hanning: We also have an offer. The contract is basically negotiated. We decided that he’ll go on holiday now and then we’ll get a decision from him before the European Championships. I’m very confident, but I don’t want to announce it until it’s actually happening.
rbb|24: Finally, let’s take a look at 2026. What are the goals?
Hanning: We want to reach both Final Fours and definitely qualify for the Champions League.
Thank you for the conversation!
The interview was conducted by Jens-Christian Gussmann, rbb sports editor.
Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, December 28, 2025, 2:22 p.m
