By Roberto Lamprecht and Heiko Niedderer
Will Hertha soon get a new signing from Bayern Munich?
Hertha President Kay Bernstein (42) has initiated the Berlin path since manager Fredi Bobic (51) was fired without notice on January 28th. With Pal Dardai (47) as coach, Benjamin Weber (42) as sports director, Zecke Neuendorf (48) as director of the academy/licensed player and Erich “Ete” Beer (76) and Jolly Sverrisson (54) as Hertha flag bearers, it was a short time many alumni brought back to Hertha.
Now there are hot rumors that Jochen Sauer (50), who has been in charge of the FC Bayern Munich campus since 2017, could return as Managing Director Sport (the position of the fired Fredi Bobic)!
From 2001 to 2009, Sauer worked here as an assistant to the management – more or less as the right hand of the then Hertha manager Dieter Hoeneß (70). Hoeneß and Sauer also know Hertha President Kay Bernstein from this time, who was still the ultra leader of the “Harlekins” at the time.
Now where are the rumors coming from?
The fact is: Sauer’s contract with Bayern is expiring, his future is completely open. It is said that Sauer has been thinking about saying goodbye for a long time.
Bavaria’s NLZ boss Jochen Sauer is about to leave Munich Photo: picture alliance/dpa
One reason: Sauer should not want to have a dual leadership after FCB surprisingly appointed ex-professional Halil Altintop (40) as sports director on the Munich youth campus in March. The former Turkish international (38 caps) is now seen as the new strong man on campus.
Since then, Sauer has tended to leave the Bayern campus!
According to BZ information, Sauer recently bought a house with his family in Kleinmachnow on the outskirts of Berlin. Will Sauer return to the capital as sporting director from the summer?
Rather questionable! Most recently, Hertha was actually in the process of streamlining the structures. Also for cost reasons. Bobic’s sporting managing director post was replaced by sports director Benjamin Weber (42), whose contract runs until summer 2025 regardless of league affiliation.
Running the Hertha academy (Pablo Thiam has the post at Hertha until 2024) is now probably too small for the Bayern boss.
Most recently, Sauer has been increasingly concerned with the topic of internationalization for Bayern abroad, driving the cooperation with USA champions Los Angeles FC. Both clubs will work together in the future to promote young talent, for which purpose a separate joint venture was founded with “Red&Gold Football”.
It is possible that Sauer will become fully involved here in the future and move into an office in which he manages the network of international partner clubs for Bavaria.
However, it also seems possible that Sauer, with his large network, could play a new role in the interaction between Hertha and US investor 777 …