“It’s like you’re in a madhouse somewhere”
Kahn gives insight into a wild time at FC Bayern
01/19/2025 – 9:56 a.mReading time: 3 minutes
A documentary about FC Bayern is currently causing a stir. Now one of its protagonists speaks out: Oliver Kahn. The ex-goalkeeper has a different perception of things.
The 1990s were the birth of FC Hollywood. From this time on, FC Bayern was always called this when it managed to attract attention less through sporting successes and more through headlines off the pitch. A multi-part ZDF documentary now sheds light on those years at the club that were marked by the egos and escapades of numerous star players – including greats like Lothar Matthäus, Mehmet Scholl, Mario Basler and Jürgen Klinsmann.
Oliver Kahn also moved to FC Bayern in the mid-nineties and was part of a wild time with the German record champions. The now 55-year-old told the ZDF sports studio what he thought of the recently released episodes about his long-standing club.
“I watched the documentary,” said Kahn, who had originally planned to do so throughout the week. “And then I watched it for a day or two because it was quite interesting. However, it left me a bit disturbed because I asked myself: Tell me, was I really there? Was I there really there? But apparently that’s how it was back then.”
The former goalkeeper emphasized that he didn’t think the time was that crazy back then. The fact that the impression of FC Hollywood arises is also due to the format. “When you look at the documentary, you have to say critically, it’s of course a series of certain highlights. And if I cut them one after the other and then condense them like that, then of course you really get the impression that you’re in a madhouse somewhere,” said Kahn.
And further: “I came to FC Bayern in 1994/95. I didn’t really notice it that much at the time. Because the first thing that was important for me was to establish myself. The first thing that was important for me was getting to FC Bayern Munich.” He concentrated on achieving his sporting performance.
Kahn then made it clear that “the media coverage of football has changed massively” during the affected period. He also referred to the entry of private television.
Due to the change in reporting, “not only sport was in the foreground, but personal matters were also in the foreground,” emphasized Kahn. “The players’ stories were also suddenly interesting. And we as a generation back then were basically not prepared for that.”
Kahn joked that when playing away games in the hotel room, this resulted in a fear that went so far that you first looked to see whether there was a journalist under the bed or somehow in the toilet. At times you felt like a circus horse Time.”
Kahn also commented on the many star players on the team during this time. “Of course that can’t work,” said the ex-national keeper. “You can’t take the ten best CEOs from Germany and have them all work in one company. I don’t know if that will work anywhere. Instead, a team needs a good mix of different characters.”
It’s about finding the optimal composition. “It was extraordinary back then to have so many stars,” explained Kahn, who wore the Bayern jersey between 1994 and 2008 and won several titles with the club.