While he is supposed to be enjoying retirement, Uli Hoeneß has somehow found his way into the inner-workings of Bayern Munich’s day-to-day business once again.
For former Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath , maybe the presence of the club legend is negatively affecting how decisions are being made.
“I think what happened here (with Bayern Munich’s trophyless season, Thomas Tuchel’s sacking, and the extensive coaching search) is underestimated. It will be difficult next season at FC Bayern. I don’t think that all it takes is a different coach and then everything will work out. Next season will be more difficult because things aren’t right within the team either. Next season won’t be one where FC Bayern are at the top,” Magath said on the Sky Sport (as captured by Sport Bild). “Uli Hoeneß created the club as it is now. That was always the problem with what he did, because he wanted to control everything. If he had a coach he could control, then everything was fine. If a coach couldn’t get along with him, there were problems. That’s been going on for decades. That’s how he made the club big and made himself irreplaceable.”
Magath acknowledges just how vital Hoeneß was to Bayern Munich’s growth and sustained excellence, but also knows that that Hoeneß cannot be viewed as the club’s savior every time things go wrong: “He won’t be able to solve everything. You can’t share power. He has it. Everyone who works here is at his mercy.”
Finally, Magath ran through the list of coaches who have rejected Bayern Munich — Thomas Tuchel, Xabi Alonso, Julian Nagelsmann, Ralf Rangnick, Oliver Glasner, Roger Schmidt — before the club seems to have settled on Burnley boss Vincent Kompany to take over. Of course, the 70-year-old was a little perturbed not to get a call.
“Now it’s supposed to be Kompany. I don’t see any clear line. (They’ve) spoken to everyone except me,” said Magath wryly.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis of Bayern Munich’s potential hiring of Vincent Kompany, plus the latest transfer rumors involving Bayern and VfB Stuttgart’s Chris Führich, AC Milan’s Theo Hernandez, and…Jamal Musiala? We have you covered with our latest edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show, which is available on Spotify or below: