Oliver Kahn’s tenure as CEO of his old club Bayern Munich was short lived, lasting only one season before being replaced. He said that he was aware of the duties of his position and was open to taking on the challenge.
“Relief? No. I wanted to take on this responsibility and was very happy to do so,, Kahn said (Sports Illustrated Germany as captured by Twitter account @iMiaSanMia). “Bringing together the economic, sporting and sports-political aspects of a global club was exactly what I wanted to do. For me, it was an inner obligation to give something back to the club I played for for 14 years. But in a world like Munich, it’s very difficult to initiate necessary changes and to take new paths.”
Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images
Some people were critical of how Kahn performed his duties, but the former goalkeeper maintained that what he did during his tenure were the right ones for the club. “I’m still convinced today that the adjustments we made were absolutely the right ones for FC Bayern,” the 55-year-old said. “There’s a nice expression in the business world: ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast.’ – In other words: A company’s culture is always stronger than any strategy, no matter how promising it seems. I was absolutely aware of that. But FC Bayern is very political, and the forces are working from different directions. Getting that under control is the biggest challenge.”
