The last few days have been eventful for Bayern Munich. They clinched the Bundesliga title with a dramatic 89th winner against FC Koln. Borussia Dortmund dropped two points against Mainz at home, which paved the way for Die Roten to win their 11th consecutive league title.
Despite the title win, Bayern was already planning to make some big changes. Unfortunately, the changes were leaked immediately after Die Roten’s title victory. Rekordmeister decided to sack Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic after a disappointing season. Bayern players were surprised when they received the news immediately after the game.
Salihamidzic worked as the sporting director at Bayern for six years, while Kahn served as the CEO for just over two years. The future of both former Bayern players was under doubt in the past few weeks as results and performances deteriorated on the pitch.
Oliver Kahn’s future was a big topic in the German media for several weeks. He was unfazed by the speculation, but the wheels were in motion behind the scenes. While talking to Kicker over the weekend, former Bayern president Uli Hoeness explained the reasons behind the departure of Kahn.
“Oliver is a highly intelligent man whom you enjoy to talk to. The big disappointment is that I thought he could do the job on his own because of his personality, but instead he surrounded himself with his advisors.”
“I have great respect for the person, as a player he has done a lot. Even though he did not meet expectations as CEO, my door is for Oliver always open.”
Considering the way Julian Nagelsmann’s project came to an end, it was just a matter of time before Oliver Kahn was going to be under pressure. Tuchel’s start was way below the mark, which raised further eyebrows about the decision to change the coach for the last two months of the season.
Moreover, the Bundesliga title race went too deep for Bayern’s liking. They had to rely on Mainz going into the final day of the season to defend their league title. Rekordmeister needed to make these changes to avoid getting into a similar position next season.
Kahn was severely disappointed by the decision taken by the supervisory board. Salihamidzic ended his time at the club on amicable terms, which allowed him to travel with the squad for the final game of the season. Meanwhile, Die Roten was not keen on taking Kahn for the same game since they parted on a bitter note.
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Bayern decided to take Oliver Kahn’s successor to the game against FC Koln. Jan-Christian Dressen was in the stands in Cologne. He held his first press conference as Bayern CEO on Sunday. Similar to Hoeness, Herbert Hainer also said that doors at Bayern are always open for Kahn. For now, he needs to digest the bitter pill of losing a big role at the club.
