Bayern Munich are on the brink of radical change as they prepare for life without Uli Hoeness and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. The club is set to place its faith, and future, in club legend Oliver Kahn’s famous hands.
The lengthy monologues raving about "false facts" and threatening legal action against journalists revealed a partnership that was becoming increasingly out of touch with its fan base.
Leading the brave new world will be Oliver Kahn, who amassed more than 600 appearances and 16 major trophies for Bayern Munich as a goalkeeper. The 49-year-old is set to inherit Rummenigge's job on the first day of 2022 after an apprenticeship sitting on the supervisory board.
The move for a former player is a tried and tested method for Bayern, but the challenges lying ahead for the goalkeeping legend will not make for a smooth ride.
'Mia San Mia' credentials
On paper, Kahn looks like a perfect candidate to continue Bayern Munich's upward trajectory. Possessing a relentless drive for success and comfortable with being unpopular, the former shotstopper embodies the club motto "Mia San Mia" ("We are who we are").
Kahn's abrasive nature as a player — which saw him bite an opponent's neck and aim a kung-fu kick at another - has subsided as he's focused on TV punditry and business ventures since retirement, but the drive remains. His mix of business acumen, competitiveness and a deep connection to Bayern has been enough to convince Hoeness and Rummenigge.
By placing Kahn alongside president-in-waiting and former Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer, they're hoping a combination of experience and club familiarity will prove a winning formula.
Fans will be praying that the duo's succession plans for their own positions are better than their recent attempts to revamp an ageing squad.
Tricky transition
Under Hoeness and Rummenigge — as well as former president Franz Beckenbauer — Bayern Munich were transformed into a European super power, both on and off the field, though some doubts about the depth of the playing squad compared to other European giants persist.
As Hoeness steps down, Rummenigge will likely gain more power as he mentors Kahn. How this influences the successor's future tenure, and indeed the future of the club, should prove an intriguing development.
There is speculation about the future of Niko Kovac and Hasan Salihamidzic Image: picture-alliance/Fotostand/Wagner
In recent years, cracks have emerged in the relationship between Hoeness and Rummenigge. Infighting became common, with Hoeness and Rummenigge differing on crucial aspects of life at Bayern, at times to the detriment of the club — despite Hoeness' protestations to the contray in his Friday press conference.
Hoeness is a Kovac fan, while Rummenigge remains skeptical. Rummenigge is determined to expand Bayern's reach overseas in new markets, while Hoeness prefers to focus on the club's traditions back home. Where Hoeness has provided near unwavering support to Salihamidzic, Rummenigge often undermines the sporting director in press conferences (see tweet above).
Kahn will have to navigate this fractured relationship with tact, as both men will likely retain some form of control and sway over big decisions at the club for years to come. Hoeness will remain on the supervisory board, until at least 2023, and it's unlikely he will stay silent.
First port of call
With a master's degree in business administration and a glittering playing career which featured both success and failure, Kahn will likely dive straight into action during his probationary period.
The immediate blip on Kahn's radar will be helping to assess the future of both Kovac and Salihamidzic. The coach is a string of bad results away from facing speculation over his job, while the sporting director's contract expires next summer amid criticism over Bayern's transfer dealings.
As well as helping Rummenigge forge the team's identity on the field as they aim to return Bayern back into a contender for the Champions League, Hainer's low level playing experience will mean Kahn must take over Hoeness' role in managing relationships with the players. On top of that, he'll also be involved in maneuvering the club's expansion off the field.
Kahn certainly has big lederhosen to fill but his 6"2' frame, determined nature and penchant for perfectionism should provide him a good base to grow into the breach.
Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness: A reign ends
Almost 50 years after he began playing for them, Uli Hoeness' time at Bayern Munich is drawing to an end. The club president has decided not to run for a new term as president of the German record titleholders.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Balk
Calling it quits
A relationship that began in 1970 when Bayern Munich signed an 18-year-old from TSG Ulm 1846 has come to an end, with Uli Hoeness announcing that he will not run for another term as club president. He shaped one of the most successful eras in German football history. Former Adidas boss Herbert Hainer, who already holds a position with the German champions, is his replacement.
Image: picture-alliance/SvenSimon/F. Hoermann
Goal scorer
Long before current events, Hoeness the player was a forward who was part of the Bayern team that won both the Bundesliga and the European Cup three times. Playing for West Germany, he won both the EuropeanChampionship and the World Cup. For a few years, Hoeness and Gerd Müller formed one of Europe's most potent strike forces. However, his playing career was cut short by a knee injury.
Image: Getty Images
The youngest manager
After an unsuccessful attempt to come back from the injury while on loan to Nuremberg, Hoeness hung up his boots and became the Bundesliga's youngest general manager at the tender age of 27 on May 1, 1979. Here he is pictured with then-Bayern President Willi Hoffmann (left) on this third day on the job – when he got his first victory as manager with Bayern winning 3-1 in Darmstadt.
Image: picture-alliance/S. Simon
A nose for business
Even before Hoeness became manager, he negotiated a deal with truck maker Magirus-Deutz as Bayern's jersey sponsor. The funds allowed Bayern to bring West Germany star Paul Breitner back to Munich from Braunschweig in 1978. Here, Breitner is seen holding up the trophy after Bayern won the 1981 Bundesliga title. The two but have recently fallen out over Breitner's criticism of Bayern's management.
Image: Imago Images/Sportfoto Rudel
A stroke of luck
On February 17, 1982, Uli Hoeness was the sole survivor of the crash of a private jet, while he was on his way to a West German national team friendly. The three other people on board the plane died. Hoeness, who was asleep on the back seat of the plane when it crashed, remembers nothing about it.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Sausage producer
Hoeness, the son of a master butcher, started up the HoWe sausage-making company in Nuremberg in 1985, which now supplies major businesses such as Aldi and McDonalds. HoWe, which is where Hoeness made a lot of his money, has been taken over by his son Florian.
Image: imago/MiS
From manager to president
After 30 years as general manager, on November 27, 2009, Uli Hoeness moved up in the Bayern Munich hierarchy, winning election at the club's annual general meeting as its new president. More success would soon follow, with Bayern doing the double that same season and later, beginning in 2012-13, going on a run of six-straight Bundesliga titles.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Gebert
Personal feud
Hoeness has had his share of personal animosity. A feud with former Cologne and Bayer Leverkusen coach Christoph Daum began when both appeared on a sports talk show. It reached its climax with the cocaine scandal surrounding Daum, who looked set to become Germany coach in 2000. Daum never took up the post after a test on his hair turned up positive for cocaine.
Image: picture-alliance/Alfred Harder
Big winner
Uli Hoeness won his share of silverware as a player, but has won almost countless titles as an executive. In 2013, Bayern Munich won the treble; the Bundesliga title, the German Cup, and the Champions League. "An unbelieveable year," said the top club executive, who was still a free man, despite the fact that a warrant for his arrest on tax-evasion charges had already been issued.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Fall from grace
March 13, 2014: Hoeness was convicted of evading €28.5 million ($32 million) in taxes and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail. Hoeness began serving his sentence on June 2, 2014, making the fall from grace of a German soccer legend complete.
Image: Reuters
President again
A day after his conviction, Uli Hoeness resigned as Bayern president, however he would return to the post two and a half years later, winning election at the club's annual general meeting on November 25, 2016. He was the only candidate after current President Karl Hopfner, who had stood in for him during his time in prison, agreed earlier in the year not to run for re-election.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/L. Preiss
A helping hand
Hoeness has always there with a helping hand for a friend in need. Clubs like St. Pauli and even rivals Borussia Dortmund have been known to profit from his generosity. He has also reached out to help former teammates like Gerd Müller, who struggled with alcohol, or players Sebastian Deisler who suffered from burnout and Dietmar Hamman, who was stricken with both alcohol and gambling addictions.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Family man
For the most part, Uli Hoeness keeps his private life to himself. He has been married to his wife Susanne for more than 40 years and his two children, Sabine and Florian are grown up. Hoeness enjoys a quiet life at home, and there have been no known scandals involving his family.
