On Wednesday (9 p.m., DAZN and BILD live ticker), FC Bayern will fight in the second leg of the round of 16 against Paris for a place in the quarter-finals of the premier class. The Munich team is slightly ahead thanks to the 1-0 win in the first leg.
As part of the event “The Red Sofa” of the “Münchner Abendzeitung” Bavaria’s Honorary President Uli Hoeneß (71) speaks in the Deutsches Theater in Munich, among other things, about the Paris game, Neuer, Matthew, how we deal with digital media, an unknown Nagelsmann anecdote and Bavaria’s dream player Harry Kane (29).
Knives and firecrackers fly onto the field First the players freak out, then the fans
The “Attack” department really gets going again in the evening!
Bayern opponent PSG also gets his fat off.
Hoeness: “PSG is a total counterpart to Bayern Munich. The structure is completely different. I don’t even know how many members PSG has. We have sold 25% of the shares to Audi, Allianz and Adidas. Triple A, it was always my dream to have such great partners.”
He further says: “It’s very different at Bayern or at PSG, where the big donor is the state of Qatar. With us, the board of directors and the coach get together to see if something can be done, then it goes to the supervisory board, which decides whether there is the money. From Paris you fly to Doha in a private jet and show the Emir a few videos. Then he asks: ‘You want it, how much does it cost, 100, 150?’ And then after the crème brûlée he says: ‘Ok, we’ll do that.’” PSG is talking about half a billion support a year: “And all problems will be solved.”
Hoeneß on a possible extension with partner Qatar Airways: “I know the board is in talks with people in Doha about an extension. That’s a whole different concept, whether or not our members agree.”
Crazy Nagelsmann anecdote
Hoeneß also says that he wanted to lure Nagelsmann to FC Bayern when he was still a youth coach in Hoffenheim.
“What he (Julian Nagelsmann, ed.) is experiencing: Six to seven years ago he was sitting in my office when Sammer told me there was an A youth coach. We have agreed on 10,000 euros a month for our A youth.”
At that time, however, the Hoeneß problem was called Dietmar Hopp (82).
Hoeneß: “He (Nagelsmann, ed.) said: ‘There is only one small problem: I still have a year’s contract in Hoffenheim, so you should talk to your friend Hopp.’ So I called Hopp and said: ‘We’d like your A youth coach, Nagelsmann.’ Then he said: ‘Are you crazy, you can’t do that, that’s our future, he’ll take over our first team. After that I had to come back from the already fixed contract.”
Nagelsmann does not have to fear for his job if he is eliminated against PSG, if Hoeneß has his way. “It’s totally overplayed. When we had the draw we said: ‘To be eliminated by Villarreal is a bit of a catastrophe. Against such an opponent, you can be eliminated. But there’s a huge difference if we’re eliminated by Villarreal or PSG.’”
Hoeneß plain text: “The outcome of the game on Wednesday has nothing to do with Julian Nagelsmann’s engagement, in my opinion.”
Transfer of Harry Kane (29)?
Hoeneß says about a possible purchase of the Tottenham star: “Manchester City wanted to pay 160 million for it last year. I don’t think it would be much cheaper now. These are amounts that I would never pay for a 30-year-old player (turns 30 in July, ed.). A super player, but that’s money I don’t pay.”
Hoeneß and the digital media
In addition, Hoeneß is very annoyed about a meeting of the supervisory board during Corona.
“During the pandemic we did two AR sessions digitally, they were the worst ever. How can I say to someone digitally: ‘You asshole’, that doesn’t really go down well.”
About the digital media: “I don’t have Instagram, I have a fax machine. I live well without an email address because I save myself 4000-500 emails a day. I can sleep peacefully at night. Faxes are still coming. The few people I want to speak to can call me. I have an iPhone, but only for making calls.”
About his relationship with the new CEO Oli Kahn (53): “I have no influence on Oliver Kahn. As long as I live, I have an opinion. But no matter what I say, it quickly says: ‘Hoeneß is fighting the board’ – that’s totally gaga.”
Lothar Matthaeus (61)
Hoeness: “Lothar has been a very important personality at FC Bayern over the past 30 years. He is an outstanding football specialist. The only thing that bothers me is that for a lot of money he sometimes forgets that he once played football for this club. I find he often crosses the line towards his former employer. That they all put up with it.”
Then the honorary president becomes clear. “I don’t think Lothar will ever fill an important position at FC Bayern.”
Manuel Neuer (36)
Hoeness: “I wish him a speedy recovery. It was a serious injury. No one can say they are fit in May or June. I hope that he will be as fit as before and then he will be in goal at Bayern.”
He also praises new replacement and Gladbach newcomer Yann Sommer (34). “He’s a godsend for us. That we managed to sign such a great goalkeeper. Chapeau! Yann is a great personality. But Manuel is Manuel. We’ll have to see what happens…”
Hoeneß reveals about the billing interview. “He admitted it was a mistake. That’s it. You have to stand by it, and then it has to be good. He’s regretted it for a long time. He spoke to Julian (Nagelsmann, Red.) and Hasan (Salihamidzic, Red.). He made it clear to everyone that he didn’t think doing the interview was a great idea.”
Hoeneß hit another one…