Bayern Munich have won nine consecutive Bundesliga titles and are also at the top of the table this season with a six-point advantage. In an interview with German football outlet Kicker this week, former Bayern Munich board chairman Rummenigge spoke about Bayern Munich's dominance in the Bundesliga.
Rummenigge looked back on Bayern Munich's performance in the Bundesliga over the last 10 years, talking about several of Bayern's key seasons and the reasons why they were able to dominate in the Bundesliga.
About the decisive 2011-12 season
Rummenigge said: "The origin goes back to 2012, when we finished three runners-up, being beaten by Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, losing 5-2 in the German Cup final and finally losing the Champions League final at home. We were in a dazed mood for the holiday. All of us were disappointed, Heynckes, Heness, and me, like a man on his back. That summer of 2012, after a huge disappointment, the next was decisive, the club decided to get out of the woods and we had to face a situation like that. Afterwards Vátsk said to me: 'We made a huge mistake and we angered Bayern Munich.' 'Hoeness and I are going in the direction of doing things that are unthinkable. ”
About signing Xavi Martinez
Rummenigge said: "We discussed the transfer of Xavi Martinez for a week. Do we really want to sign him? Can we sign him? Everyone said he was a fantastic player, but the $40 million transfer fee was crazy. I had only one question for Heynckes, and he knew Harvey Martinez best. 'Heynckes, can this player improve our quality? Heynckes said, 'Of course.' Then we took his advice. This is an important signal both internally and externally that Bayern Munich is out of the slump. ”
About the Champions League final in London
Rummenigge said: "I remember the Champions League final at Wembley. On the way to the stadium, Hoeness, Dreson and I drove together. The trip lasted about an hour and we didn't have much to say. We were all incredibly nervous because we all knew we had to wash the wounds that had given Dortmund the previous year to win the double. This game also has a very important role to play in the future. With the final 2-1 result, everything that came before was over. The post-match celebration atmosphere was unparalleled and delightful. Don't get me wrong, our celebration wasn't crazy, but everyone was content and happy. It's something I've never experienced before. ”
About the club's leading players Müller, Neuer and Levan
Rummenigge said: "Mueller came from our own academy. He was a gift to us by Louis van Gaal, who had the courage to promote 18-year-old Mueller. Remember the way Louis van Gaal spoke at that time? He said: 'Mueller has always been able to play. ’”
"After that, we put unparalleled effort into signing Neuer and Levan. I remember a game where Hoeness and I were on the verge of going crazy, and we were in the south stands with signs against Neuer and songs against him. We lost that game 1-0, but what us the most outrage was the behaviour of the fans towards Neuer. So after that game I went to the dressing room, first to our own dressing room, then to Schalke's dressing room. Helt was there, and I asked if I could have a brief conversation with Neuer. He looked at me in amazement and asked me to leave. But then Neuer appeared. I said to Neuer: 'I want to apologize for the behavior of the fans, that's not the attitude of all the fans, it's just a small part.' We'll investigate. He just asked me a question: 'Do you and Heness want me to come?' I replied, 'Of course!' Then Neuer replied, 'Then I'll come.' ’”
"Three years later we signed the best center in the world and we worked very hard for that. At the time, Summer had made a lot of effort to sign Levan, and he now works at Dortmund. It was a very difficult deal, levan was a free agent at the time, but we had to face fierce competition from Real Madrid. ”
"Levan's request at the time was that he wanted to win the Champions League and be the best player in the world. I still don't forget the way he sat on the pitch with the trophy and tears in his eyes after we won the Champions League in Lisbon in 2020. I blessed him and asked him, 'Remember the conversation you had with me a few years ago?' 'Of course,' he replied. I said: 'Look, you can win the Champions League at Bayern Munich too.' His response was: 'Yes, but now we have to start winning consecutive titles.' As he sat there with the trophy, he was already thinking about the future. He had some madness at the time, but it was madness in the positive sense (laughs). ”
About retaining Bayern's players
Rummenigge said: "When Bayern decided to sign a player, Bayern also decided to develop the player. For example, Sane can see that Sane did not show a convincing performance in his first year at Bayern. Other clubs may wonder if we want to sell players to cover the transfer fee. But that's not the case in Bayern Munich. On the one hand you need a suitable manager, on the other hand, you need the players to have a good attitude. This is also a factor that Bayern Munich has signed most players, with Bayern genes. ”
About the philosophy of the club
Rummenigge said: "A club knows how to survive, how to play. Look at all the teams in Europe, wherever they are, for the sake of football to succeed. And if it's just for the sake of the economy, then the situation will be difficult. There are not so many people at the top of Europe's top clubs who know football and have played football at the same time. I've always said that football comes first. When it comes to competitive success, it also has to be faced that economic success is not always accompanied by economic success. ”
About cooperation with Hoeness
Rummenigge said: "Hoeness and I, as long as we work together, we have different opinions. Let me give you an example. When Effenberg was signed, I was skeptical at first, with Beckenbauer remaining neutral and Heathfield backing. And then we said, let's sign him. But we didn't agree. If things don't go well afterwards, no one will say, 'I said it a long time ago.' We want to avoid that. Because we don't want anyone to leave the negotiating table as a frustrated person. We will negotiate for a long time until we reach an agreement or are able to accept such a decision. This is a very important culture for us in Bayern Munich. In addition, our Finance Directors, Hopphner and Dreson, were also important talking partners. Having only two finance directors in a 20-year period is telling. ”
About the offers received for Ribery
Rummenigge said: "I never forget that there were two crazy offers for Ribery, one from Spain and one from England. That would have set a record for the transfer amount at the time. We discussed for three hours and then decided that we were not a club that sold players. We also want to send a signal to Spain and England that if you want to buy the best players, then you don't have to call Bayern Munich. That's what we're sticking to to today, and it sets us apart from all Bundesliga teams, and most European teams. ”