Kahn steps down, giants come out, Bayern "back to the future"

Bayern AG Chairman (CEO) Kahn and Sports Director Salihamidzic left the class, Vice Chairman Dressen was promoted to chairman, and former Chairman of the Board of Directors Karl-Heinz Rummenigge returned. In less than a week, Bayern "returned to the future", to the "era of the Big Two" led by Uli Hoeness and Rummenigge. The difference is that today, both Hoeness and Rummenigge are only members of the company's supervisory board. The 67-year-old Rummenigge emphasized: "What I will not do is interfere with operations. "Really?

Kahn stepped down, and the "enemy" took office

Compared to Bayern's dramatic victory over Borussia Dortmund in the final round of the Bundesliga last Saturday afternoon to achieve 11 consecutive titles, the heat created by Bayern's high-rise earthquake is more than enough, and it continues to heat up to this day. The regular meeting of Bayern's supervisory board was originally scheduled for May 22, but was later postponed to the 30th after the end of the season. On the surface, it is to avoid interfering with the team's championship competition, but in fact, it is a secret crossing. On the Thursday (25th) before the final round of the league, the chairman of the supervisory board, Heiner, and the vice chairman Hoeness, informed Kahn and Sarly in person that they were out of class. Clearly, secrecy is well done. It wasn't until the end of Bayern's visit to Cologne that news of Kahn and Sarri packing up for class leaked online. After the final whistle, Bayern's official announcement was also quickly released.

On May 27, Salihamidzic oversaw the battle in Cologne with Heiner, chairman of the club and chairman of the company's supervisory board (left), and Dressen, vice chairman of the board of directors (right).

Kahn, who did not appear at the Rheinland Energy Stadium in Cologne, quickly took to Twitter, the core of which was clearly not to congratulate the team on the victory, but to emphasize that he was "banned by the club" from travelling with the team and participating in the celebrations - not catching a cold, as the club explained. Why was it that Sully was denied the right to continue to appear at the Rhein Energy Stadium as a senior official and participate in the celebration when he was notified before the game? The outside world can't help but think.

The next day, reports of Kahn's "rage" during conversations with Heiner and Hoeness went out on the street, but Kahn immediately tweeted, "I got a call from Heiner on Friday, and he told me about his decision." It was a calm and factual conversation. I just want to know the motivation and why this decision was made in advance. On Saturday morning, I got information that I couldn't go to the game. I calmly accepted the decision. ”

However, at a press conference held by Bayern at noon last Sunday, Heiner confirmed the media's statement, "The conversation with Hassan [Salihamidzic] went very well, we reached an agreement and then let him go to Cologne." We had the same conversation with Oliver [Kahn], but he was so excited that we couldn't draw a calm conclusion. Then we held a special meeting of the supervisory board on Friday and decided to fire Oliver and not let him travel to Cologne. Hoeness later confirmed in an exclusive interview with The Kicker magazine on Monday that the conversation with Kahn was "unpleasant."

Bayern's era led by Kahn and Salihamidzic came to an abrupt end

Who exactly is lying? Actually, there are none. Kahn's rebuttal was actually avoided, emphasizing that he was emotionally stable on the phone with Heiner on Friday, and that his "outburst" actually occurred during a face-to-face conversation a day earlier. The Wednesday issue of Sports Picture magazine revealed that the "unpleasant conversation" took place at Hoeness's residence in central Munich. Around 11 a.m. last Thursday, Hoeness and Heiner were there to talk to Sully first, and the two sides quickly reached a breakup agreement.

Then Kahn arrived. Unlike Sully, Kahn expressed confusion about the supervisory board's decision and accused it of not supporting him over the past few weeks. It was because of Kahn's lack of cooperation that the supervisory board held a special video meeting the next day and decided to ban Kahn from continuing to attend the event as a club representative. And because he couldn't get through to Kahn last Saturday morning, Heiner emailed Kahn a "ban" notice.

A key reason for Kahn's "ban" on the supervisory board was that Kahn was at odds with his successor, Drayson. " Kicker " revealed that Kahn verbally attacked Dressen during his conversations with Heiner and Hoeness. Bild pointed out that there was an early gap between Kahn and Dressen. As Vice Chairman of the Board ( Finance and Audit ) , Dreysen is Kahn's biggest critic within the club. In particular, Dressen did not approve of Kahn's club strategy "AHEAD".

Bild also pointed out that the contradiction between Kahn and Dressen was visible to the naked eye in the home match against Cologne at the beginning of this year. The two sat in the VIP stands as usual, separated by a position - usually Sally sitting. Bayern were 1-0 down in the opening game and did not draw 1-1 until the 90th minute with Kimmich's kick. After Kimmich's goal, Bayern's senior management applauded happily, Heiner stood up, and Dressen turned and stretched out his left hand to celebrate with Kahn, but Kahn crossed his arms in front of his chest, not happy at all (see GIF below).

Since Kahn and Drerson did not deal with each other, and now decided to remove Kahn and help Dreyson, it is conceivable that Kahn may have some actions against Dressen in public, so the supervisory board simply did not allow Kahn to continue to appear on behalf of the club. Of course, Kahn's ouster is not Dredson's obstruction, as the finance expert, who has been on Bayern's board of directors for more than 10 years, decided not to renew his contract back last September and will leave Bayern at the end of this season, originally planning to go to the German Professional Football League (DFL) as CEO. It wasn't until last week that news broke out that Dressen would succeed Kahn. Dredson disclosed at the news conference at noon last Sunday: "Heiner told me on Friday night that the supervisory board wanted to hire me as CEO. Mr. Heiner and I have talked a lot over the past few days. When you have the opportunity to become CEO of Germany's biggest club, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I didn't need to think about it for too long and immediately agreed. ”

Kahn's advisers create 'bad atmosphere'

Bayern's supervisory board did not wait for the end of the season to eagerly inform Kahn and Sarri that the result of a comeback against Dortmund to keep the Bundesliga title was not important at all. Hoeness even said: "Even if we become the Triple Crown, we will still make this decision." The important thing now is to give the club peace. ”

In fact, long before Bayern officially announced the dismissal of Kahn, there were many unfavorable statements in the German media, and these news may have been deliberately poked out by Bayern's top management (especially the supervisory board). Among them, the main complaint that Bayern has lost the atmosphere of the old family under Kahn is the main complaint. Hoeness has now admitted this himself, blaming Kahn's advisory team for causing a "horrible bad atmosphere" at the club, tarnishing Bayern's image, and even asking the club to change the situation.

Matthes (left), a henchman of Kahn, was also swept away

So in addition to Kahn, his cronie Moritz Matthes was also swept away. For the name Matthes, the outside world did not know much before. He is not a player or coach, but a businessman, and co-founded Goalplay, a company whose main business is goalkeeper training, with Kahn. Kahn returned to Bayern Munich in early 2020 to join the board, learning from then-chairman Rummenigge and preparing to take over in two years' time. Just nine months later, Matthes joined Bayern as a "staff supervisor", the head of staff. With Matthes' resume, it's hard to imagine him parachuting into this position without Kahn's connections.

In September 2021, just three months after Kahn succeeded Rummenigge as Chairman of the Board (half a year earlier than originally planned), Vacer, the director responsible for the club's strategy and internationalization, left his post. Since then, Kahn has taken over the strategic affairs, while the internationalization affairs have nominally been handed over to Andreas Yung, the director responsible for sponsorship and events, but Matthes has also been deeply involved. For example, Bayern's three overseas offices – New York, Shanghai and Bangkok – are headed by Matthes. In addition, to interview Kahn, the reporter must first make an appointment through Matthes. Obviously, among the advisers who spoiled the atmosphere of the club in Hoeness's mouth, Matthes bore the brunt.

Bayern "destroyed" a generation of idols

Hoeness admits that looking back now, hiring Kahn as CEO was a mistake: "Oliver was a very smart guy and it was fun to communicate with him. Disappointingly, I thought that with his personal ability, he could do everything, but he was surrounded by advisers. In other words, Bayern's disappointing performances this season, especially the chaos following the change of manager during the March international break, were the trigger for Kahn's departure, not the root cause. You could even argue that Bayern's collective loss of control over the past two months, both on and off the pitch, was only intended to create the conditions for Kahn's sacking.

As a former "world-class" and one of Bayern's greatest leaders in history, it is really embarrassing that Kahn was swept away in this way. If the way Kahn and Sarri ousted Nagelsmann was impersonal and even tarnished Bayern's image, the way the supervisory board drove Kahn away was no better, and even more offensive to fans [who watched Kahn grow up]. Axel Kahn, who was also a professional footballer, played for his brother: "We in Germany have been destroying idols: Boris Becker, Michael Schumacher, whatever they are called. Oliver's reputation has been tarnished over the months, and every decision that has a negative impact is tied to him. That's just too much. ”

Axel Kahn was very angry about what happened to his brother

Axel Kahn accused Bayern of "planning for a long time" and just waiting for an opportunity to make a move, "they have figured out how to replace Oliver in the morning." In his opinion, his brother's ouster was a conflict between two generations, "Oliver just wanted to do something he saw fit, and Hoeness naturally disagreed." Regarding Bayern's current mess, Axel Kahn believes that the biggest person responsible is not his brother or Sarri, "There is one person who is absolutely responsible. It was the one who brought Brazzo (Sally), Oliver and Heiner to the club and straightened them up. He is Uli Hoeness! And this lack of respect, repulsion and cowardice is not new to Bayern. ”

Compared with his brother, "Lion King"'s public statement so far is quite calm. The day after the match against Cologne, Kahn told Bild that when things had cooled down, he would "talk calmly about everything" with Hoeness: "Everyone can certainly understand that I was disappointed that I couldn't be with the team yesterday." Hoeness, on the other hand, said: "I have a lot of respect for him as a man, he did a lot as a player. Although he lived up to expectations in his CEO position, my doors will always be open for Oliver. ”

Sports director vacant, Rummenigge shot

If Kahn, who stepped down after three and a half years back at Bayern, was a loser, Sarri, who had been sporting director and director for six years, left with a win. After all, whether in Cologne or Marieplatz, he was able to celebrate with the whole team and the fans. And when he said goodbye to the team in the dressing room after the game, he also received a heroic treatment from the whole team to give him a standing ovation. Compared to Kahn's complicated reasons for leaving class, it's not hard to understand that Sully paid for such a poor athletic development this season. Just as Bayern was crowned king of Sanya in the 2011/12 season, Hoeness's designated successor Nehringer was immediately removed as sporting director, after all, Sarri is Bayern's first head of athletics.

Salihamidzic wore the winning T-shirt in Cologne and received applause from the team

However, according to Sport1, Sully's departure is not as simple as it seems, but is directly related to Rummenigge's return. Rummenigge had a rift with Sully during the 2020/21 conflict with then-manager Flick, but Hoeness was on Sarri's side at the time. And now Hoeness has to give up his support for Sully to create conditions for Rummenigge's return. At the regular meeting of the Supervisory Board on Tuesday evening, Rummenigge officially joined the nine-member Supervisory Board. He was succeeded by Dr. Michael Didrich, who joined the Board in April as Dressen's successor and will become Vice Chairman and Finance Director from July 1.

The 67-year-old Rummenigge made his debut for Bayern between 1974 and 1984 and is one of the team's greatest players. In 1991, he returned to the club as vice-president. Since its inception in February 2002, he served as Chairman of the Board until his retirement on June 30, 2021. On his return after two years, Rummenigge stressed that his role is different from the past, after all, "it is the board that is now headed by Drayson. We hope to find a solution for a sports director or supervisor as soon as possible. As a supervisor, I advise and supervise the club. ”

So will Rummenigge really not meddle in transfer matters until Sully's successor is in place? He added: "Dialogue and negotiation is the job of the chairman of the board and the sporting director or director, but until the latter is in place, Uli and I, together with Heiner, Dressen and the coach (Tuchel), will take care of these matters. In other words, at least in the early days of the handover, Rummenigge was no ordinary member of the supervisory board. In the matter of forming the army this summer, he and Hoeness will once again have the absolute right to speak as before. After all, Hoeness and Rummenigge are clearly more authoritative and professional in athletic matters than Drayson and Heiner, who are not professional players or coaches. The work ahead of the "Big Two" is tough, the world knows that Bayern urgently needs a high-level centre-forward, and the No.6 position also needs to be strengthened. Meanwhile, two 2018 World Cup-winning defenders, Pavard and Lucas Hernandez, both have just one year left on their contracts, and this summer is the last chance to cash in.

The image of Rummenigge and Hoeness pointing fingers from the stands is about to be recreated

Of course, there is no need to worry too much about Bayern's formation without a sports director or director, after all, Hoeness is one of the most successful managers in the history of German football, and Rummenigge also has extremely rich experience in transfer matters, not to mention Bayern is no stranger to similar situations. When Summerl stepped down as sporting director in July 2016, it took Bayern a year to find Sully's successor. During that time, player sales were mainly handled by Rummenigge, Drexon and then technical director Reschke.

Today, Sully's deputy, technical supervisor Nepe, is still on the job. Bayern's top brass held a group meeting on Wednesday, with Nepe also involved, and it is believed that he will also play an important role. For Sully's successor, Hoeness said they will not rush to make a decision, but they will not take another year to fill the vacancy like the last time, and expect to give an answer by Christmas at the latest. Since the current three members of the board (Dressen, Didrich and Andreas Rong) are not athletes, it is believed that Bayern will hire a "ball-savvy" person in the position of sports director (or director), and it is currently rumored that RB Sports Leipzig General Manager Eber and Eintracht Frankfurt Sports Director Krescher are the two favourites.

Tuchel and Nepe (first from left) are likely to remain on the Bayern bench next season

Although there were rumours that Tuchel would consider resigning after losing Kahn and Sarri, the two biggest supporters, the "Big Two" are very supportive of Tuchel as things stand. In fact, as early as 2018, when looking for Heynckes' successor, Tuchel was Rummenigge's "Plan A". Rummenigge said: 'I believe Tuchel will be a very successful coach at Bayern. There is no doubt that his start was not easy. But the unease that came with switching from Nagelsmann also made his job more difficult. This generated controversy among the public and caused unease in the team. ”

Like Hoeness, Rummenigge has stressed the importance of restoring Bayern's peace after such a tumultuous season. Rummenigge said: "We have to get the club back to calm quickly. I've been a player myself and I know what it's all about. Insecurity hurts the team. The team has to trust the club, and the club has to trust the team. ”