After his return to FC Bayern Munich, long-time CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge sees himself primarily in the role of an adviser. The 67-year-old was appointed to the now nine-member supervisory board around Honorary President Uli Hoeneß after the great leadership tremor with the replacement of CEO Oliver Kahn and sports director Hasan Salihamidzic on Tuesday. “What I will not do is intervene operationally,” Rummenigge said in an interview with the German Press Agency on Wednesday.
Coach performance data from Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
Rummenigge complied with a request from President Herbert Hainer and his longtime companion Hoeneß for support in the current situation of the German champions. “Now I feel a need to stand by the club where I’ve spent 40 years of my life as a player, vice-president and CEO,” he said.
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He hopes that after the appointment of Jan-Christian Dreesen as Kahn’s successor, the supervisory board will also be able to “quickly present a solution” in the search for a new sports director or sports director. It is important, after the turbulence of the past few months, “that calm returns to the club quickly”. FC Bayern has always been successful as a “unit”. From his point of view, it is important in the sporting area “that we create a hierarchy in the team again”, one like when we won the Champions League in 2020.
Mané between Nagelsmann & Pavard: Salihamidzic’s most expensive Bayern transfers → Click here for the gallery!
“You don’t always have to blow hundreds of millions of euros into the transfer market. Rather, it has to be a functional team, ”said Rummenigge on demands for new, expensive stars. However, the former world-class attacker sees a need for a new center forward of international stature: “Number nine will definitely be a position that FC Bayern will be looking at.” grasp”. And you shouldn’t forget that with Robert Lewandowski, who switched to FC Barcelona a year ago, you had “the world footballer in this position” in the team.
In recent months, strikers Harry Kane, Randal Kolo Muani and Dusan Vlahovic, among others, have been linked to Munich (to the TM rumor mill), all of which are likely to be extremely expensive. So far, the club has spent the most on signing Lucas Hernández, at €80m.
Rumor: Dusan Vlahovic to Bayern Munich
Rummenigge is also convinced that Dreesen will be a successful CEO. “I think Jan-Christian is one hundred percent qualified. And I also think he is absolutely the right man to get the big ship Bayern Munich back on course.” The 55-year-old Dreesen had successfully led the record champions through the Corona crisis as CFO.
Trainer performance data from Jan-Christian Dreesen
Rummenigge “did not say anything negative” about Kahn, who had replaced him as CEO two years ago and now had to leave prematurely. He has felt “great gratitude” towards the former international goalkeeper since 2001. Back then, Kahn saved three penalties in a shoot-out and was the decisive player in FC Bayern’s first Champions League triumph in the final against FC Valencia. “We wouldn’t have won without Oliver Kahn. So we are all grateful to him and always will be.”
Müller past Kahn: Most Bundesliga appearances for FC Bayern → Click here for the gallery!
Dreesen is now at the top of the club “for a paradigm shift,” said Rummenigge: “The club has been managed or led by former players for decades, Franz Beckenbauer, Uli Hoeneß, myself. Jan-Christian is originally a financial expert and was previously on the board of directors of banks.”
Rummenigge wanted to bring Tuchel to Munich a few years ago
Despite the difficult start-up phase in Munich, he believes Thomas Tuchel will be able to shape a successful era as a coach. “During my tenure I was very fortunate to have experienced many great coaches such as Louis van Gaal, Jupp Heynckes, Hansi Flick, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti. I’m convinced that Thomas Tuchel will be a very successful coach at Bayern Munich,” said Rummenigge.
Coach performance data from Thomas Tuchel
“He certainly didn’t have an easy start. But that has also been made more difficult for him by the unrest that Julian Nagelsmann’s change of trainer brought to him. This has been the subject of controversy in public. And that also caused unrest in the team,” said Rummenigge, who wanted to bring Tuchel to Munich as head coach a few years ago when he was CEO.
From Hitzfeld to Tuchel: The 16 Bayern coaches since 2000 → Click here for the gallery!
The 49-year-old Tuchel replaced Nagelsmann in March. After that, Bayern were eliminated from the DFB Cup and the Champions League in the quarter-finals. Last weekend they won their eleventh championship title in a row in a heart-stopping Bundesliga final.
With Tuchel, the transfer planning is now being pushed ahead. According to the club management, Rummenigge should contribute his great expertise and international network. First of all, they will “get an overview”, he announced: “There had already been initial transfer plans and talks. We will sit down with Thomas Tuchel to get everyone on the same page.”