Outside, people are still waiting in long queues to check in, but inside, Hall 14 is already well filled. Shortly before ten, Oliver Kahn, 54, comes on stage, completely relaxed in a traditional jacket and jeans. It is his first major appearance since his spectacular expulsion as CEO of FC Bayern München AG. Here, of all places, in the International Congress Center in Munich, at Bits & Pretzels, an event that likes to describe itself as the largest start-up meeting in Europe. Kahn is supposed to talk about the power of resilience and mistakes, in English of course, because this is an international event.
What is he doing now? He doesn’t reveal that. Oliver Kahn smiles and says: “I don’t want to talk about it, I just want to do it first.” Only one thing is clear: the time for ruminating about the past is over: “You can’t dive too deeply into emotions. You have to be back quickly.” What’s the point of retreating to a deserted island, asks Kahn. In any case, he wouldn’t do much differently.
So he’s back – and he wants to prove it here. People hang on his every word. Kahn is presented as a goalkeeping titan, founder and entrepreneur. The list of his successes is quite long – runner-up in the 2002 World Cup, Champions League winner, eight-time German champion, three-time world goalkeeper of the year. It seemed only logical that Kahn would continue his career as a football manager. But what a misconception. After two torturous years as CEO of FC Bayern, he was fired on May 27, 2023, directly after the club’s eleventh championship in a row – it was probably his biggest defeat.
Even in the film before his appearance, Kahn is portrayed as an athlete who never gives up. Then he talks on stage about his other big defeats, the 2002 World Cup final against Brazil, the 1999 Champions League final, which was spectacularly lost in stoppage time. “Sometimes you can learn from mistakes, but not always,” he says. It was his fault that Brazil scored the first goal in the 2002 final. But what could be the lesson from this, asks Kahn – and gives the answer himself: “Not much, except that I should have held on to the ball.” These are insights that the many hundreds of founders here – real or potential – like.
In any case, life as a manager is easier than as an athlete, the goalkeeper titan continues. Because the footballer is under double pressure – mental and physical. “It’s pretty tough,” says Kahn. The manager, on the other hand, can also take a break from time to time, something he has learned, even as Bayern boss. “It wasn’t always easy, but I didn’t feel that stressed,” he says. You can also pause, go play golf or meditate. A player, on the other hand, has to give everything immediately: “When the game starts, you have to be there 100 percent.”
The defining moment of his career as a professional footballer: the last-minute knockout in the 1999 Champions League final against Manchester United. In the picture Oliver Kahn (middle), Mehmet Scholl (right) and Michael Tarnat (left).
(Photo: Albert Olive/dpa)
Just a few days ago, Kahn was traveling in Saudi Arabia and visited several clubs. The league there is currently investing billions and buying the stars away from Europe. Not a bad place for someone like Kahn, at least as good as here at Bits & Pretzels. Kahn was introduced as an icon during an appearance on a Saudi TV show, and highlights from his professional career were also recorded there again and again. “It wasn’t an easy time, it was a challenging time,” he said on Saudi TV about his almost two years as Bayern boss. However, his farewell was “better for both sides” because of “different ways of thinking”.
In Munich, Kahn was asked about his role models and his mistakes. Here too, he doesn’t stand out because of his excessive modesty. Role models are Nelson Mandela, who never gave up and never lost his faith, or Arnold Schwarzenegger, who reinvented himself so successfully. And big mistakes? Doesn’t exist. In the morning, when he goes to the bathroom, he wants to look in the mirror and say: “Yes, you tried.” That’s enough for him, says Kahn.
And what about resilience, the psychological resistance in difficult life situations, for someone like Kahn, who was notorious for occasional misfires as a player? Uli Hoeneß had reported on the decisive separation conversation with Kahn: “It got loud for a while.” And: “After three quarters of an hour he ran off.”
There was nothing concrete from Kahn on Sunday about his failure as Bayern manager, not a word about the quarrels – and about the alleged stadium ban on the last matchday of last season, when FC Bayern became champions in Cologne. Only at the very end is Kahn asked on stage what surprised him most about his job as Bayern boss. The Titan’s response: “my short term.”