This Wednesday, 5 January, Uli Hoeneß turns 70. He has postponed a big birthday party until the summer because of Corona. He spoke not only about FC Bayern, which he sees as unique, but also about broken structures in football and an incompetent DFB…
.. the age of 70:
“The problem at this age is that the impacts already hit you right and left. Something has already changed there. Then there’s this pandemic on top of that. At my age now, you should be living, but you can’t. We’re always limited.”
.. retirement:
“It’s a restless retirement. I’m still all over the place. It’s never going to be any different.”
… His view on FC Bayern today:
“Yes, yes, I have absolutely gained distance. I’m almost no longer at Säbener Straße, but I watch all the games, but I’m no longer there away from home. FC Bayern is a club that rests in itself. With Hasan Salihamidzic and Julian Nagelsmann, the sporting side is in a better position than almost ever before. What I like about Nagelsmann is the way he thinks outside the box. When I look at FC Bayern, we are in a very good position, even in international comparison. I don’t know any club that is better positioned, unless you have a backer in the Far East or Middle East. But it’s more appealing to generate the money yourself. If it weren’t for Corona, we’d have golden times at FC Bayern. But it’s no use, we have to deal with the pandemic. When I look at most of the clubs around us – excluding those sponsored by Arabs – FC Bayern is unique, worldwide. Not only in sporting terms, but also economically – within the bounds of our possibilities – we stand there like a one. ”
The next three years will be brutal in football because all the structures are broken in youth work, in the amateur sector, in the small clubs.
.. the earlier idea of opening a beer garden:
“These are fart ideas. I don’t even have the patience for that anymore. I would love to have cows in the meadow in front of my house or be active in the forestry business. But when it comes to implementation, I’m not patient enough.”
.. football in Germany and the DFB:
“One thing is clear: the next three years will be brutal in football because all the structures are broken in youth work, in the amateur sector, in the small clubs. Because the DFB is incapable, the clubs have to do everything themselves. I don’t expect anything from the DFB. Hundreds of thousands of members have left, there are fewer and fewer volunteers. These are the problems, and the DFB has no concept of how to proceed. Until March, until the election of the president, nothing will happen anyway, and then another quarter of a year will be lost.”
.. an engagement with the DFB, possibly as an advisor:
“No, no, I would get so upset there every time that I would have a heart attack. They don’t want strong advisors with different opinions. I always wanted strong people on my side. ”
.. Changes since turning 60:
“It was always my goal to be successful not only in the active time, so with the factory as with FC Bayern. The model was to manage the transition at FC Bayern as at the factory with my son Florian. The feeling that I would have a direct successor in Herbert Hainer, with whom the club would be in good hands, led me to take this step. Besides, it wouldn’t have made sense to wait another three years because I would then have been 69 or 70 years old. I didn’t want to stay there too long until they said he should finally go. It worked out wonderfully with my son Florian, who is doing an outstanding job in the company. That’s how it should work at FC Bayern; and so far it looks like it’s working quite well.”
.. the goal stated ten years ago of losing ten to 15 kilos:
“Those ten kilos are gone, but it’s still not enough. But the crucial thing is that you feel good. If you can’t walk up a hill anymore without puffing heavily, then you have to be careful. But that works quite well for me. ”
.. the reconciliation with Paul Breitner and Willi Lemke:
“When you’re no longer permanently busy with day-to-day business, you start thinking and then realise: life is more pleasant when you have fewer enemies. With Paul, everything is okay. If there’s an issue, we talk on the phone. His behaviour after my plane crash I never forget him.”
.. the transition from a very active period to a quieter phase:
“Yes, I managed that one. but I have a big handicap, which is this pandemic. We haven’t been on holiday for two years, we haven’t gone skiing at our house in Lenzerheide for two years. That’s a restriction that wasn’t planned that way. But everyone has to live with it. I would love to try skiing on a perfect slope again. But two days of skiing means a week of a fat knee.”
.. the dress code after wearing mostly jumpers as manager and jacket as president:
“I very rarely wear a jacket, only in extreme emergencies. Tie almost not at all. I prefer to wear just a shirt and light linen trousers.”
.. the political man Hoeneß:
“I always was. And now I have much more time to deal with it. I’m happy about the current government, although everyone knows I didn’t vote for it. The election victory is deserved because the CDU – not the CSU – did a disastrous election campaign. It absolutely deserves to be in the opposition now. Those in the CDU fought like broom-makers and completely lost sight of the country and the people, purely out of personal vanity. That had to be punished. I hope they find each other and form a good opposition.
In the government I see good young people who are ambitious. I know Lars Klingbeil quite well. He single-handedly led the SPD to victory with his strategy. When he said at 15 per cent for the SPD, we can do it, I thought: Arminia Bielefeld will also be champions one day. He did it.”
.. Corona and Omicron in England:
“Why is the incidence so high in England? Every stadium is full, even the pubs, all without masks. And then the English have the problem of having the greatest charlatan ever as Prime Minister. He had Corona himself and still hasn’t learned a thing. If you put Johnson, Bolsonaro and Trump in a bag and hit it, you always hit the right one. ”
.. the validity today of his opinion, expressed ten years ago, that “FC Bayern must polarise, must not be a boring club”:
“Julian Nagelsmann is doing it well. ”
.. the departure of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge as chairman of the board:
“Karl-Heinz has made a significant contribution to FC Bayern’s success story as a player, vice-president and chairman of the board. Especially in the phase when I was in prison, he led the club superbly. He has put FC Bayern on an excellent international footing, he is the best-connected football official in Europe, and this has given FC Bayern an incredible amount of renown. His image among the leaders of the big clubs is unique, he has worked very hard for that, I take my hat off to that.”
.. the Schafkopfen in the blockhouse at home with Jeremies, Salihamidzic, Schwabl, brother Dieter or son Florian :
“That didn’t happen anymore, Corona ruined everything. Outdoors we played once in the summer, in the hut it’s far too dangerous.”
.. less publicity:
“I have a lot less publicity and I’m very comfortable with that. The nice thing is that I can control my own appearances and presence in public. It would be terrible if people said, Hoeneß is boring, he doesn’t interest us anymore, he’s out. The worry was that you had disappeared. But that is not the case at all. My lectures are also in demand as before, they bring in a few hundred thousand euros every year, which I donate. If there were no more demand, I would have a yardstick that would make me think. But that’s not the case either.”
.. the current age:
“I’d rather be 60 than 70, but that’s just the way it is, done. You can’t change it. You can live wonderfully at 70 if you’re healthy.”
.. his 70th birthday wish:
“I wish for normality again. That one can get up in the morning and do something without having to consider PCR tests and crowds. This wish includes the most important asset, health. I have everything else: a good family; a club I love; many good friends. That’s all you need. “