The wildest rumors flourish in crises of any kind. This may have something to do with the fact that in moments of great confusion and uncertainty, one mentally reaches out for anything that could somehow represent a solution to the problem. Even the dumbest stories sound believable for a tiny moment. This is the only way to explain why, after Bayern lost to Manchester City in the Champions League, a Munich tabloid came up with the idea that Florian Hoeneß, son of Uli Hoeneß, might be a candidate to succeed Oliver Kahn, the CEO . After all, in difficult times everything seems possible, even if the traded successor candidate has no experience in football, as is the case with Florian Hoeneß. He has been running the family’s sausage factory in Nuremberg for more than 20 years and is rather distant from football.
The speculation about Axel Hellmann was more credible. Hellmann is currently the head of Eintracht Frankfurt and is leading the German Football League on an interim basis. After Bayern’s defeat by Mainz and the loss of the lead in the table last weekend, numerous media outlets were convinced that Hellmann was a “serious” candidate for Bayern. His name had been mentioned, it whispered. In the meantime, the German Press Agency has reported that Hellmann will not move to Munich. There was also “no exchange”. With that, the rumor has ended.
But no matter how outlandish the rumors are, they make one thing clear: the current CEO Kahn should give serious thought to his position at Bayern Munich. The speculation about his person proves that Kahn’s work is being questioned in the management bodies. He is considered to be one of the main people responsible for the serious sense and title crisis in which the club is stuck. It has strengthened step by step since the former national goalkeeper was appointed chairman of the board in the summer of 2021. Since then, FC Bayern has only won two championship titles. This year there is even a risk of a season without a title. A kind of original sin in the self-image of the association.
One accusation in particular weighs heavily: The former Titan exudes too little warmth of heart, that “Mia-san-mia” suffered badly, with Kahn the coldness of a sober numbers person moved into the corridors of the office. The final proof of this is the nature of Nagelsmann’s dismissal, which Kahn nodded his approval to. In addition, the timing of the dismissal before the decisive spring games proved to be a huge mistake, not to mention the miserable internal and external communication. There’s a lot of criticism there.
Of course, all critics of the current situation are aware that there are numerous reasons for the misery that Kahn cannot do anything about on his own. The work of sports director Hasan Salihamidzic is rated even worse by many. After all, it is he who is primarily responsible for putting together the team. The “Kicker” knows how to report that internally many consider the sports director to be simply overwhelmed.
Kahn can’t do anything about the fact that numerous players are in an acute form crisis. It’s not his fault that after ten championship titles in a row and winning the treble in 2020, the team may be a little fed up. There are said to be players for whom a season without a title is not “a disaster”, as Kahn claims.
Still, the situation is serious, and very serious. This can be seen not only in the rumors, but also in the behavior of those responsible. Uli Hoeneß, FC Bayern’s shadow man, attended the team’s training session on Thursday. He was happy to be photographed talking to coach Thomas Tuchel for 15 minutes.
The message internally and externally is clear: Hoeneß stands by Tuchel, who is already ailing after losing the cup and Champions League and losing the lead in the table. Team and coach can be sure of their full support to get the eleventh championship title and to some extent save the season. There are still five games to play. In addition, Hoeneß’s public visit can be understood as a message to Kahn and Salihamidzic. Look, that’s what matters now: demonstrate unity and support each other. Hoeneß probably wanted to say that this is exactly what a CEO should be responsible for, with all professional coolness.
Hoeneß knows that you don’t just replace a CEO. When he started the job almost two years ago, Kahn was supposed to be the big solution. He and Salihamidzic were installed because they were trusted to continue the great legacy of Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. There are serious doubts about this at the moment. The fact that Kahn is the target of criticism more than Salihamidzic also has to do with the fact that the sports director is (still) under the protection of his sponsor Hoeneß. But that too can change quickly.
The Kahn personnel will be the subject of the next supervisory board meeting. It will take place on May 22nd. Until then there is plenty of time for rumors and other Hoeneß appearances. Nothing is decided.
Sources: “kicker”, “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, “Zeit”, “t-online”
