championship celebration
Bad mood at Bayern: Hoeneß and Kahn share and change nothing
Oliver Kahn speaks from the balcony of the town hall at the FC Bayern championship celebration: “Basta”
© Matthias Balk / DPA
Despite the tenth championship title in a row, the possible departure of Robert Lewandowski and the irritation surrounding Niklas Süle dominate the debates at FC Bayern. Oliver Kahn and Uli Hoeneß try in vain to use power words.
The in-house TV station tried its best to spread as good a mood as possible to the outside world. FC Bayern TV broadcast the championship celebration from Munich’s Marienplatz in bright sunshine, but the party didn’t really get going, even though former professional Claudio Pizarro tried to be the official FC Bayern animator before the players were introduced. Everything hey and ho couldn’t hide the fact that the mood at Bayern Munich is rather chilly. No matter how much those responsible may talk about the historic, tenth championship title. It still feels like an unsatisfactory season after the early failure in the DFB Cup and the elimination from the Champions League in the quarterfinals.
The championship celebration of the glorious FC Bayern was overlaid by the possible departure of Robert Lewandowski, who does not want to extend his contract (runs until 2023) and apparently accepts the offer from FC Barcelona, which offers him a lavish three-year contract. Additional anger was caused by Niklas Süle’s refusal to play in the last game in Wolfsburg. Coach Julian Nagelsmann had left it up to Süle whether he wanted to go to the away game or not. All of this fueled the criticism of sports director Hasan Salihamidzic, which had increased in recent days. The accusation: The sports director does not have a good transfer policy. Süle and Lewandowski are two examples of undesirable developments. Cleverly, Salihamidzic also held back noticeably on the town hall balcony in order to avoid possible expressions of displeasure against himself. At the team celebration, there are said to have been occasional whistles against the sports director, the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reported.
Uli Hoeneß speaks of hunts
It became all the more clear that the atmosphere at Bayern Munich was tense when Uli Hoeneß spoke up. The 70-year-old had something to say on each of the hot topics and was happy to provide the journalists gathered in the City Hall with information about his point of view. So Hoeneß faced Salihamidzic and made a “hunt”. Salihamidzic is “not solely responsible for the transfer policy”: “The whole club is responsible for that. When we won six titles, I didn’t hear anyone shouting: ‘Hasan, Hasan!’ Now that we don’t win the Champions League, it’s his sole responsibility. That can’t be.”
His opinion on Lewandowski: “I am very confident that we will have a good season with Robert Lewandowski,” he said. In order to deliver the final conclusion at the end of wisdom: “It’s all about money – and nothing else.”
Like Chancellor Schröder, CEO Oliver Kahn tried to put his foot down in the matter: “We know this kind of alarmism from the past. It’s not something that worries us. We made an offer to the advisor. He rejected this offer . That is his right. The fact is: He has a contract, he will fulfill it. Basta!”
How hard this “Basta” is actually meant remains to be seen. If FC Barcelona offers enough transfer fee, Lewandowski should be gone despite the pithy announcements. Kahn is also quoted by the DPA with this sentence: “Now you just have to take your time and see how things develop.” That didn’t sound so uncompromising anymore. The supporters on Marienplatz made their opinion known and chanted “Lewa bleib”.
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The Süle case is good as a mood barometer at FC Bayern
The Süle case has also contributed to the stimulus mood in the past few days and weeks. Hoeneß on the national player’s decision not to play the Wolfsburg game: “If he speaks of appreciation, then I would say he didn’t appreciate the club. I found this action catastrophic,” said Hoeneß.
Background: Süle was not originally included in the squad because Nagelsmann wanted to give younger players a chance in the last game. That didn’t go well for Süle, who is saying goodbye to Borussia Dortmund. After Marcel Sabitzer was injured, a place was free for Süle. Nagelsmann did not give an instruction and gave the national player the freedom to decide whether he wanted to come along or not. Sule declined.
Salihamidzic is also blamed for the departure of sympathizer Süle. Süle had rejected a contract extension, presumably because FC Bayern was not willing to respond to his salary demands. This is how Süle goes in strife. This is also a mood dampener after the moderate season.
Sources: DPA, “Image”, “Spox”
