Lothar Matthäus likes to talk and make a name for himself. As an expert for the pay channel Sky, Germany’s record-breaking national player comments almost every week on everything in football, especially about his favorite club FC Bayern and the national team. The 62-year-old often offends, this year especially with former Bayern boss Oliver Kahn and coach Thomas Tuchel, who was snippy with him in front of the camera. Matthew’s urge to communicate is difficult to grasp: he distributes a lot of praise and a lot of blame, and some things get a little confused.
At this point we try to channel Matthew’s stream of consciousness somewhat. To do this, we analyzed 43 “Lothar Matthäus columns” on sport.sky.de that appeared from February 14th to December 5th. All in all, there are around 90 A4 pages that provide information about what Matthew says, what he means and where he contradicts himself.
One question, many answers: What good is Harry Kane?
It is April 17, 2023, when Matthäus addresses a question that affects FC Bayern and concerns football in Germany: Should the record champions sign a new striker, and if so, who? Matthew lists a few possible approaches, but remains vague in his assessment of their capabilities. There’s only one thing where he leans out of the window: “Harry Kane would be too old and too expensive for me.” As is so often the case, FC Bayern doesn’t care about Matthäus’ opinion and negotiates with the 30-year-old Englishman. Kane is said to cost more than 100 million euros.
No matter, says Matthäus in the summer, when he no longer wants to know anything about his value judgment in April. He demands that FC Bayern “do everything the cash register can bear. “Kane is totally worth it” (July 3). A week later, Matthäus is no longer so convinced of the price-performance ratio and writes humbly: “I don’t presume to judge whether Kane would be worth this sum.” (July 10). On November 8th, Matthäus finally acted as if he had always been sure of the immense value of the English national team captain: “With Kane it was clear that he would also score at Bayern.”
As an expert in the Kane case, Lothar Matthäus achieved a feat that he never managed as an active footballer: he dribbled himself out – and in the process effortlessly left his opinion of Kane as an outdated, overpriced striker behind him. Such a change in opinion on a weekly basis has a nice effect for experts like Matthäus: no matter how the football world twists and turns, you can claim to have known and predicted it. Trainers and other people involved are left confused.
Yes, how now? Lothar Matthäus often polarizes with his statements. : Image: Firo, editing FAS
New question, many answers: What good is BVB?
For many outsiders, the changeable performances of Dortmund players and Borussia as a whole are a mystery. BVB seems to be a case for a sports psychologist – or an expert. But unfortunately Matthäus is subject to similar fluctuations as Borussia. “Dortmund defended brilliantly,” he praised after the 1-1 draw in Leverkusen: “In the end, the result speaks for Edin Terzic’s tactical orientation.” (December 5th). The BVB coach will be happy about that, especially since Matthäus sounded completely different a week earlier: “Edin Terzic hasn’t been able to stabilize the team in defense so far.” (November 28th).
