Oliver Kahn was a board member at FC Bayern from July 2021 to summer 2023. Image: dpa / Sven Hoppe
Oliver Kahn was CEO of FC Bayern for two years before his term in office came to an abrupt end on the last matchday of last season. Although the Munich team secured the German championship in the last minute, the now 54-year-old had to vacate his place.
This didn’t happen without background noise. Bayern are said to have banned Kahn from going to the last game, and the same applies to the championship celebration. That wasn’t quite a year ago, but Oliver Kahn remained silent for a long time and stayed in the background. This has changed now.
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In an interview with “Sport Bild”, the former world goalkeeper spoke in detail about the end in Munich, allegations from Uli Hoeneß and his personal future planning. Kahn uses conciliatory tones about his relationship with Uli Hoeneß. Kahn made it clear to the long-time club boss during the difficult sporting phase of his time on the board at FC Bayern that he would never forget Hoeneß for bringing him from Karlsruhe to Munich in 1994.
FC Bayern: Kahn speaks conciliatory tones
“The many positive moments and great emotions that I have experienced with FC Bayern in 18 years far outweigh the negative ones,” Kahn made clear. But he also reveals that he hasn’t spoken to Hoeneß since he left Munich. He, in turn, had publicly criticized Kahn several times and accused him of a lack of commitment as a board member. The reason was an alleged statement by Kahn that as a club manager he did not have to work 24 hours a day.
In the “Sport Bild” interview, Kahn laughs at the Hoeneß accusation and even denied that he never said the sentence like that: “It wouldn’t be a good fit for me either, as everything I’ve achieved in my life has been based on high levels of commitment.”
Ex-Bayern board member Oliver Kahn talks about future plans
But things get particularly interesting when Kahn is asked about his future. It becomes clear that he sees a renewed commitment as a club board member as unlikely: “Basically you shouldn’t rule anything out in football, but that’s not an issue for me at the moment.”
Rather, it is particularly challenging for him to become active in the football business as a club owner. When asked about this, Kahn lists his experience as a player, TV expert, entrepreneur and CEO. For him, it is a “logical next step and a very exciting topic that we shouldn’t just leave to others.”
He cites David Beckham as an example. The former England international owns American club Inter Miami. Kahn explains what he finds positive about the Englishman’s commitment: “The football of the future should not only be dominated by people who have never stood on a pitch and have no real connection to the game.”
Kahn emphasizes that he doesn’t just want to appear as a figurehead for a club, “but to bring together sporting and economic expertise in the best possible way”. Kahn then criticizes the fact that most investors in football currently come from the USA or the Middle East. A fact that Kahn would like to change.
Before the important game against Mainz in two weeks, 1. FC Köln faces a challenge next weekend that seems to scream for a miracle. The match on Saturday against FC Bayern has an almost fateful symbolic character: Twelve years ago, a 1:4 against FCB sealed relegation to the second division.
2024-04-17 05:56:53
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