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Oliver Kahn’s words hit the mark. He had the feeling, he said, “that the players had different ideas about which football should be played.”
And followed up with advice to those responsible: “You have to find out: ‘What do we have to do with all this?’ It would have been better to say, ‘We’re not announcing anything for now and we see ourselves as part of the problem.’”
It’s been almost four years since Kahn said that. Four years before Bayern’s Villarreal disgrace in the Champions League.
Kahn (52) was still an expert at ZDF at the time. As usual, clearly and aptly, he analyzed the preliminary round of the German national team at the 2018 World Cup and criticized the fact that national coach Jogi Löw and DFB director Oliver Bierhoff simply wanted to continue despite the embarrassment. Live in the studio, face to face with the attacked Bierhoff.
That was typical Titan: smart, argumentative, uncompromising. A man whose attitude could be summed up in one of his famous quotes: “Eggs, we need eggs!”
In the meantime, you can almost only see the punt around the eggs. So often that fans and connoisseurs of the German record champions ask themselves: Can Kahn really Bavaria?
After the embarrassing end to outsiders FC Villarreal, he only said succinctly: “Of course we were eliminated here in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. We won’t burst into tears because of that.”
Many of the 70,000 fans in the arena did, regardless of the lost revenue of around 15 million euros.
Kahn’s cool comment shows little flair for his club. Likewise, the morning after the shame, he had a leisurely breakfast on the sun terrace of his regular Grünwald café with his wife Svenja.
Of course he can do that – but it sends a fatal signal to employees and the team. The fact that he tweeted shortly afterwards that one had to “draw the right conclusions” in order to “set the course for the coming season” does not revise the impression that had arisen: Eliminated – so what? What do I have to do with the topic?
Leadership quality is particularly evident in a crisis. Now Kahn has to deliver. So far he seems to be part of the problem and has missed a lot.
The 52-year-old has been Bayern boss and successor to Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (66) for ten months – including the so-called “onboarding process” for more than two years.
Gigantic footsteps. He must now find his own way. His search for it raises questions.
► Why was his inaugural speech at the November general meeting so surprisingly sterile? Why didn’t he take the opportunity to send a clear signal and show what he stands for and where he wants to go with Bayern?
► Why did he leave out the absolutely hot topic of Qatar sponsorship? Actively addressing the problem might have prevented the escalation.
The future project “FC Bayern Ahead” (“FC Bayern ahead”) that Kahn initiated may be correct. But a workshop for this with flipcharts and sticky notes in a Kitzbühel hotel caused many a manager to shake their heads.
As is the fact across the league that he was absent from the farewell to ex-DFL boss Christian Seifert and from the DFB Bundestag. Kahn is also often represented at DFL meetings.
Photo: WITTERS-” data-zoom-src=”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/amazing-bei-den-spielern-gegen-den-mittelmaessigen-la-liga-klub-aus-der-champions-league-au- 43098e3970a34867ba45aa4c519c3e13-79794094/image/2.image.jpg”/>
Dismay among the players: To be eliminated from the Champions League against the mediocre La Liga club is a disgracePhoto: WITTERS
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Bayern employees report Kahn’s aloofness. Unlike his predecessor, he was hardly tangible for them, and let himself be sealed off by an “entourage”. This includes office manager Moritz Mattes, whom he brought from his company “Goalplay”, and his advisor Peter Ruppert.
Players and their agents are irritated by Kahn’s distance from the team. The rare conversations with him are non-binding and not empathetic, it is said.
Perhaps this is also a reason why defender Niklas Süle is going to Dortmund on a free transfer. And why the discussions about the contract negotiations between Robert Lewandowski, Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller and Serge Gnabry do not want to end.
A word of power from Kahn? None! “Leadership weakness” is what ex-Bayern professional Dietmar Hamann calls it. And not just him.
According to BamS information, Uli Hoeneß (70), who installed Kahn to lead Bavaria into the future, observes with growing suspicion how Kahn acts. The still powerful honorary president and supervisory board wonders why the new boss no longer seeks an exchange with him. Kahn could use his advice well in view of the current challenges.
He, and not just sports director Hasan Salihamidzic (45), is responsible for rebuilding and strengthening the squad with Julian Nagelsmann (34). Both spoke on the phone on Thursday, says the trainer: “We are very good at planning, now it’s time to implement it, which is not as easy as a trainer would like it to be.”
It cannot be ruled out that Kahn will soon have to make tough personnel decisions. As Hoeneß often did after a sporting failure. Around 2012, when three lost titles cost sports director Christian Nerlinger his job and Matthias Sammer became sports director.
There is another famous quote from Oliver Kahn from the 2000/2001 Champions League winning and champion season: “Go on, go on, keep going!” This time, however, it should be clear: things can’t go on as before.
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