Bayern Munich legend Paul Breitner shames recent press conference
Bayern Munich and Germany legend Paul Breitner blasted Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeness for their shameful press conference on Friday.
Bayern Munich returned to their winning ways over the weekend, defeating Wolfsburg 3-1 away from home. The Bavarians weren’t entirely convincing, but they still managed to leave with an important three points after a fairly comfortable match.
The win was hardly the biggest talking point surrounding the club over the weekend, however. Prior to the match, club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and President Uli Hoeness — along with Hasan Salihamidzic — held a press conference in which they scolded the media for its “disrespectful” treatment of Bayern players.
While some have applauded the club executives for standing by their team and providing a shield for their players, most hold a much more cynical view on the press conference, saying that Rummenigge and Hoeness only added to the club’s embarrassment with their entitled rant.
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Among those unimpressed with the surprise conference is Bayern legend Paul Breitner. Speaking on BR Sport, the five-time Bundesliga winner blasted his former club for the embarrassing display.
"“With that presser, [Rummenigge and Hoeness] have ruined all the hard work the club has done in recent years to remove their image of arrogance. In my 48 years with the club, I never imagined they would show such weakness."
Breitner was clearly unimpressed by what he saw from the Bayern bosses. However, he was particularly disappointed in the quotes from President Uli Hoeness, who in one instance demanded that the media treated his players with some basic respect, then in another moment threw former player Juan Bernat under the bus — throwing any semblance of basic respect out the window.
"“I don’t really know what happened there. Rummenigge comes in prepared, talks about the constitution and dignity, then 10 minutes later the man next to him tramples on the same constitution and crucifies an ex-player.“For Uli, it has always been about the family, the FC Bayern family. Today, the kids of the family have to say: ‘We are ashamed of dad now.'”"
Whether the Bayern bosses were trying to distract the media by creating a smoke screen to protect their players or are simply so unaware as to not realize how such a press conference would be perceived is still hard to tell.
Fortunately, Bayern’s win over Wolfsburg prevented the club from falling under further scrutiny from the media. However, Niko Kovac and Co. will have to keep up their winning ways if they truly want to save face.
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Fortunately, their two upcoming games — first against AEK Athens in the Champions League, then against Mainz in the Bundesliga — are both completely winnable, and should be just what the club needs to really get back on track.