Is it time for Uli Hoeness to take a step back at Bayern Munich?
It would be an understatement to say that the last two seasons have been disastrous for Bayern Munich. They won the Bundesliga last season, but it was a poor end to the campaign after the sacking of Julian Nagelsmann. Bayern had a trophyless 2023/24 campaign, finishing third in the Bundesliga.
There have been structural changes at Bayern in the last 12 months. Despite these changes, there is no sense of calmness at the club. Max Eberl and Christoph Freund were exploring the opportunity to continue working with Thomas Tuchel, while Uli Hoeness publicly made critical statements about Tuchel.
Tuchel turned down the chance to stay at Bayern. The Bavarian club is looking to hire Vincent Kompany as their new coach. As per Sky Sports in Germany, Hoeness was not completely in favour of Kompany becoming the new head coach of Bayern. It does look like Eberl and Freund have managed to convince the board about Kompany.
The Belgian coach doesn’t have significant coaching experience at the top level. He will need significant support from Bayern to make this move work. In such a scenario, it will be better if a personality like Uli Hoeness takes a back seat. He doesn’t need to comment about every win or defeat to put pressure on Kompany.
While talking to Sky Sports, former Bayern head coach Felix Magath insisted that Hoeness’ influence at the club is a boon and bane. If a head coach fails to get along with Hoeness, things are likely to go downhill for him.
"Uli Hoeneß created the club as it is now. That was always the problem with what he did, because he wanted to control everything. If he had a coach he could control, then everything was fine. If a coach couldn't get along with him, there were problems. That's been going on for decades."
- Felix Magath
After dominating the Bundesliga for 12 years, Bayern are undergoing a transition. They have brought fresh faces in the sporting structure at the club to complete a squad overhaul. Eberl and Christoph Freund have ample amount of experience in building squads.
Hoeness still has a significant say in several big decisions at Bayern. However, the club will benefit from him watching from a distance. The Bavarian club has to move on from him after decades of successful cooperation, or else they will risk lagging behind other top clubs in Europe.
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Bayern hope to conclude talks with Burnley for Kompany by the end of this week. The Belgian coach may cost more than €10 million since he had signed a long-term contract at Burnley. The club chiefs will push ahead with transfer plans once Kompany is at Sabner Strasse. Several senior players may leave Bayern in the summer to make space for new signings.