Sunday November 14, 2021
Rummenigge on the search for a coach
Mourinho wanted to go to Bayern, but …
With Julian Nagelsmann, FC Bayern got their dream successor after Hansi Flick moved to the DFB. But was the ex-Leipzig really the number one candidate? Ex-CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge now reveals in an interview that talks have already been held with José Mourinho.
Mourinho wanted, FC Bayern wanted, but in the end one of the most spectacular commitments in recent years did not materialize. In an interview with the Italian TV broadcaster “Rai Sport”, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge revealed that the record champions were considering the Portuguese as the successor to the resigned Hansi Flick.
“Mourinho was our choice to take over at our club,” said Rummenigge. “And I have to admit that he confessed to me that he wanted to come to Germany to train for FC Bayern,” said the former Munich board member, saying that “The Special One” was even aiming to get involved in Säbener Strasse. However, the “feeling” was never there that he was the right one for Bayern, explained Rummenigge in Italian.
In the end, however, “unfortunately not possible,” said Rummenigge, saying that he too would have liked to see the Portuguese on the sidelines in Munich. In the end, however, the decision was made “for a different profile with different characteristics that are more in keeping with Bayern,” he merely explained. After the deal with Mourinho was void, “we pushed Julian Nagelsmann’s commitment,” added the 66-year-old.
Mourinho was previously a candidate in Munich
“I have great respect for José Mourinho and I hope he will be successful in Rome. He’s a great coach, one of the best in the world,” said Rummenigge of the star coach, who has been with AS Roma since this season. The fans of the Giallorossi had eagerly awaited “The Special One”, as Mourinho is also called, before the season started. However, the 58-year-old was not always satisfied with the squad.
Incidentally, after the end of Hansi Flick, the name Mourinhos was not traded on Säbener Strasse for the first time. The Portuguese had been an issue in Munich many years ago, revealed former international Michael Ballack a few months ago. However, he did not know “how close it was at the time and how far the talks were,” stressed Ballack.
Mourinho himself has also commented on the German record champions several times in the past. But the Munich team didn’t always get off well. For example, in May 2021, when he told The Times: “If you go to a top club in Germany or France, then only to FC Bayern or Paris Saint-Germain. And then you know your own fate is immediately predetermined. ” It is not known whether he made this statement before or after the talks with Rummenigge.