“There’s no such thing as letting go”: Kahn goes through “quite a steel bath” at Bayern

“There is no letting go”
Kahn goes through “quite a steel bath” at Bayern

Oliver Kahn will replace Karl-Heinz Rummenigge as CEO in the summer of 2021 and will only win one title in his first season. Now the Bayern boss draws a conclusion and speaks of a “violent” start. Bankruptcy in particular still occupies Kahn enormously.

Oliver Kahn describes his early days at the helm of FC Bayern Munich as a tough lesson. “These first two years here were tough for me, quite a steel bath,” said the former national soccer goalkeeper and former Bayern captain in the club magazine “51”.

The 52-year-old Kahn has been a member of the board of record champions since January 2020. In the summer of 2021, he replaced Karl-Heinz Rummenigge as CEO. At the end of his first season as Bayern boss, the championship is the only title win.

Kahn was particularly “annoyed” by the quarter-finals in the Champions League against Villarreal. As a TV viewer at the missed semi-final against Liverpool, he could have “climbed the walls”, he confessed. The failures in the premier class and in the DFB Cup (5-0 defeat against Mönchengladbach in the second round) would “spur the Bayern players on” in the coming season, Kahn believes.

Not (yet) as eloquent as Hoeneß

“Everything that throws at us only makes FC Bayern even stronger in the end,” is his credo: “Slack off, let go – that doesn’t exist at FC Bayern. You’re constantly questioning yourself here.” After Julian Nagelsmann’s first year as Bayern coach, he confirmed that he was “very good” for the club with his fresh, dynamic manner: “At the age of 34, he has already reached a very high level.” Nagelsmann’s contract runs until 2025.

In contrast to his predecessor Rummenigge or the former Bayern President Uli Hoeneß, Kahn is not as eloquent to the outside world. For him, leadership mainly takes place internally: “Although I sometimes have the feeling that for the public, the word ‘lead’ in relation to a football club means that you absolutely have to be loud. But for me that has little to do with leadership .”

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