February 2025 BAYERN FAMILY
A LIFE FOR FC BAYERN
FC Bayern and Uli Hoeneß , two names that are inextricably linked . Whether as a player , general manager or now honorary president , Hoeneß shaped the German record champions like no other . In this interview , he talks about his life for FCB , curious transfers , but also about what he would like to see in the future for the club closest to his heart .
Illustration Thomke Meyer
Herr Hoeneß , you started as general manager of
HFC Bayern on 1 May 1979 . But it ’ s said that you didn ‘ t
Hreally have much to do when you started . Apparently ,
Hafter two hours on the phone , you went home again .
HFC Bayern had a staff of about 20 back then , we had a
Hturnove turnover of about 12 million Deutschmarks . There was
Hvirtually no marketing at all . In terms of merchandising , you could buy a few postcards and pennants at the post office . We perhaps had a scarf , but that was it . However , the work had just begun . I soon flew to Kuwait to organise some friendlies . Unfortunately , that didn ‘ t work out . Today we travel around the globe as a matter of course . Back then it was very unusual . How did you get the job in the first place ? You were actually still a player . President Wilhelm Neudecker contacted me in January . I was still playing for 1 . FC Nürnberg at the time , but my knee had to be injected every weekend and the doctors told me if I wanted to walk around pain-free in future , it would be better to stop . As I always wanted to be a manager , preferably at Bayern , I agreed after a few days of reflection . But when I started on 1 May , the president was Willi O . Hoffmann . However , he stood by Neudecker ‘ s word .
FC Bayern won the league title in your first year as general manager . What memories do you have from your first season ? It was very intense . I can remember being absolutely worn out and drenched in sweat on Saturdays after matches . I would get so worked up about being in the dugout and powerless to do anything . It took some time until that went away . Back then it was actually very unusual for a club general manager to be in the dugout . It ‘ s crucial . You can only see what ‘ s going on in the team when you ‘ re in the dugout . We ‘ d go off on training camps every Friday back then , and I would always be there , for every friendly too . Before the match , at half-time , always . You can demand anything from players , but you must lead from the front . We once played in Tokyo for a million marks . It was a 48-hour trip . If you see off the team at the airport and welcome them back after two days you risk a revolution . But if you ‘ re the first to board the plane and the last to leave it you can pull off something like that . It was my credo to demand from the players only what I would undertake myself . Was it difficult for you to always be the main point of contact for the players , whatever the situation ? I don ‘ t remember having an aversion to any player . Special ties do develop in some cases . When we convinced Roland Wohlfarth to join us his wife suddenly started crying on the sofa because she had to leave her family behind in Duisburg . These things bind you together .
FC Bayern Magazine 53