Is it considered sour grapes if the person doling them out very well might have a strong argument? That could be the case for former Bayern Munich goalkeeper and CEO Oliver Kahn, who is just over the two-year mark of having been given the axe by the German Rekordmeister. Shortly after clinching the 2022/23 Bundesliga title in late, dramatic fashion, both Kahn and then sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić were officially given the boot.
Filling the shoes of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was always going to
be a tall task, even for someone with as big of a personality and aura as Kahn, but even the former Germany and Bayern goalkeeper’s best efforts was not enough to convince the club’s supervisory board to keep him around. His tenure was supposed to have lasted longer than two years, but there were a multitude of reasons why the club he felt he was not the right fit along with Brazzo as the sporting director.
In a recent interview with Sky Sport (via @Bild), Kahn was able to give his two cents with how he feels the club is currently run. It should come as no surprise that he had some less than favorable opinions on everything that has happened with the club, its front office, and the squad over the past couple of years.
In particular, Kahn highlighted the managerial turnover there has been in a short period of time at the club as one of the pain points. “Many coaches have come and gone. As a result, the philosophies, the ideas have changed again and again, including the squad. It always feels like a constant squad upheaval,” he stressed.
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Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty ImagesKahn has a point. Within the past five years, Bayern has had four different managers in Hansi Flick, Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Tuchel and Vincent Kompany. Not to mention, the Flick appointment came after the sacking of Nicko Kovač part way through the 2019/20 season. Optically, that could easily be perceived as instability, though Bayern has still managed to win 12 of the last 13 Bundesliga titles and a Champions League title within the past five years. However, the Kovač, Nagelsmann and Tuchel projects were promised to be more than they wound up being and taking that into consideration with the bevvy of other front office changes that have taken place in that same period of time are certainly cause for concern.
Even now, there is increased pressure on Max Eberl, Christoph Freund, and Jan-Christian Dreesen to make the right signings this summer after losing both Leroy Sané and Thomas Müller as well as Jamal Musiala to a long-term injury layover. It has even been reported that this summer is a deciding factor for Eberl’s future at the club; will he do enough to save his job?
Kahn is even able to keep a level head and also a level of objectivity. While he came in with his own initiatives and bold plans when he stepped in to the CEO role, there’s still things he felt he could have done differently. “I’m self-critical enough, don’t get me wrong, even during my time exactly this topic of continuity in all areas, I would have liked to have done better. But that’s something where many players then say, including coaches, by the way, I have to think about it very carefully,” he admitted.
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