For some reason, the German media seems to dislike any ounce of individuality. The uproar over Michael Olise’s interviews, certainly, has been far over the top. Bayern Munich’s French magician does not like to give long interview answers, often keeping his excerpts rather short and to the point. This has seen the former Crystal Palace labeled everything from arrogant and performative to just being a big jerk.
Apparently, if one does not give a convuluted, roundabout answer to every journalist’s question,
then they are doing something wrong.
This topic has become big enough that Bayern’s former president and current supervisory board member, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, was asked about it in an interview with reporter Maximilian Koch. @iMiaSanMia captured answer: “I’d rather a player giving his best in his actual job, on the pitch, than in interviews. From my point of view, some media outlets have turned that into a campaign. As far as I know, there aren’t any contractual obligations that require him to give extensive interviews.”
At some point in time, footballers went from being entertainers on the pitch to being expected to be entertainers off of it as well, forced to play the role of the media trained expert. Their responses off the pitch became just as important to their reputation as their statements on it. In that sense, Olise is a breath of fresh air. He expresses himself on the pitch and does not seem to be contractually obligated to say anything off of it.
Hopefully, people will eventually realize that should be the end of the discussion.
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