Max Eberl’s tenure as Bayern Munich’s board member of sport has been full of incredible successes. He was not only the driving force that brought Vincent Kompany to Bayern, but he also landed players such as Luis Díaz, Michael Olise, Jonathan Tah, Tom Bischof and Jonas Urbig. With these transfers, he played a pivotal role in transforming the Bavarians from a team that went trophyless to one that won the double and nearly went all the way in the Champions League in just two years.
But it could so easily
have gone differently. Eberl’s first major decision in charge of Bayern was bringing in Kompany to replace outgoing manager Thomas Tuchel, who had already been fired by the time Eberl had been hired, but Kompany was far from the first option. Eberl confirmed he spoke with three other coaches before approaching the then-Burnley manager. Who knows if Bayern would be enjoying this kind of success if the other candidates did not reject the opportunity to work in Munich before Kompany agreed?
It is this point that Bayern’s honorary president Uli Hoeneß sought to highlight in a recent interview with German news website Der Spiegel, speaking of a time in which, after Eberl had struck out on the previous managers, proposed retaining Tuchel after the trophyless season. The topic of the interview had turned to Eberl and his stellar work as board member for sport, so Hoeneß looked to lessen the hype by sharing one of the former Borussia Mönchengladbach sporting director’s less stellar moments:
“At first, Max Eberl wanted to give Thomas Tuchel, who already had one year left on his contract, another year. That means he would have stayed for another two years. Karl (Rummenigge), Herbert Hainer and I stopped that,” Hoeneß declared (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “We said Thomas Tuchel’s time was over. I have nothing personal against Max Eberl, but to say, for example, he found the right coach (Kompany), when he wanted to extend Tuchel before. We wouldn’t be where we are today if he did that. It’s his job to have options ready.”
There are worse options than falling back on stability after the first few preferred options did not want to work in Munich. But, clearly, it is very difficult to imagine Bayern enjoying the same current success if Tuchel were still in charge.
BFW Analysis
It is truly strange to see Hoeneß actively downplay the work of one of his employees. He has never been shy about speaking on just about everything, really, but he usually reserves his harshest words for those outside of Bayern’s employ. The last time the 1974 World Cup winner let loose on a Bayern employee, it was to critique Tuchel after the decision to let him go had already been made. Perhaps the suggestion to keep such an unwanted employee around was what drew Hoeneß’s ire to Eberl. Hoeneß has already thrown barbs Eberl’s way over his ‘sensitivity‘.
But Hoeneß rarely speaks without any ulterior goal in mind. It is not farfetched to suspect he is setting the stage for Eberl’s eventual exit upon the expiry of his contract in 2027. Given the current positive reputation Eberl has for his work at Bayern, though, it will require stories of his less stellar moments to surface and gain relevance ahead of any decision to let him go in order to make the exit smoother. It is easier to fire the guy who tried to keep Bayern’s least successful manager since Jürgen Klinsmann for another two years than the guy who brought in Vincent Kompany, who just won Bayern the double. It is all a matter of sculpting the public image.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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