Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: what Bayern wants in a coach, what Kahn has to learn, the Bundesliga, and more!

Within the past four months or so, there have been several changes at Bayern Munich. Oliver Kahn was appointed as Bayern’s new CEO for 2020, Niko Kovac parted ways with the club, and Herbert Hainer took over as president after Uli Hoeness decided not to seek re-election this year. While a lot of changes have taken place, club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge strongly feels that all of the them have the club moving in a positive direction (Bild+).

Rummenigge feels that his working relationship with Hainer is very strong and constructive:

Herbert Heiner has his own style and I can say after a short time that we work very well and constructively together. We often speak with each other and compare notes about the important topics about FC Bayern.

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Having spent the majority of his playing career at Bayern, Oliver Kahn has Mia San Mia in his DNA. He knows how the club operates and what will be expected of him when he takes his post as CEO in 2022. Still, though, Rummenigge said that there’s a lot he has to learn before he assumes the role. Kahn is spending a lot of time with each department of the club to get as much exposure as he can:

Oliver must learn FC Bayern from scratch. To do this he will go through each department for a certain amount of time and familiarize himself again.

Bayern got off to a fantastic start under Hansi Flick after Niko Kovac left, but it’s still unclear how long Flick will remain manager. The search for a new, long-term replacement for both Kovac and Flick continues. Specifically, Rummenigge said that Bayern needs to find a coach who is dedicated to the philosophy of possession-based football, like Pep Guardiola and Jupp Heynckes:

In the past decade we have had top coaches like van Gaal, Heynckes, or Guardiola. Those were coaching-milestones that left their footprints. Hansi is another type, but I think he is doing a good job. What we need is a coach whose ball possession game is at the level of a van Gaal, Heynckes, or Pep Guardiola.

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While Borussia Dortmund and Bayern are both the usual suspects as far as title contenders in the Bundesliga are concerned, Rummenigge recognizes that other fierce opponents have joined the race this season:

From the individual quality, Dortmund and Bayern Munich are maybe a step ahead of the others. I find the development of Leipzig, Gladbach, Schalke, and also Leverkusen to be good, the league is becoming more exciting and emotional.

Robert Lewandowski is currently in the form of his life, having already scored 18 goals in the league and 29 across all competitions. Additionally, he broke Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s record of scoring in the first (8) league matches of the season, having scored in Bayern’s first 11 league matches. At 31 years of age, he may have only a few more seasons in him at a world class level. For the present, though, Rummenigge is confident that Bayern has other players in the squad to fill his position when Lewandowski is unable to play:

We have alternatives at this position with Serge Gnabry and Thomas Müller. And with Robert (we have) the best central attacker in the world. We are positioned well in these positions.

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