Berlin : For years, it was his job to secure his clubs’ success by catching shots, crosses and passes. After swapping football boots for a suit and tie, one of the best goalkeepers of all time Oliver Kahn is facing a delicate issue.
The summer season ahead for Kahn might be the most challenging of his career. It’s about nothing less than securing the future of one of the sport’s most successful clubs on both domestic and continental stages.
For now, taking over demoralized Bayern Munich is proving more difficult than expected. The clubs’ tenth straight Bundesliga title might be a starting point, but things remain fragile.
The shadows of Kahn’s predecessors seem omnipresent whatever decision is made.
The future of Bayern seems to depend on whether Kahn finds his way after Uli Hoeness and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had developed the club into a model for success. Hoeness and Rummenigge shaped their era with empathy and severity, running the club with a family-like approach, and turning it into a trademark with solid guidelines, reports Xinhua.
Many in Munich had to learn, and Kahn had to live with the settings left by Hoeness and Rummenigge.
The 52-year-old is now forced to create a high percentage of hits on target regarding transfers.
Moreover, he has to create an atmosphere of smooth cooperation between coach Julian Nagelsmann and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.
Bayern might have secured their national dominance this season, but their competitors announced new attempts to break Bayern’s stranglehold. Dortmund and Leipzig can be the ones to update the Bundesliga’s attractiveness and increase the challenges on the pitch for Bayern.
On the continental stage, the Bavarians have already lost ground with three exits in the Champions League quarterfinals over the past four years.
Other than Hoeness and Rummenigge, Kahn is facing new challenges as other European leagues have gained significant financial advantages in contrast to Bayern, who lost up to 100 million euros due to COVID-19 and less lucrative TV deals.
Bayern might be forced to operate on a lower budget.
To sign Erling Haaland is out of sight, as Kahn put it, as Bayern can’t afford a package of over 300 million euros. For now, possible contract extensions of Robert Lewandowski, Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller and Serge Gnabry are already causing difficulties.
Kahn also referenced the disadvantages of Germany’s 50+1 rule, which limits outside investment. Most other leading European sides can count on paramount investments from foreign entities.
Kahn is facing the challenge of not only continuing the past decades’ success in the footsteps of Hoeness and Rummenigge, but also finding options to deal with markets in motion.
–IANS