tThe search for Rainer, the restructuring of the squad, the steps of Hoeneß: Bayern's new sporting director, elected “savior”, faces the weight of tasks Max Eberl without fear. “I've already signed, I can't go back,” the 50-year-old joked when asked about the seemingly endless list of things to do at FC Bayern. “I am not a savior. “I'm a guy who wants to get involved, who always had to step on the accelerator during his time as a coach.” He is happy to return “home” after 30 years, to the club “that has always been part of my heart,” said Eberl, who once played for FC Bayern's Bambini.
In the presentation this Tuesday at the Allianz Arena, coinciding with the club's 124th anniversary, Eberl referred to his to-do list in DIN A5 format, which is the focus of the search for a new coach after the decision to part ways with the club. Thomas Tuchel At the end of the season, in addition to the fight for the title from the “hunter role”, the most urgent task is. “We have to find the right coach for Bayern Munich and then also the right players who fit with Bayern Munich and with our coach,” Eberl said. “I would prefer to do it as quickly as possible, but it won't be that easy.”
Candidates, for example in Leverkusen Xabi Alonso he could remain under contract elsewhere, said Eberl, who once negotiated with Alonso a move to Gladbach. “It has been a very interesting conversation, but that does not allow us to draw conclusions about today,” Eberl said.
Eberl was always the “number one Prio”
The veteran Gladbach and Leipzig coach did not reveal much about the coaching search. German or English would be useful as a language, although that is not an exclusion criterion. “Putting this puzzle together: coach, club, thoughts, players: that is the task of the coming months.”
After Matías Sammer (2012-2016) and Hasan Salihamidzic (2017-2023), Eberl is now expected to guide the club to glorious times as FC Bayern's third sporting director with a contract until 2027, after turbulent days in which he may have been without a title for first time. this season. Eberl said he would work on “equal footing” with sporting director Christoph Freund, hired six months ago. On the board of directors, together with bankers Jan-Christian Dreesen and Michael Diederich, he is the most important contact person for sports matters.
Eberl was always the “number one priority” for the position, stressed the chairman of the supervisory board Herbert Hainer. As for transfers, he promised the new strongman a decent budget for a possible restructuring of the squad. “Of course, our ultimate goal is to achieve sporting success,” said President Hainer, “and of course we have to make certain financial resources available for this.” Dreesen from East Frisia greeted the Eberl from Lower Bavaria with a “Welcome home.” ”, He hopes for lasting and sustainable sporting success, as well as “foresight in the transfer market”.
As a long-time preferred candidate to be Bayern skipper Uli Hoeness And now, as his successor many years later, Eberl wants to draw on the experience of Hoeneß and that of former CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. As a professional he was “very limited in terms of football” and depended on his environment and even today he needs a good environment to succeed, said the veteran Gladbach defender.
Eberl spoke openly about his end in Gladbach. There he announced his retirement as sports director in January 2022, “because I am simply exhausted, because I am simply tired, because I no longer have the strength to do this job, as this job and this club need,” he explained. At the time. He continues to ask a psychologist for advice: “thank God I don't need it as often as I did then.”
“I'm not afraid”
Despite the big task, he's not worried. “I have inherited a great legacy,” Eberl admitted. As a youth and amateur player, he played for Bayern for a decade and a half, making professional appearances and experiencing the advertisements of Munich's amateur coaching legend. Hermann Gerland. “In the mid-90s I had to make packages in the fan shop with Didi Hamann because Hermann Gerland didn't want us to be there during the summer holidays.”
Now there is no time for that either. “Of course, the to-do list is very long, but I am not afraid.” Both the search for a coach and the work on the new team structure “were not rocket science,” said Eberl, who appeared in plaid pants. Eberl did not specify the magnitude of the renovation. He will hold conversations, in particular, about Alphonso Davies, courted by Real Madrid, and about coach Joshua Kimmich.
First of all, it is important to bring this failed season to a happy ending. “I don't want to give up this season,” announced Eberl, who must also revitalize FC Bayern's attacking department. The goal is to “make the best of the season.” The Munich team is currently eight points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. In the Champions League, FC Bayern have to recover from the 0-1 defeat against Lazio Roma in the round of 16.