“I used to go to dinner with Pep Guardiola every week, and we would drink a good bottle of red wine…”

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Leave several clear messages in a conversation with Tomorrow's Business & Style Podcast. He talked about Bayern Munich's past, present and future.

For him, the key may be the issue of hierarchy: “I'm definitely in favor of hierarchy. A team with a clear hierarchy will always work. In 2020 we had a superior hierarchy: Manuel Neuer in goal, David Alaba in defence, Thiago in midfield, Thomas Müller in attacking midfield and Robert Lewandowski in attack, in my opinion, a big mistake made in throwing away a higher hierarchy unnecessarily, I arrived at Bayern aged 18 and there were Maier, Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller, the bosses on the pitch. Everyone was behind them and it always worked out. “Whenever we had a functional hierarchy at Bayern Munich, we were always successful.”

He provided more details about the structure of the German team in crisis: “I have known Max Eberl for a long time. I think he has quality, a clear plan in mind and he is an empathic person. He also has the ability to persuade.” “High level, which is necessary because he will survive. Many conversations with players: he will have to convince players to stay at Bayern Munich and players to join Bayern Munich. His role will be very important, also as a mediator.” He added: “Between the coach and the team, I am convinced that he will play an important and good role.”

“It's a fact that now we change coaches a lot. In the past we had moments where continuity was better, also because we had coaches who fit better with Bayern Munich, like Jupp and Pep. It is no coincidence that we remain friends now because what united us was more than just football. I went to dinner with Babe almost every week. We drank a bottle of good red wine and talked about God and the world. There was a great relationship. There is trust. He added: “We need to find this type of coach again, which will be difficult.” He said about his relationship with Guardiola.

He also pointed to Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen: “Everyone in Germany is celebrating now because they tried for 11 years, but they couldn't win the title. Now Leverkusen will probably win it and they deserve it.” Because they not only play successfully, but also because they play attractive football. If Bayer Leverkusen wins the title, I don't think it will be that dramatic for Bayern Munich. We have to accept defeat with style and say: We won it 11 times in a row, and we were unable to achieve it. “Winning 12th place. Now we have to work hard and improve to win the title again in the next few years, so that the people celebrating now will have no reason to celebrate.”