We decided to ask a former Bayern striker, Lars Lunde, who is still in close contact with Uli Hoeness.
When Bayern Munich plays host to Club Brugge in the Champions League tonight, looking to extend their perfect record in the tournament, you can be certain of one thing.
It’s not a Bayern match if Karl Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeness aren’t sitting together in the stands, with Hoeness still wearing the traditional red and white bar scarf draped around his neck, with the fan chant “Immer vorwärts FC Bayern,” which was released in February 2025 for the club's 125th anniversary, making opponents tremble with anxiety as they enter the Allianz Stadium.
It has been years since the former CEO and president of the Bavarian giants reached retirement age, and today they hold less prominent roles on the club’s Supervisory Board.
But still, sources in Southern Germany claim that the dynamic duo are the ones pulling strings at FC Bayern, even though the real power of the front office at the record German champions, at least on paper, has been transitioned to Chairman of the Board, Herbert Hainer, CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen, and Sport Director Max Eberl.
Both Rummenigge and Uli Hoeness have undertaken significant roles to build Bayern into the club they are today. However, in recent years, criticism has surfaced suggesting that both may have outstayed their welcome as they continue to exert their influence at the club and take part in making important decisions. In an interview with Sport Bild ahead of his 70th birthday, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said the following:
"We will continue this until we feel that everything is 100 percent in order. Unfortunately, it wasn’t 100 percent in order before—that’s a fair point, especially regarding the development of the club’s finances. So when everything is 100 percent in order, we will hand over the keys to our successors.” “I still believe the club doesn’t need fewer Uli Hoeneß, but more.”
The time when Hoeness and Rummenigge bid their final farewell to their beloved Bayern Munich may never arrive, and it also shouldn’t if you ask former Danish international striker, Lars Lunde, who was part of the squad in the middle of the 80´s.
“As long as they are alive, nothing happens in the club without their knowledge. You just have to accept that, and I think it's good because with their experience, it would be completely insane not to involve them in decisions”.
“You can't buy the experience they have; it's worth its weight in gold for the club. And I do not doubt at all that it is the two of them who make the final decisions, even if on paper they may have more peripheral roles in the club. Experience and club spirit, that's the best thing for a club. Hoeness and "Rumme" have extensive football experience and are skilled businessmen, a combination that is very rare to find", says Lunde to Flashscore.dk.
Rummenigge and Hoeness installed a culture of honest and direct conflict at Bayern, which is otherwise missing in German culture, according to the former Inter striker. According to Rummenigge, there is a current tendency to shy away from confrontation and use criticism against individuals, a dynamic he contrasted with the more direct approach he employed in negotiations and discussions during his career.
“Harmony is always good. But a culture of debate is an important asset. When I argued with Uli, one time even the carpenter had to come and reinstall the door frame", Rummenigge said once in an interview with "Die Welt". The very direct approach from Rummenigge and Hoeness has often led to people criticising the pair for being "dinosaurs" in a business world where more diplomatic skills are needed, but Lars Lunde feels that Hoeness, in particular, is often misunderstood.
"Hoeness always speaks his mind even if it is inconvenient, he says what others think but don't say, and that is essential for a club like Bayern that you have a born leader. But I think the media often distorts his statements so that he comes across harsher than he really is. Reality is that he is a warm person who would any day try to help a former player if you called him up at midnight asking for advice", says Lunde, who still often meets up with Hoeness to discuss Bayern and everyday life.
The question is whether anybody will have the necessary football knowledge and business acumen to carry on the torch and continue the legacy of Rummenigge and Hoeness at Bayern when they are no longer with us. There has been a tradition at the club of offering responsibility to former players, like in the case of Oliver Kahn, but there are doubts in relation to who would fit such a role.
"There is no question that Lothar Matthaus will never be in line for a position; he has simply said too many unwise things about Bayern in the past. I can potentially see Bastian Schweinsteiger take over or Thomas Müller when his career is finished.
"Perhaps also Phillip Lahm, but I believe more in the other two.. However, they must make it clear that it is a 24-hour job and it's a totally different ballgame than being a player, and it is, of course, a big question whether they would be able to settle into that role," ends Lunde.
Bayern Munich, with Rummenigge and Hoeness surely in the stands, will take on Club Brugge at the Allianz Stadium in Munich at 21.00 CET.
