Jürgen Klopp is, as is well known, the new national team coach, and the hope is that he will significantly stabilize the DFB team. Uli Hoeneß, the Bayern Munich chairman, has generally welcomed the decision to appoint Klopp as the new head coach. But he also urged caution, noting that Klopp is “not the Messiah.”
Hoeneß recently criticized not the appointment itself, but the huge hype surrounding Klopp. He also did not view the fact that Klopp’s former advisor, Marc Kosicke, is taking on a role at the DFB as entirely positive.
“The whole thing strikes me as a ‘friendly takeover.’ Klopp and company have taken over the DFB, and I think that’s wrong,” the honorary president of FC Bayern explained recently.
Watzke Responds to Hoeneß’s Comments on Klopp
Hans-Joachim Watzke, president of Borussia Dortmund and vice president of the DFB, has now responded to Hoeneß’s comments in an interview with Sky and RTL.
„I simply have a different opinion than he does. I don’t know what this has to do with a ‘friendly takeover.’ The last two national team coaches came from FC Bayern—Julian Nagelsmann and Hansi Flick. Nobody said back then that it was a friendly takeover by FC Bayern. That’s a bit too much for me. And the fact that a coach with a reputation like Jürgen Klopp’s is given a certain amount of leeway—well, that’s just the way it is,” Watzke made clear.
Watzke went on to explain: “That’s completely normal; every coach has a few ideas about his staff. Vincent Kompany also brought a few people with him. That has nothing to do with a ‘friendly takeover.’” Aside from that, the BVB president is very confident that the DFB is heading into a successful period.
Incidentally, Watzke and Hoeneß are also in agreement on this point. The Bayern honorary president sees no reason to doubt Klopp’s abilities at the DFB from a sporting perspective.
