The former president of the Board of Directors of Bayern Munich, Karlheinz Rummenigge, ruled out that the elimination of the German team from the Champions League against Villarreal was “due to lack of quality in the squad.” “There are 18 players in the Bayern squad who are expected to take part in the 2022 Qatar World Cup. The elimination is not due to the quality of the template”Rummenigge told the ‘Bild’ newspaper on Thursday.
After losing 1-0 in the first leg of the quarter-finals at the Estadio de la Cerámica, Bayern was eliminated from the top international competition on Tuesday by failing to draw 1-1 at home against the ‘Yellow Submarine’.
Rummenigge, who handed over the chairmanship of the board of directors to Oliver Kahn last year after two decades in the role, considered that the removal did not match the expectations of Bayern and its fans.
About the tie, the German highlighted the pass to the semifinals of the Spanish team. “If the 180 minutes are analyzed objectively, Villarreal’s pass is not undeserved at all”he admitted.
“If I could give the club a general recommendation, and by the way this applies to football in general, it would be that everyone in the club is limited to their powers. Issues such as contract renewals, for example, are the responsibility of the Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board”declared the also former player, 66 years old.
Rummenigge said he’s spotted a trend where renewal negotiations are the only thing that matters and are constantly being discussed in public. “That’s not good, it’s not useful at this point in the season. You have to find a way of doing things that does not permanently disturb the environment”, he opined. And in ‘Kicker’ he specified: “What is striking, of course, is that there are constant discussions about contracts in the media. First Joshua Kimmich, then Leon Goretzka, Kingsley Coman and now Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller, Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry. Now we are in the last fourth of the season, so that’s not good, it creates discomfort in the club. And you can feel it.”
Matthaus
For his part, the former German Bayern player Lothar Matthaus was much more critical of the Bavarian club. “Those responsible presented the 1-1 better than it was. Three great scoring opportunities are not typical of Bayern. The demand and quality are actually higher”he wrote in his column in ‘Kicker’ magazine.
“If this is Bayern’s demanding attitude, then I have rowed in the wrong direction.”, admitted the German icon, who exposed the team’s weaknesses in one-on-one situations, determination to move forward and get to know each other better. “Bayern’s DNA is missing, insecurities have crept into the team,” he added.
“Oliver Kahn spoke clearly as a player. It would be good if he went back to that. He cannot say that he is satisfied with his own performance and that he did not see any tactics at Villarreal”critical.