Bayern boss Hoeness again shows survivor's instincts

BERLIN (AFP) –

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness before the Bundesliga match against Hanover 96 in Munich, southern Germany, on November 24, 2012. Having survived a serious car accident and walked away from a plane crash, Hoeness has again shown his ability to overcome adversity, this time in the face of the tax scandal which had threatened to engulf him.

Having survived a serious car accident and walked away from a plane crash, Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has again shown his ability to overcome adversity, this time in the face of the tax scandal which had threatened to engulf him.

In Monday’s meeting of Bayern Munich’s supervisory board, his offer to stand down as president and board chairman of the Champions League finalists, while he is investigated for tax evasion, was rejected by his peers.

It was effectively a vote of confidence after the 61-year-old was arrested last month, then bailed for five million euros ($6.5 million), as part of an ongoing investigation into unpaid tax on a Swiss account in his name.

With Bayern bidding to become the first German club to win the treble of European, league and cup titles, facing Borussia Dortmund at Wembley on May 25 in the Champions League final, keeping Hoeness at the helm is sure to attract more off-field controversy for the Bavarians.

The 1974 World Cup winner became an election-year lightning rod in a debate on tax sinners since news broke on April 20 that he had admitted to stashing millions of euros in a Swiss bank account.

Chancellor Angela Merkel summed up the nation’s feelings when she let it be known she was “disappointed” in Hoeness, a public figure who had often called on FIFA president Sepp Blatter to do more against corruption in world football’s governing body.

Hoeness, who also co-owns a successful bratwurst sausage factory, has long presented himself as an honest businessman and a man of character, not shy in criticising the way other European teams run their finances.

Newspaper headline writers have now characterised Hoeness, known for his many acts of charity, as a fallen moral apostle who “preaches water and drinks wine,” a German phrase that suggests double standards.

Hoeness admits the scandal has been “hell”, at a time when Bayern are enjoying unprecedented success, having won their 23rd league title in record time, with Hoeness as the driving force behind their rise as a European powerhouse.

With Pep Guardiola to start as head coach on July 1, the same day Germany star Mario Goetze arrives from rivals Dortmund, fans hope Bayern will reach the same level of success which the ex-Barcelona coach enjoyed with 14 titles in four years at Barcelona.

Hoeness was instrumental in pulling off arguably the biggest signing in the club’s history in January when it was announced they had lured the Spaniard to Munich from under the collective noses of several English Premier League clubs.

Since his arrival as an 18-year-old in 1970, Hoeness has never tolerated criticism of his beloved Bayern and many a reporter has received a blast of his unforgiving tones after a negative comment against his team.

This picture taken on November 18, 2011 shows Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness attending the annual shareholders meeting in Munich, southern Germany. Hoeness will stay on as Bayern president despite having offered to temporarily resign while he faces tax evasion allegations, after a meeting of the Champions League finalists’ supervisory board on May 6, 2013.

With 35 appearances for West Germany, Hoeness, alongside Franz Beckenbauer and goal-scoring ace Gerd Mueller, was at the heart of the Bayern team which won the European Cup in three consecutive seasons between 1974-76.

Spending nearly nine years as a Bayern player, Hoeness won eight titles with the Bavarian giants, until a persistent knee injury forced him to retire when still just 27.

When his career finished in 1979, he carried the same passion for success he had shown on the pitch to his new role as general manager and when Beckenbauer stood down as Bayern president in 2009, Hoeness was ready to succeed him after a 30-year apprenticeship.

Under Hoeness, Bayern have developed a culture of helping teams in financial trouble by setting up friendlies and when current rivals Dortmund faced bankruptcy in 2005, Hoeness saw to it that Bayern lent them the two million euros to pay their players.

Hoeness has gone out of his way to help players in distress: he made sure Gerd Mueller was treated in a clinic when hearing the ex-Bayern goal ace was battling alcoholism after he had retired in 1982. Mueller later became a reserve team coach at Bayern.

Similarly, Hoeness intervened to get Sebastian Deisler professional help when he discovered the rising Bayern star was suffering from depression in 2003.

Hoeness twice narrowly escaped death, first from a car accident in 1975 and then a plane crash in 1982, which killed three of his friends, while a dazed Hoeness was later found walking in nearby woods, suffering from shock.

He may have survived the first round of calls for his resignation, but with the investigation set to take months to be concluded, his off-field ordeal is far from over.