Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is a living legend in Bayern Munich. The former player and CEO, who has witnessed an era on and off the field, now serves as a member of its supervisory board. He sat down to talk with A.S previous to The second leg of the Champions League semi-final will be held on Wednesday between Bayern and Real Madrid at the Bernabéu With a 2-2 draw. Aside from talking about the eternal rivalry between the two clubs, he also sent a letter to Florentino Pérez, asking the Madrid president to reconsider his plans regarding the Premier League.
What are your thoughts after the first leg?
Both teams played a great match. I was hoping for a 2-1 win, but I have to admit Real Madrid were also good and deserved a draw.
What went through your mind when you saw Kroos pass the ball to Vinicius on goal?
To be honest with you, it scared me a little bit that he was able to play a ball like that from that distance and pass it through our entire defence. Then there was Vinicius, a player who is difficult to stop if you give him an advantage of even half a metre.
Musiala wasn't bad either.
Yes but we need him to keep his feet on the ground and we should avoid giving him too much worship at this stage of his career. God has given him extreme talent, but he has not yet reached his peak. We'll be doing him a disservice if we start venerating him now, because that's not helping. The only thing we will achieve by this is creating counterproductive expectations.
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What do you think of Bellingham?
Real Madrid should be congratulated on his signing. He scores, he assists, he runs, he fights, he recovers the ball… he does everything well. He made the decision to join Real Madrid early on and I can only say that Dortmund were very happy when they realized that Bayern no longer had the option to join.
What should Bayern do to return?
I know what lies ahead because I have experienced it many times, both while active and while on the board. Staying at the Bernabéu is complicated, but possible. Leipzig showed that in the round of 16, and my friend Pep Guardiola also recently proved that you can cause Real Madrid problems at the Bernabéu. What helps us is that goals scored away from home no longer have double value, so we start again with a score of 0-0. I trust the version that Bayern showed throughout the entire Champions League season.
“Bayern Madrid is a classic of European football, history says so.”
In Spain, the general opinion was that overcoming Manchester City was the most difficult task for Real Madrid.
With all respect, Bayern-Madrid is a classic of European football. I am not saying that, history says that. We have faced each other a total of 27 times in the continent's highest competition, and no encounter has occurred more often than that. This was exactly what my friend Florentino Pérez wanted, wasn't it?
Do you mean the Premier League?
I have always maintained a great relationship with Real Madrid, especially with Florentino Pérez and Vice President Pedro Lopez. That appreciation and respect is still there and the only thing I ask of them is to bury their Premier League plans. That's it. Do you know what's happening?
no tell me…
We have a common problem, but we have different solutions. We live in a world where more and more clubs are in the hands of investors. And be warned: we're no longer just talking about billionaires, we're talking about billionaires whom the Premier League continues to welcome with open arms. Then there are television revenues in England. It is infinitely larger than in Spain or Germany. For clubs like Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, this is a big problem because of the simple fact that we don't start on par with English clubs. I am convinced that here lies Florentino's problem. Their war is not against UEFA, but against the inequality that we have suffered for many years because of the Premier League.
Saudi Arabia also wants to join the party.
We have to be patient. What happened in the recent transfer markets does not worry me. In short, they spent a fortune mostly on veteran players. Don't get me wrong, I can completely understand a footballer going to Saudi Arabia at the end of his career. The real problem will arise if our young people decide to follow in their footsteps, but I don't think they will give up money and be willing to put their careers on the line for it.
Do you think Florentino will change his mind?
“Florentino, come back to the football family!” I asked him on Tuesday. “Our family needs Madrid and needs you.” We must remember that Florentino is a very important figure in the world of football. I remember those times when we all admired the Santiago Bernabéu and his work at the head of this club, He was one of the best presidents in history. Today I have to say that Florentino is at his level, he is, along with the Bernabéu, one of the most important people who have been at Real Madrid all these years he spent at the helm of Bayern and the European Club Association I used to travel every year to Madrid to meet with him and Pedro Sanchez and agree on many issues. The only thing we disagree on is the Champions League is the best club competition and the image is the highest. My only wish is that Florentino and Real Madrid will think about the conditions in which the club can return to our family under the roof of UEFA.
“My friend Florentino is on par with Santiago Bernabéu.”
A family that witnessed epic confrontations between the two clubs. Isn't that true?
And all because of a big mistake we made.
What do you mean?
It was friendly. I remember it well, because I also played that day. We beat them 9-1, and it seems to me that they sent off Boskov on the same day (it was not, in fact, the case that Real Madrid reached the European Cup final). It was absolutely humiliating, because we had practically caught them on vacation and we had already spent time in pre-season. But we were wrong. Paul (Breitner) came into the dressing room after he scored his goal just like me and said: ‘We are crazy to do this. Next time we play at the Bernabéu, they will kill us.’ And that day came. Shortly after the Santiago Bernabéu Cup, I saw myself. I play alongside Klaus (Augenthaler) as a centre-back, because if I hadn't, Camacho would have really killed me. This is where it all started and then the legend of the Black Monster came about, although I have to admit that the last time we were a Black Monster was In the semi-finals of 2012. Since then, they have become more than our white monster.
Real Madrid continued to win one Champions League title after another.
Real Madrid is the most famous and successful club in the world. There is a lot of talk about club coefficients in UEFA, but club coefficients in the last decade are much more interesting. The first is Real Madrid, followed by Bayern in second place. We weren't that bad either, we won the Champions League in 2013 and 2020. There is no doubt that the two most successful teams of the past decade will meet on Wednesday.
The Bundesliga is also getting a lot of attention at the moment.
I remember saying in 2013 that we wouldn't play a German Champions League final again for a long time, and eleven years later, it's theoretically possible again. Then there is Bayer Leverkusen, who already have a foot and a half in the Europa League final. The German League played a major role this season at the international level and will be rewarded with fifth place in the next edition of the Champions League. If not, Borussia [Dortmund] It will be difficult to play it again.
“I was always convinced that Xavi would be a successful coach.”
Were you surprised by the year Xabi Alonso spent at Leverkusen?
Yes and no. Yes because he took charge of Leverkusen when they were in penultimate place, no because I know him well from his time at Bayern and I was always convinced that he would eventually become a successful coach. Let's not forget that he worked with the best coaches in the world: Guardiola, Ancelotti, Benitez, Mourinho. Since he is a very intelligent person, he absorbed all the details and then created his own formula based on them. The title is worthy.
After eleven years of Bavarian domination.
That's right, which is why it doesn't seem as dramatic to come in second over the finish line this time. Half the country was screaming for a champion other than us, and this season their wish finally came true. Now we have to prepare to become champions again next year.
But Xavi is still there.
This does not surprise me. Xavi is a talented man, but at the same time he is also very grateful. I remember we gave him a two-year contract when he arrived in Munich. Then I met his representative. Inaki, who is also very cute by the way. It was very dangerous at all times, but it only took us five minutes to agree to continue another season with us. He made it clear to us that he wanted to retire from Bayern and that's what happened. On that day, our captain Philipp Lahm also said goodbye and I asked all the club staff to give them a standing ovation after the final training session. No one was missing. Bayern knows who Xavi is. Xavi knows who we are at Bayern.
“Nothing makes Ancelotti lose his temper, he is a gentleman from head to toe (…) There was no need to sign any contract because his word is worth more than ink.”
What does your Bayern team need to do to get back to the top in Germany?
Firstly, we must take into account that we are back in the Champions League semi-finals after three seasons of being eliminated from the quarter-finals. This is actually a positive thing. Before thinking about next year, we have to do our best to take the remaining two steps to get it back. There will be time to think about everything else.
Are you worried about how things are going at Bayern?
The most important thing is continuity and we have to criticize ourselves. Lately, we've gone a bit out of our way, both on the bench and off the field. Bayern must regain that stability at all levels that has always distinguished them. You have to keep in mind that people like Uli (Hoeneß), Franz (Beckenbauer) and I have been at the helm of this ship for a hundred years, at least that was my feeling. It is difficult for this type of stay in a high position to be repeated again, but Bayern must return to the path of continuity.
Also on the bench.
These are issues that no longer concern me directly since I stepped down as CEO. My only advice is to be more water resistant again. When we signed Pep, we spent a total of six months working on the process and no one found out. You have to move all over the board, yes, without your next move appearing every day in all the newspapers.
His successor was Ancelotti, whom they will face on Wednesday.
Carlo is a lovely person. What impressed me most was his stoic calm. Nothing would ever make him lose his temper. He is a gentleman from head to toe. I remember that he shook our hands when we were negotiating with him to become coach of Bayern, and there was no need to sign any contract because his word is more precious than ink. There also weren't agents like you today in such large numbers when you meet a footballer and they want a share. I've never heard anyone say a bad word about Carlo in my entire life. Thanks to his slow personality, he fits in perfectly with a club, sometimes also turbulent, like Real Madrid. It's unfortunate that we had to break up and I remember very well that I was the one who had to tell him. We shed a few tears and then left a message that I will never forget. He told me that he was no longer my boss, but that he would still be my friend. And to know that we will remain friends forever.
