‘Unprecedented crisis’: Rummenigge on tough times at Bayern | OneFootball

On his 70th birthday, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge reflected on one of the most challenging periods in FC Bayern's history. In an interview with SPORT1, the long-standing chairman recalls his start as vice-president in 1991 - and the sporting crisis the record champions found themselves in at the time.

"Back then, FC Bayern was in an unprecedented crisis," says Rummenigge. "Everything was on fire. We had slipped to 12th or 13th place in the table, freshly knocked out in the 2nd round of the UEFA Cup by today's FC Copenhagen. It was a crisis like I have never experienced again - not even close."

Bayern in tenth place - and almost in a relegation battle

Photo: IMAGO

After the end of his active career and a brief interlude as a TV expert, Rummenigge returned to office in 1991. His first task: to get the club back on track. But the situation was dramatic. The separation from Jupp Heynckes and the appointment of rookie coach Sören Lerby had proven to be mistakes. "Everything seemed stuck," Rummenigge recalls.

In the 1991/92 season, FCB missed a breakthrough. In the end, they only finished in tenth place - one of the weakest results in the club's history. "We were playing in Stuttgart against the Kickers. At halftime, the score was 1:0 for the Kickers and we were in the live table in the third-to-last place! Unimaginable from today's perspective. Luckily, the game turned around, we won and were able to avoid the worst."

The new beginning with Beckenbauer

The lessons learned from this crisis significantly shaped Rummenigge's work in the following years. Together with Franz Beckenbauer, he reshaped the club, put the sporting structures on a stable footing, and led FCB back to the national top.

"It was clear: something was not working in this club. And it was our task to find out what," says Rummenigge. With success: Just a few years later, FC Bayern was again a title contender - and thus laid the foundation for the successes that continue to shape the record champions to this day.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.