Sieg and defeat are part of sport, there are negative and positive experiences here, as in everything else in life. I had two great moments in 2022: First, my first German championship as CEO, our tenth in a row. Certainly not everyone in Germany likes this series. But I like her very much. This time it might not have been as emotional as a last-minute championship. But I told the players that with a little distance they will see what historic achievements they have made.
And then there was this game against FC Augsburg in April, when the stands of our Allianz Arena were full again for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. The return of the fans was great, because before that – I really noticed that – a kind of decoupling had taken place. Emotion was missing. Even with me. Sitting in a stadium with only six officials – you can do that sometimes, but not for long. When the fans came back, I felt what football is all about. What is important. Why are we actually doing all this?
My negative moment in 2022 was losing to Villareal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Because, with all due respect for the opponent, that wasn’t what we wanted to do. We lost 1-0 in the first leg. We led 1-0 in the second leg. I was sure we could do it. Then we made it 1-1 shortly before the end. That was a difficult moment. To me. For all. As is almost always the case, I went straight into the dressing room after the game. I then spoke to the team there, which I only do when I really have the feeling that it makes sense, that I can make a difference.
At that moment we weren’t sure we were champions and we were in a difficult emotional situation after the end. I also. For me personally, that’s not so different from my time as a player. First of all, I want to let everything sink in, think, analyze, and maybe there will be a crash – and then we can continue. Just like it is at Bayern Munich. The key is to draw the right conclusions. And I think we did.
Recorded by Christopher Meltzer
