Uli Hoeneß Explained

Uli Hoeneß
Fullname:Ulrich Hoeneß
Birth Date:5 January 1952
Birth Place:Ulm, West Germany
Height:1.81 m
Currentclub:Bayern Munich (board member)
Position:Forward
Youthyears1:1959–1965
Youthclubs1:VfB Ulm
Youthyears2:1965–1970
Youthclubs2:TSG Ulm 1846
Years1:1970–1979
Clubs1:Bayern Munich
Caps1:239
Goals1:86
Years2:1978–1979
Clubs2:1. FC Nürnberg (loan)
Caps2:11
Goals2:0
Totalcaps:250
Totalgoals:86
Nationalyears1:1968–1970
Nationalteam1:West Germany Youth
Nationalcaps1:17
Nationalgoals1:5
Nationalyears2:1969–1972
Nationalteam2:West Germany Amateur
Nationalcaps2:22
Nationalgoals2:3
Nationalyears3:1971–1973
Nationalteam3:West Germany U23
Nationalcaps3:2
Nationalgoals3:1
Nationalyears4:1972–1976
Nationalteam4:West Germany
Nationalcaps4:35
Nationalgoals4:5

Ulrich "Uli" Hoeneß (pronounced as /de/, ; born 5 January 1952) is a German football executive and former professional player who played as a forward.[1] He played for West Germany at one World Cup and two European Championships, winning one tournament of each competition. During his playing career, he was mainly associated with Bayern Munich, where he won three Bundesliga titles and three European Cups.

Hoeneß later served as Bayern Munich's general manager, and eventually as the club's president from 2009 to 2014 and 2016 to 2019.[2] [3] In 2014, he pleaded guilty to tax evasion, ultimately serving 18 months in prison for the offence.

Early life and education

Hoeneß was born in Ulm, Württemberg-Baden.[4] He attended the Hans-Multscher-Grundschule before changing to the Schubarth-Gymnasium, both located in Ulm.[5]

Club career

In 1970, he played as left-sided forward with amateurs TSG Ulm 1846 and was recruited by Udo Lattek, then manager of Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Hoeneß immediately made an impact, scoring six times in 31 matches as the Bavarians finished in second position, behind Borussia Mönchengladbach, and adding the domestic cup.

During his eight-and-a-half-year stint with Bayern, Hoeneß enjoyed great success, winning a total of eight major titles, including three league titles and as many European Cups. In the 1973–74 edition of the latter competition, the final replay against Atlético Madrid, he produced one of his most outstanding performances, scoring two goals in the 4–0 victory. However, in the final of the following year's European Cup against Leeds United, he was brutally fouled by Frank Gray and suffered an injury on his right knee from which he never fully recovered.

In late 1978, Hoeneß was loaned to Bayern neighbours 1. FC Nürnberg, where it was hoped he could get more match practice. His recovery failed, however, and he was forced to hang up his boots at a mere 27. He had appeared in 250 matches in Germany's top division, netting 86 times.[6]

International career

thumb|upright|Hoeneß with the Germany national team, 1974Hoeneß played 35 times for West Germany. His debut came on 29 March 1972, he scored the final goal in a 2–0 friendly win in Hungary.[7]

As one of six Bayern players in the German squad, Hoeneß won both UEFA Euro 1972 and the 1974 FIFA World Cup. In the final of the latter, against Holland, he committed a foul on Johan Cruyff in the opening minute that led to a goal from the subsequent penalty, but West Germany came from behind to win 2–1. He also played with the national side in Euro 1976 in Yugoslavia, where he missed the decisive West German shot in the penalty shootout loss against Czechoslovakia, skying it over the crossbar.

Hoeneß had retained his amateur status until 1972, allowing him to take part in that year's Summer Olympic Games.[8] There, he played alongside future Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld as West Germany failed to qualify for the semifinals of the tournament, losing 3–2 to East Germany, a match in which Hoeneß scored his only goal of the tournament. This historic match was also the first between West Germany and East Germany.

Bayern Munich management

thumb|upright|Hoeneß in 2013Immediately after retiring as a player in May 1979, Hoeneß was appointed commercial/general manager of Bayern Munich. On 27 November 2009, after 30 years as a general manager, Hoeneß was elected president of the club. During his reign, the club experienced strong growth in revenue and stature. Between 2002 and 2005, Bayern also built a state-of-the-art stadium, the Allianz Arena, at a cost of €340 million. Hoeneß was one of the catalyst for the building of the stadium.

In August 2016, Hoeneß announced that he would seek re-election to the post of president of Bayern Munich.[9] He was re-elected in November 2016 with more than 97% of the votes, as there were no other candidates for this position.[10]

On 1 May 2019, Hoeneß celebrated 40 years of working for Bayern's management. When he started on 1 May 1979, Bayern had twelve employees, 12 million Deutschmarks in revenue, and 8 million marks of debt.[11] In November 2018, Bayern had over 1,000 employees[12] and their revenue had risen to €657.4 million.[13]

On 15 November 2019, Hoeneß retired as Bayern's president and was succeeded by Herbert Hainer. Hoeneß spent 49 years at Bayern, both as player and in management of the club.[14]

Personal life

Hoeneß and his wife Susanne have two children, Sabine and Florian, and have been married for over 40 years. Hoeneß is a son of a master butcher, and now co-owns HoWe Wurstwaren KG, a Nuremberg-based bratwurst factory.[15] Hoeneß's younger brother Dieter also had a very successful career as a player in the Bundesliga and for the West Germany national team.[16]

On 17 February 1982, Hoeneß was the sole survivor of the crash of a light aircraft in which three others died. He was on his way to a West Germany national team friendly. Sleeping in the rear of the plane, he sustained only minor injuries.

Hoeneß has provided financial assistance, either personally or through organizing benefit games, to other German league teams like FC St. Pauli, Hertha BSC, Borussia Dortmund, 1860 München and Hansa Rostock.[17] [18] [19] [20] [21]

Hoeneß has helped former Bayern players like Sebastian Deisler (depression), Breno (depression) and Gerd Müller (alcoholism) in times of need.

Tax evasion and imprisonment

In April 2013, it was reported that Hoeneß was being investigated for tax evasion.[22] He was reported to have held a Swiss bank account for the purpose of evading taxes due on investment income, and to owe between €3.2 million and €7 million in taxes to the German state.[23] The reports came after journalists "gained access to a document meant only for internal use by tax officials."[24] Prosecutors from Munich carried out raids in offices of two Bavarian tax offices after Hoeneß filed a complaint.[24] Despite increasing public criticism, Hoeneß has remained in his position as president and chairman of the supervisory board of Bayern Munich.[25]

Hoeneß was accused of tax evasion,[26] and his trial began on 10 March 2014.[26] The Bayern München AG supervisory board had a "unanimous opinion" that Hoeneß should continue in his role despite being sent to trial.[27] During the trial, he admitted evading 28.5 million euros in taxes.[28] He was subsequently found guilty of seven serious counts of tax evasion and sentenced to three and a half years in prison on 13 March 2014.[29] The following day he resigned from his roles as President of Bayern Munich e.V. and chairman of the board of Bayern Munich AG and announced that he would not be appealing against his sentence.[29] [30]

Hoeneß was to serve his sentence at Landsberg Prison.[31] Hoeneß submitted a request to be confined to a different prison,[32] however, he reported to Landsberg on 2 June 2014.[33] During the first two weeks of his sentence, Hoeneß was housed in a larger cell with a cellmate "for medical reasons" and to help adjust to life behind bars.[31] After the initial two weeks, he was moved into a single cell.[31] On 2 January 2015, Hoeneß was granted day release.[34] He had to return to prison at 6 p.m. every night.[34]

There was an alleged attempt to extort €200,000 from Hoeneß under the threat of violence to him and his family. A man was arrested in connection with the scheme.[35] His imprisonment ended on 29 February 2016.[36]

Career statistics

ClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotal
LeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bayern Munich1969–70Bundesliga00100010[37]
1970–71Bundesliga3166071447[38]
1971–72Bundesliga341353814717[39] [40]
1972–73Bundesliga341763624622[41] [42]
1973–74Bundesliga3418421064826[43] [44]
1974–75Bundesliga28831733812[45] [46]
1975–76Bundesliga1745151276[47] [48]
1976–77Bundesliga2794480204113[49] [50] [51]
1977–78Bundesliga301120613812[52] [53]
1978–79Bundesliga402060[54]
Totals239863814571520336115
1. FC Nürnberg (loan)1978–79Bundesliga11010120
Career totals250863914571520348115

Honours

Bayern Munich

West Germany

Individual

Political positions and activism

In his country, Hoeneß publicly opposed the right-wing populist and extremist political party AfD in 2024, emphasizing his rejection of political movements that could tend towards National Socialism. In an interview with the 'FAZ,' he expressed concern about the popularity of the AfD and strongly emphasized that a return to such ideological tendencies as during the Nazi era should never be tolerated. Hoeneß underscored the importance of political activism, even in areas like sports, and called for action against extremist tendencies. He mentioned that he regularly watches n-tv and is particularly moved by documentaries about the Nazi era, including the concentration and extermination camps. These experiences evidently shape his political stance and his commitment to democratic values.[57]

Literature

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hoeneß, Uli . de . . 9 September 2011.
  2. Bayern president takes swipe at Klinsmann . . 20 October 2011 . 13 December 2011.
  3. Web site: Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness rules out January transfers . Goal . 30 November 2011 . 13 December 2011.
  4. Web site: Uli Hoeneß . worldfootball.net . 18 November 2019.
  5. Web site: Hoeneß-Biografie: Uli, der Schulsprecher . de . Abendzeitung . 12 November 2009 . 18 November 2019.
  6. Web site: Ulrich 'Uli' Hoeneß – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga . Matthias . Arnhold . 30 April 2015 . 12 May 2015 . Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  7. Web site: Ulrich 'Uli' Hoeneß – International Appearances . Matthias . Arnhold . 30 April 2015 . 12 May 2015 . Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  8. Uli Hoeneß . 12 May 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161203082938/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ho/uli-hoeness-1.html . dead . 3 December 2016.
  9. News: FC Bayern München: Uli Hoeneß wird wieder Präsi... äh stellt sich zur Wahl . Der Spiegel . de . 8 August 2016 . 26 November 2016.
  10. News: Uli Hoeneß ist wieder Bayern-Präsident . Der Spiegel . de . 25 November 2016 . 26 November 2016.
  11. Web site: Uli Hoeneß: Devoted to FC Bayern for 40 years . fcbayern.com . 14 June 2019.
  12. Web site: New office building opened at Säbener Straße . fcbayern.com . 14 June 2019.
  13. Web site: FC Bayern rests on "very solid foundations" . fcbayern.com . 14 June 2019.
  14. Web site: Hoeneß: It was a wonderful time. That's it! . FC Bayern Munich . 15 November 2019 . 17 November 2019.
  15. Web site: Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness: Four decades in charge . dw.com . 15 June 2019.
  16. Web site: Dieter mit Uli im Steinbruch . https://archive.today/20120912010757/http://www.tagesspiegel.de/sport/hertha-bsc/dieter-mit-uli-im-steinbruch/1490114.html . dead . 12 September 2012 . Dieter and Uli in a quarry . . de . 6 April 2009 . 13 December 2011 .
  17. Book: Hesse-Lichtenberger, Ulrich . Ulrich Hesse-Lichtenberger . Tor!: The Story of German Football . 978-0954013455 . 2003. WSC Books Limited .
  18. Web site: Uli Hoeneß – der König von St. Pauli . de . merkur-online.de . 13 July 2003 . 29 January 2013.
  19. News: Millionen-Leihgabe aus München: Hoeneß als BVB-Retter . Der Spiegel . de . Spiegel Online . 6 February 2012 . 29 January 2013.
  20. Web site: Hoeneß: Warum der FC Bayern den Löwen hilft . de . tz-online.de . 30 March 2011 . 29 January 2013.
  21. Web site: Bayern München will Rostock mit Benefiz-Spiel helfen . de . Financial Times Deutschland . 8 May 2012 . 29 January 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130121145532/http://www.ftd.de/sport/fussball/2bundesliga/news/:bayern-muenchen-will-rostock-mit-benefiz-spiel-helfen/70033957.html . 21 January 2013 .
  22. News: Steuerermittlungen gegen Hoeneß nach Selbstanzeige. 20 April 2013. Die Welt. 20 April 2013. de.
  23. Web site: Richter erließ Haftbefehl gegen Hoeneß . de . sueddeutsche.de . 23 April 2013 . 26 May 2013.
  24. News: Prosecutors raid tax offices in Hoeness affair. 17 February 2014. Deutsche Welle. 23 January 2014.
  25. News: Fall Hoeneß: Titeljagd hat Vorrang . Der Spiegel . de . spiegel.de . 6 May 2013 . 26 May 2013. Leischwitz . Christoph .
  26. News: Im März 2014 wird Uli Hoeneß der Prozess gemacht. 4 November 2013. Die Welt. 4 November 2013. de.
  27. News: FC Bayern München AG Supervisory Board statement. 4 November 2013. Bayern Munich. 4 November 2013.
  28. Web site: Bayern Munich boss Uli Hoeness quits, faces up to jail term . DW. 14 March 2014 . 15 March 2014.
  29. News: Uli Hoeness resigns as Bayern Munich president after court case. 14 March 2014. BBC Sports. 14 March 2014.
  30. News: Keine Revision: Hoeneß legt alle Ämter nieder. 15 March 2014. kicker. 14 March 2014. de.
  31. News: Hack. Jens. Former Bayern Munich prez sent to 'Mein Kampf' jail for tax evasion crackdown. 31 March 2014. Toronto Sun. 31 March 2014. Reuters.
  32. News: Ramelsberger. Annette. Warum Hoeneß nicht nach Landsberg will. 12 May 2014. Süddeutsche Zeitung. 12 May 2014. de.
  33. News: Hoeneß trat heute Haftstrafe an. 2 June 2014. Österreich. 2 June 2014. de.
  34. News: Ex-Bayern Munich chief Uli Hoeness granted day release. 2 January 2015. BBC News. 2 January 2015.
  35. News: Police arrest man in Hoeneß blackmail sting. 13 May 2014. The Local. 13 May 2014.
  36. Web site: Former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness released from prison . The Guardian. 29 February 2016 . 11 June 2016.
  37. Web site: Ulrich Hoeneß. Fussballdaten.de. 16 March 2014. de.
  38. Web site: Hoeneß, Uli. kicker. 16 March 2014. de.
  39. Web site: Hoeneß, Uli. kicker. 16 March 2014. de.
  40. Web site: Ulrich Hoeneß. Fussballdaten.de. 16 March 2014. de.
  41. Web site: Hoeneß, Uli. kicker. 16 March 2014. de.
  42. Web site: Ulrich Hoeneß. Fussballdaten.de. 16 March 2014. de.
  43. Web site: Hoeneß, Uli. kicker. 16 March 2014. de.
  44. Web site: Ulrich Hoeneß. Fussballdaten/de. 16 March 2014. de.
  45. Web site: Hoeneß, Uli. kicker. 15 March 2014. de.
  46. Web site: Ulrich Hoeneß. Fussballdaten.de. de.
  47. Web site: Hoeneß, Uli. kicker. 16 March 2014. de.
  48. Web site: Ulrich Hoeneß. Fussballdaten.de. 16 March 2014. de.
  49. Web site: Hoeneß, Uli. kicker. 16 March 2014. de.
  50. Web site: Ulrich Hoeneß. Fussballdaten.de. 16 March 2014. de.
  51. News: Ross. James M.. European Competitions 1975–76. 16 March 2014. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  52. Web site: Hoeneß, Uli. kicker. 16 March 2014. de.
  53. Web site: Ulrich Hoeneß. Fussballdaten.de. 16 March 2014. de.
  54. Web site: Ulrich Hoeneß. Fussballdaten.de. 16 March 2014. de.
  55. News: 1972 team of the tournament . Union of European Football Associations . 23 January 2015.
  56. Web site: Bundesliga Historie 1973/74. de. kicker.
  57. Web site: 2024-02-09 . ntv-Programm wühlt Uli Hoeneß schmerzhaft auf . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240209182456/https://www.n-tv.de/sport/fussball/ntv-Programm-wuehlt-Uli-Hoeness-schmerzhaft-auf-article24725950.html . 2024-02-09 . 2024-02-11 . ntv.de . DE.