November 27 – Uli Hoeness (pictured) has replaced Franz Beckenbauer as president of Bayern Munich, taking the top job after 30 years as general manager it was announced today.
Beckenbauer has become the club’s honorary president and will get a farewell match against Real Madrid in August 2010.
The 64-year-old did not get a testimonial as a player when he left to join New York Cosmos in 1977 under controversial circumstances.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern’s executive chairman said: ”His departure in 1977 didn’t occur as it should have.
“He is without a doubt the personality that has most marked the club.”
Beckenbauer played 427 Bundesliga matches and scored 60 goals for Bayern between 1964 and 1977.
He won four league titles, four German Cup and three European titles with the club.
Beckenbauer played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1977 to 1980 before joining Hamburg in 1982.
Hoeness, 57, was elected to the post as expected at the club’s annual general meeting.
He received 4,458 of 4,490 votes.
Hugely popular with fans of his own club, if not with those of others, Hoeness has become a byword for survival and success.
He played 250 Bundesliga matches for Bayern, scoring 86 goals, and was part of the team that won the European Cup three times as well as three League titles and a German Cup.
He also played 35 times for the German national side, clinching the 1972 European Championship before succeeding in winning the ultimate prize, a 1974 World Cup win against Holland in Munich, when Beckenbauer was captain.
Hoeness’ career was effectively ended when he suffered a knee injury in the 1975 European Cup final against Leeds United.
In 1979, he was made general manager of Bayern.
He has overseen a period in which the club has enjoyed unprecedented success, winning the Intercontinental Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Cup, 15 German Bundesliga titles and seven German Cups.
During his reign the club has experienced strong financial growth: revenue increased approximately by twentyfold and membership of the club increased tenfold to over 100,000 making Bayern the second largest membership based football club in the world behind Barcelona.
Between 2000–05 Bayern has also built a state of the art stadium, the Allianz Arena at a cost of €340 million (£309 million), which was also one of the venues during the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
In his combined career as player and general manager of Bayern Munich, Hoeness has been involved in two Intercontinental and four European Cups, 17 Bundesliga titles and nine German Cups plus one UEFA Cup triumph.
To put this in perspective before Hoeness arrived, the club had won a mere seven major trophies in its history.
At its annual meeting, Bayern also reported revenues of €268.7 million (£244 million), slightly down from €286.8 million (£260.5 million) the previous year.
Profit rose slightly to €2.5 million (£2.2 million) from €2.1 million (£1.9 million).
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