‘We’re already planning for next season’

Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Stuttgart, sealing second place and a berth in next term’s Champions League, means a turbulent season has come to a respectable end for Bayern. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge cut an appropriately relaxed figure in the Mixed Zone at the Allianz Arena after the final match of the campaign. fcbayern.de summarises the chairman’s post-seasn statements to reporters.

Interview: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, what’s your message to new German champions VfL Wolfsburg?
Rummenigge: “If you’re top of the table after 34 matches, you deserve the championship. The league is the most honest of the trophies, because you can always be unlucky on the night in the cup or the Champions League. Those things cancel each other out in the league. You have to congratulate Wolfsburg, and we’re doing just that. I hope they have a terrific party.“

Are you happy with the way the season has ended for Bayern?
Rummenigge: “Definitely. We wanted to hold onto second, because it means we’re in the Champions League, and that matters a lot to us in sporting and financial terms. A lot of money was at stake in today’s game. We’re never going to win the league every year. We’d like to obviously, but if we don’t, it’s not the end of the world. The important thing is qualifying directly for the Champions League.“

Is the respectable finish down to Jupp Heynckes?
Rummenigge: “Jupp has done a fantastic job. He’s turned things round both technically and tactically. He’s led us to four wins and a draw in five games. We’ve seen that the team isn’t that bad after all.“

Was it a decent farewell for Lukas Podolski?
Rummenigge: “He’s come on wonderfully in the last few weeks, proving he basically has all the quality we require at Bayern. I do believe he’s a little sad about leaving, but it’s the right thing for him to do.“

Where are you with your planning for the new season?
Rummenigge: “We’ll sit down with the new coach and begin planning the squad for next season, and we’ll try and conclude our transfer activity as quickly as possible. I think we’ll send out another highly competitive team next season.“

Will there be any spectacular transfers?
Rummenigge: “We try and strengthen the team in key areas every year. That’ll be the case again this year.“