Uli Hoeneß was beaming from ear to ear, the photographers snapping in radiant sunlight: the atmosphere at Wittelsbacher Platz/Kardinal-Döpfner-Straße in Munich was amicable, in stark contrast to 27 February 1900. In the same place, a group of disgruntled men had founded FC Bayern Munich late in the evening. FC Bayern president Uli Hoeneß and Siemens AG chairman Joe Kaeser unveiled a memorial stone exactly where the Café Gisela, the place of FCB's foundation, stood 117 years ago.
Lead by Franz John, who would later become FCB's first president, 11 furious men left a meeting of the Männer Turn-Verein (MTV) because the club refused to give them permission to join a league. The footballers moved to the Café Gisela and founded their own club. On Monday a memorial stone was unveiled at that very spot, today owned by Siemens, an appropriate place to talk about the current situation at FC Bayern.
Uli Hoeneß on...
...Germany's triumphs in the European U-21 championship and the Confederations Cup: "Both events were fantastic for German football, especially the U-21s match. How wonderfully dominant our team were, controlling the final against Spain, who're regarded as one of the heavyweights in young European football. But Jogi Löw's men in Russia have also represented Germany in a wonderful way. We all can be proud to have great talents in both our U-21s and the standby candidates of our senior squad. I'm convinced we're well-prepared for the next five to ten years."
...Joshua Kimmich: "It goes to show you have to be patient and hand a young player a chance. I'm very happy Carlo Ancelotti has said he plans to integrate Joshua at right-back. He was buoyed by this confidence during the Confed Cup. We've all seen the result."
...Corentin Tolisso: "I've thoroughly acquainted myself with him and only received positive information. I'm really looking forward to meeting him. I tend to experiment instead of buying the big names for 60, 70, 80 million Euro and who're 26, 27, 28, 29 years old. I think it's a very reasonable decision to sign a 22-year-old with a good reputation."
...Sebastian Rudy: "The most successful transfers are the best ones, not those that cost the most money. I'm convinced Sebastian Rudy is one of those cases in which the value for money speaks most for the player."
...the goal for this season: "If we clinch the championship title I'll be very satisfied. We're facing an upheaval. It's a matter of course we aim to win more than one title in the midterm, after this upheaval."
...the trip to China: "You can't keep talking about internationalisation if you don't go where the fans are. If you want to reach out to these new markets you have to go there. But I also like that we have appointments close to home this year: in Wolfratshausen, in Erlangen. That's how I see FC Bayern."
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