Max Eberl will take over as Bayern’s new board member for sport on 1 March. The 50-year-old was officially unveiled at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday at a press conference alongside supervisory board chairman and club president Herbert Hainer and CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen. Here ’s a round-up of the key statements.
Eberl on starting his job at Bayern
“It's a great pleasure for me to come back after 30 years, to come home. I feel a great sense of excitement to be able to work at this top level. I’m looking forward to meeting many new colleagues and old companions. I'll try to use my skills to achieve the club's ambitious goals. We have big tasks ahead of us, including the search for a coach from the summer. The initial aim is to get the best out of this season. There are enough games left in the Bundesliga and we are also in the hunt in the Champions League. In the summer, we need to build a squad together with Christoph Freund. I'm here to win titles.”
Hainer on Eberl
“We wanted to fill the position of board member for sport. When RB Leipzig and Max Eberl parted ways, it was clear to us that Max was our priority for this position. He has done nothing but play and manage football his whole life. He was raised at Bayern. Max has an incredible passion for Bayern. It is clear to us that Max is an absolute connoisseur of the Bundesliga and has a deep understanding of domestic and international football, which is why he’s such a good fit for us. We need the best people not only on the pitch, but also in the management team in order to achieve our ambitious goals.”
Dreesen on working together with Eberl
“Our collaboration will be trusting and reliable. Max played for Bayern for almost 15 years, he knows the club's DNA. With Max, we are gaining someone who brings a great deal of sporting expertise to the board. Management also only works as a team. Even though he spent a long time at Mönchengladbach, his heart has never stopped beating for Bayern. Welcome home, Max!”
Eberl on the tasks he faces
“For now, the focus is on the remaining three months of this season. At the same time, we realise that we need a new coach in the summer. We will hold talks with Christoph Freund, Herbert Hainer and Jan-Christian Dreesen. We have to find the right coach for Bayern Munich and the players who fit in with Bayern Munich and then also with the coach. These are the tasks that Christoph Freund and I will be tackling. We will hold many talks and I’m sure that we will find the right pieces of the puzzle for the 2024/25 season.”
Hainer on the reorganisation of the board with three members
“Over the past few months, we’ve held intensive discussions in the supervisory board about how we want to organise Bayern in order to meet the complex challenges ahead. We’ve decided to fill three positions on the executive board, to become faster, more effective and also more capable of acting. Following the departure of Andreas Jung in the summer, the board will consist of three people - Jan-Christian Dreesen as chairman, Michael Diederich as deputy and CFO, and Max Eberl for sport. We’re absolutely convinced that we’ve created a structure that allows things to be discussed and acted upon quickly. We have a clear division of roles. We obviously have someone who is responsible for sporting matters in the form of the board member for sport. But everything is managed as a team. Bayern is not a one-man show. We have an absolutely competent board that will make the decisions together.”
Dreesen on acting with far-sightedness in the transfer market
“Maximising sporting success while maintaining economic solidity. That means we’ll continue to proceed with a sense of proportion. The top priority for Bayern is sporting success. We’re also a company, but sporting success comes first. However, we don't just want to enjoy one year of sporting success and always put all our eggs in one basket. We want to celebrate long-term sporting success. And that's why we're also trying to be far-sighted in the transfer market this year.”
Eberl on how he works
“I'm the type of person who likes to get stuck in, and can and wants to work very well in a team. I need the expertise of the people around me. Of course, the task list is very big, but it gives me great pleasure. It's simply fun, you immediately realise that everyone is pulling in the same direction to set Bayern up for a successful future. We want to be successful, but also authentic and credible. That's what 'Mia san mia' means. I am an absolute team player. I'm here to win titles.”
Hainer on direction at Bayern
“Bayern has very ambitious sporting goals. We had a supervisory board meeting yesterday, a very constructive, harmonious one, in which we discussed matters openly, including the future. Our primary goal is sporting success. And of course we also have to make certain financial resources available for this. But Bayern has always generated this itself and is also in a position to do so in the future.”
Dreesen on sporting director Christoph Freund
“Christoph and I have an extremely uncomplicated relationship and are in constant dialogue. Christoph knows Max from the past. He is unpretentious, serves the cause and is a real team player. The important thing is to divide up the tasks in the sporting area. There is plenty of work to do, I will do my part and I’m sure that we will harmonise well as a team.”
Read more from Eberl’s unveiling here:
Topics of this article