Hoeneß vs. Rangnick: From a "know-it-all" to a "great man"
He's just a “Know-it-all”
In the mid- to late 2000s, Bayern's biggest opponent changed every other year. It started with Leverkusen and Dortmund in 2001/02, then Werder Bremen became Bayern's biggest rival from 2003 to 2006, and in 2007 VfB Stuttgart beat Bayern to win the Bundesliga title.
With Schalke and Hamburg also giving the Bavarian giants a tough time, these were the teams that took turns making life difficult for Bayern. But in 2008, a completely new team dared to challenge all of them at once: TSG Hoffenheim.
Coming from a small town in Germany called Sinsheim, Hoffenheim reminded everybody in Germany of Kaiserslautern's historic run in 1998, in which they were able to win the Bundesliga - as a newly promoted team! After 17 matchdays, Hoffenheim, newly promoted to the Bundesliga, crowned themselves “Herbstmeister” - they were first on goal difference in December of 2008!
As always, the Bayern bosses were perplexed and didn't want to accept this new challenger from a small town as their newest rival - but that changed when then Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick called Bayern out:
“If you want to hear exciting and fun talk, you'll have to go to Munich - but if you want to see exciting and fun football, then you're right in watching Hoffenheim.”
Bayern president Uli Hoeneß, always known for his quick responses and digs at the opponent, answered by saying: “If I'm worried about anything at Hoffenheim, it's the ”Know-it-all" behaviour from Ralf Rangnick. He always had a good first year in his career and in the second year he got sacked. He just doesn't understand what to do after a few good months, he's not made for that."
Funnily enough, neither Hoffenheim nor Bayern went on to win the Bundesliga in the 2008/09 season - the title went to Felix Magath's VfL Wolfsburg. Hoffenheim have never been on top again since.
He's a “great man”
After this turbulent exchange of words in 2008, many years have passed - Bayern went on a winning streak and collected eleven Bundesliga titles in a row, while Hoffenheim got used to the mid-table places in the Bundesliga table.
Ralf Rangnick, however, went on to many other adventures, including managing Manchester United in 2021/22 and winning the DFB-Pokal with Schalke in 2011. But he's most known for his work with RB Leipzig - it was the second time Rangnick brought a club to the top of the Bundesliga (after Hoffenheim) - but Leipzig were able to stay there.
In his time at Leipzig, he changed from being the coach to being sporting director and eventually becoming a supervisor for the whole RB project, including helping other RB teams in a sort of advisor role.
After becoming Austria's head coach in 2022 (right after his time in Manchester), Rangnick revolutionized the team and implemented his playing style - with great success. Austria not only beat Germany at the end of 2023, they are going to the Euros in 2024 as a “dark horse”.
At the same time, Bayern Munich's quest for a new coach led to them looking at Ralf Rangnick - unimaginable back in 2008. With Alonso and Nagelsmann officially declining Bayern, Rangnick is now the odds-on favorite to become Thomas Tuchel's successor.
Uli Hoeneß, now a member of Munich's supervisory board, had to somewhat “track back” on his comments he made in 2008 - as Bild reports, Hoeneß now sees Rangnick as a “great man” and he believes Rangnick is the right man for Bayern in the summer.
Whether or not the often called “Professor of football” actually makes the change from being Austria coach to Bayern Munich coach is not decided - but it certainly would be an interesting watch for all fans.