Uli Hoeneß criticized Julian Nagelsmann for his coaching decisions, prompting a defense from DFB director Andreas Rettig. Rettig emphasized that Nagelsmann's performance should not be judged harshly given the team's injury challenges.
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07 November 2025, Hesse, Frankfurt/Main: Julian Nagelsmann (r), national coach, and Andreas Rettig, DFB Managing Director Sport, talk at the German Football Association (DFB) Bundestag on the DFB campus in the plenary hall. Photo: Arne Dedert/dpa (Photo by Arne Dedert/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Bayern Munich’s honorary president and supervisory board member Uli Hoeneß has made no secret of his severe disagreements with many of the decisions of Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann, publicly calling the former Bayern head coach out for not settling on a consistent starting XI and overrating his importance in relation to the team.
But DFB director Andreas Rettig has hit back against the 74-year-old, not only defending his manager but also throwing a few barbs back at Hoeneß:
“I don’t recall anyone from the DFB asking Mr. Hoeneß to issue an interim report for Mr. Nagelsmann,” Rettig retorted, as captured by @iMiaSanMia. “I also don’t know his motivation and what’s driving him to say that now. Our coach isn’t as bad as some people claim. We always had at least eight, at times up to ten injured players. That could not be blamed on the coach.”
Besides, Germany are not the only fans of Nagelsmann’s work, former or otherwise. “Uli Hoeneß’ Bayern paid €25m for Julian Nagelsmann, and would gladly have brought him back after his dismissal. There must be a reason for that.”
Uli Hoeneß criticized Nagelsmann for not establishing a consistent starting XI and for overrating his importance to the team.
Andreas Rettig defended Nagelsmann, questioning Hoeneß's motivations and highlighting the impact of injuries on the team's performance.
The criticism arose during discussions about the German national team's performance, with Hoeneß publicly airing his disagreements with Nagelsmann's coaching decisions.
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Now let us see if Hoeneß takes the retort lying down or if the disagreements boil over as the days to the World Cup tick down.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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