Full name Ulrich Hoeneß Playing position Height 1.81 m Siblings Dieter Hoeneß | Place of birth Ulm, West Germany 1959–1965 VfB Ulm Spouse Susanne Hoeneß (m. 1973) | |
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Date of birth (1952-01-05) 5 January 1952 (age 65) Current team Bayern Munich (President) Children Sabine Hoeneß, Florian Hoeneß Parents Erwin Hoeneß, Paula Hoeneß Similar Karl‑Heinz Rummenigge, Franz Beckenbauer, Holger Badstuber, Jupp Heynckes, Dieter Hoeneß | ||
Ulrich "Uli" Hoeneß ( [ˈuli ˈhøːnɛs]; born 5 January 1952) is the president of German football club Bayern Munich and a retired German footballer who played as a forward for club and country. Hoeneß represented Germany at one World Cup and two European Championships, winning one tournament in each competition.
Contents
- Club career
- International career
- Bayern Munich management
- Personal
- Tax evasion
- Comeback and re election as president of FC Bayern Munich
- Club
- Country
- Literature
- References
During his playing career he was mainly associated with Bayern Munich, later also serving as the club's general manager.
Club career
Hoeneß was born in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg. The left-sided forward was recruited from amateurs TSG Ulm 1846 by Udo Lattek, then manager of Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich, at the age of 18, in 1970. The player immediately made an impact, scoring six times in 31 matches as the Bavarians finished in second position, behind Borussia Mönchengladbach, and adding the domestic cup.
During his eight-and-a-half-year stint with Bayern, Hoeneß enjoyed great success, winning a total of eight accolades, including three league titles and as many European Cups; in the 1973–74 edition of the latter competition, the final replay against Atlético Madrid, he produced one of his most outstanding performances ever, contributing with two goals to the 4–0 victory, in efficient counter-attacking moves. However, in the final of the following year's European Cup, against Leeds United, he suffered a knee injury from which he never fully recovered.
In late 1978, Hoeneß was loaned to Bayern neighbours 1. FC Nürnberg, where it was hoped he could get more match practice. His recovery failed, however, and he was forced to hang up his boots at a mere 27. He had appeared in 250 matches in Germany's top division, netting 86 times.
International career
Hoeneß played 35 times for West Germany. His debut came on 29 March 1972, as he scored the final goal in a 2–0 friendly win in Hungary.
As one of six Bayern players in the German squad, Hoeneß won both UEFA Euro 1972 and the 1974 FIFA World Cup. In the final of the latter, against Holland, he committed a foul on Johan Cruyff in the opening minutes that led to a goal from the subsequent penalty, but the hosts came from behind to win 2–1. He also played with the national side in Euro 1976 in Yugoslavia, where he missed the decisive attempt in the penalty shootout loss against Czechoslovakia, skying it over the crossbar.
Despite his success, Hoeneß retained his amateur status until 1972, allowing him to take part in that year's Summer Olympic Games. There, he played alongside future Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, amongst others, as West Germany failed to qualify for the semifinals of the tournament, losing 2–3 defeat at the hands of East Germany, with Hoeneß scoring his only goal of the tournament. This historic match was also the first between the two Germanies.
Bayern Munich management
Immediately after retiring as a player, Hoeneß was appointed commercial/general manager of Bayern Munich, overseeing a period in which the club enjoyed continued sporting success, winning the Intercontinental Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Cup, 15 German leagues and seven domestic cups (before his arrival, the club had won only seven major trophies in its history).
During his reign, the club also experienced strong growth: revenue increased approximately by twenty-fold and membership of the club increased more than twenty-fold to over nearly 230,000, the second largest membership a football club has in the world. Between 2000 and 2005 Bayern also built a state of the art stadium, the Allianz Arena, at a cost of €340m. It was also one of the venues during the 2006 World Cup. 2012, FC Bayern had an equity of 249 Mio Euro.
Personal
Hoeneß is a son of a butcher, and now co-owns a Nuremberg-based bratwurst factory. Hoeneß's younger brother Dieter also had a very successful career as a player in the Bundesliga. Also a striker, he represented the national team at the 1986 World Cup, at which Germany finished second. In 1982, Hoeneß was the sole survivor of the crash of a light aircraft in which three others died. Sleeping in the rear of the plane, he sustained only minor injuries.
Hoeneß has also provided financial assistance, either personally or through organizing benefit games, to other German league teams like FC St. Pauli, Hertha BSC, Borussia Dortmund, 1860 München and Hansa Rostock.
Tax evasion
On 20 April 2013, it was reported that Hoeneß was being investigated for tax evasion. He was reported to have held a Swiss bank account for the purpose of evading taxes due on investment income, and to owe between €3.2 million and €7 million in taxes to the German state. The reports came after journalists "gained access to a document meant only for internal use by tax officials." Prosecutors from Munich carried out raids in offices of two Bavarian tax offices after Hoeneß filed a complaint. Despite increasing public criticism, Hoeneß has remained in his position as president and chairman of the supervisory board of Bayern Munich.
Hoeneß was accused of tax evasion and his trial began on 10 March 2014. The FC Bayern München AG supervisory board had a "unanimous opinion" that Hoeneß should continue in his role despite being sent to trial.
During the trial, he admitted evading 28.5 million Euros in taxes. He was subsequently found guilty of seven serious counts of tax evasion and sentenced to three and a half years in prison on 13 March 2014. The following day he resigned from his roles as President of Bayern Munich e.V. and chairman of the board of Bayern Munich AG and announced that he would not be appealing against his sentence.
Hoeneß was serving his sentence at Landsberg Prison. Hoeneß wanted to serve his sentence at another prison and submitted a request to transfer from Landsberg Prison. However, Hoeneß reported to Landsberg on 2 June 2014. During the first two weeks of his sentence, Hoeneß was housed in a larger cell with a cellmate "for medical reasons" to adjust to life behind bars. After the initial two weeks, he was moved into a single cell. On 2 January 2015, Hoeneß was granted day release. He had to return to prison at 6 p.m. every night.
There was an alleged attempt to extort €200,000 from Hoeneß whereby he and his family would be subjected to violence unless he paid up. A man was arrested in connection with the scheme. His imprisonment ended on 29 February 2016.
Comeback and re-election as president of FC Bayern Munich
On 8 August 2016, Hoeneß announced that he would seek re-election to the post of president of FC Bayern Munich. He was re-elected on 25 November 2016 with more than 97% of the votes as there were no other candidates for this position.