Bayern Munich’s Christian Nerlinger: Infrastructure Is What’s Needed For The Development Of Indian Football

EXCLUSIVE

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Bayern Munich are set to play the Indian national team in an exhibition tie on January 10 in what shall be a memorable occasion for football fans.

Christian Nerlinger, the general manager of the German giants, in an exclusive chat shares his thoughts on India, Financial Fair Play and their goals for this season.

Question: You took over one of the most difficult jobs in German football by replacing Uli Hoeness in certain capacities, who has been Germany’s most successful general manager in club football. What have been the biggest challenges for you?

Nerlinger: Well, first of all, you say it’s the ‘most difficult’ but I say it’s the ‘most interesting’ job in football, football business. Of course, Bayern Munich has always played the leading role in German football especially and also in European.

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And of course, it’s very demanding to follow one of the most successful managers in football history but he (Hoeness) is still here as the president. And I have experienced people around me, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Karl Hopfner. So it is a lot of fun for me to work for Bayern Munich in this position.

Question: What does your role of Director of Sports at Bayern Munich include? What all responsibilities do you have?

Nerlinger: As it says the Director of Sports, my topic is sports, its football. That means I’m responsible for the first team activities, for youth academy, for the scouting department and medical department. So there’s a lot to do.

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Question: You have recently got an extension from Bayern Munich. How do you see it and what are your future goals with the club in the coming years?

Nerlinger: Yeah, its one thing to sign a contract as Sports Director for Bayern Munich after Uli Hoeness and the other thing is to extend it. So this means that the people are quite happy and satisfied with the work I’m doing. And of course for me, it’s fantastic that I can continue my work here at Bayern Munich and we want to stay as the most successful club in Germany. We want to win titles. Our goal is also to play an important role in Europe. I think already this season we have a team that can win the Champions League and this is, of course, one of the biggest goals we have.

Question: Bayern Munich are financially the most stable and profitable club in Europe. Do you see UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) strengthening Bayern Munich’s position in Europe? And in that connection, what’s the kind of effect it will have on the other big European giants?

Nerlinger: Yeah, I hope that the Financial Fair Play comes and plays an important role in the future. Because you can see it now as well in the European Union when there are no rules -no financial rules, then everything breaks down. I think it’s very dangerous that big clubs are dependent on one person that provides them with the money and that’s why Financial Fair Play must play an important role in international football. It’s the easiest economic rule – Don’t spend more than you earn. This is something that certainly all clubs need to follow.

Question: You recently criticized the transfer policy of big spending clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City. Where do you think they are actually going wrong?

Walk Of Champions | Work Without Debts

Nerlinger: First of all, they are dependent on one person that provides them with the money. If you had a balance sheet which shows 125 million debts, then something is going into the wrong direction. I think then it is absolutely necessary to change things.

Question: Bayern are looking at foreign markets to promote the sport of football, the club – FCB as a brand. Why India and how important are the partners for this?

Nerlinger: It is very important to have strong partners. Our partners – Audi, Allianz, Adidas and Lufthansa, they all are interested in the Indian market, which is emerging and very important for them and for us as well. We had great experiences a few years ago when Bayern Munich travelled to Calcutta for the farewell game of Oliver Kahn. We had 125, 000 in the stadium, 50, 000 waiting outside. So there was a great enthusiasm, great sympathies and of course, this is also a big motivation for us to come again to India.

Question: Coming to that, Bayern Munich have been coming to India for six years. What is that Bayern Munich can do to promote football in India? If you had some suggestions to make for football in India to grow and the standard of football in India to grow, what would they be?

And He Says It | 'India Lack Infrastructure'

Nerlinger: Well, first of all, I would say infrastructure. Build an infrastructure where you can develop and educate young and interesting football players. Try to create an enthusiasm for young boys to play football. To play football with passion and then bring them to an infrastructure and structure, so that you can develop their capacities. And I think this is the most important thing.

Question: Now the Indian clubs are trying to learn the roles of marketing and sponsorship, and involving new media. How does Bayern Munich maintain its relations with major companies like Audi to run futuristic football projects?

Nerlinger: I think what Bayern Munich lives with its partners is, Ok there is a written contract on one side, on the other side there is communication and our relation is very open. We know what’s important for our partners and our partners know what’s important for us. And that’s why we always try to communicate a lot. We are not only restricted to the contract which is written but we really try to live our partnership. This is very important. We have long term partnerships with Audi, with Adidas since years already and of course, this is something which is very important for us.

Question: Now how do you look forward to the India trip and the Audi Football Summit on January 10? How would you describe Audi’s role in the Indian context?

Nerlinger: As I said, Audi is a very strong and important partner for us. And they are also very interested in the Indian market if I speak from an economic point of view. For us, it’s a great experience. It’s a short trip but very nice one. We are looking forward to it because we already experienced how many sympathies we have in India. So it will be a great experience on one hand. On the other hand, it’s a pre-season game for us. We will take it very seriously. We don’t have too many of these pre-season games. From a sporting point of view, of course, we will be absolutely 100 percent concentrated.

Question: India is considered as a sleeping giant in world football. Bayern Munich has been going to India again and again. How important is it to engage with such a market?

Nerlinger: It’s important and it’s only possible to do it on a regular basis. (It’s) not good to visit India once and then leave and that’s it. We need to be there of course with the first team. There must also be other activities. For example, like the Youth Cup where over 1000 Indian young players were scouted by Bayern Munich. We sent our former chief scout and legend, Paul Breitner to India and have a look at these young players. He was absolutely enthusiastic when he came back and saw a great potential in the young players. These activities I think can build up a good partnership and create also sympathies in India for Bayern Munich.

Catch India vs Bayern Munich On January 10, 1800 IST Only On Ten Action!

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