Speaking on the sidelines of the Bundesliga opener between Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart, which ended 5-1, the 59-year-old former BVB coach addressed the public furore over the appointment of Kosicke, who is listed by the association as "assistant coach for strategy, development and innovation". He is "being looked at a little critically because the role did not exist", said the new Germany head coach.
Earlier, Hoeneß had lashed out over the Kosicke appointment: "Klopp and Co. have taken over the DFB and I think that is wrong." For the honorary president of the record champions, the adviser’s involvement represents a fundamental problem.
Klopp responded in his usual direct style. Asked how Hoeneß’s criticism had landed with him, he said: "Not at all, it is completely irrelevant to me. I totally understand it, everything is fine. People are judging things before we have done anything at all."
Getty ImagesCriticism from Hoeneß of Kosicke: How did Jürgen Klopp react?
On the substance of it, the Germany head coach firmly defended the expansion of his staff. He has now worked with Kosicke for two decades. In certain areas, his adviser is quite simply "the best I have ever met".
For Klopp, the division of roles within the sporting leadership is clearly structured: "We have to play better here and also take care of everything else, and I am a specialist in certain areas. In other areas there are better people - and one of them is Mark Kosicke and that is why he is involved."
He also pointed to the public expectations he is dealing with: "I can remember in the period when it was not yet completely clear who would do it and so on, people were always saying: You cannot just change the coach. Then we do not just change the coach and then they say: ‘Well, we would not have had to do that now either.’" Looking ahead, he was certain: "I am sure that in a year we will no longer be discussing his role, because by then the influence will be apparent."
Getty ImagesUli Hoeneß is said to have spoken to Marc Kosicke on the phone
Meanwhile, Hoeneß’s accusation of an alleged "friendly takeover" also met resistance from the top of the association. DFB vice-president Hans-Joachim Watzke had already spoken to RTL/Sky earlier and pushed back: "On that, I simply have a different opinion from him. I do not know what that has to do with a ‘friendly takeover’."
Watzke then drew a comparison with the recent past: "The last two Germany head coaches came from Bayern Munich - with Julian Nagelsmann and Hansi Flick. Nobody said that was a friendly takeover by Bayern Munich either. That is a bit too much for me."
As well as Watzke, DFB vice-presidents Ralph-Uwe Schaffert and Hermann Winkler also reacted with clear criticism to Sky regarding the statements made by the Bayern patron.
Now, however, the disagreement appears to have cooled somewhat: according to Sky information, the Bayern honorary president personally resolved the differences in a phone call with Kosicke. According to reports, the conversation took place in a good and constructive atmosphere.