Hoeneß relaxed about absence from bench

FCBayernNews · News fetcher Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 1240 votes: 2

18.10.2006

Bayern contest their 310th European fixture on Wednesday, but a premiere is still on the cards as general manager Uli Hoeneß is obliged to watch his side from the grandstand instead of the bench for the first time since taking up his current position on 1 May 1979.

"It's unusual, doing it for the first time in almost 30 years," the official commented. Hoeneß is serving the first of a two-match touchline ban imposed by European governing body UEFA after giving overzealous vent to his feelings following a red-card foul by Internazionale's Fabio Grosso on Willy Sagnol during Bayern's 2-0 victory in Milan.

"It's new territory for him," chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge commented. "You're actually more nervous when you watch from high up in the stands than down on the bench, because you have no chance of contacting the coach and the players."

Hoping for good display

The 54-year-old Hoeneß has previously only missed sitting on the bench for competitive matches due to illness or when travelling on scouting missions.

Despite the ban, which also extends to the board director accessing the dressing room before and during the match, Hoeneß remained upbeat. "It'll depend how we're doing. If we play well, I won't be concerned."

The official also has no intention of contacting the coaching staff by mobile or walkie-talkie: "I don't consider myself so indispensable I have to stay in touch." Directly before the match, boss Felix Magath was in equally laid back mood: "We'll lay out his jacket on his normal seat, just as a reminder."