On his 75th birthday: Open letter from Hoeness to Hitzfeld: “Dear Ottmar…”

We at FC Bayern Munich are very proud that you are part of our club. We won the Champions League and celebrated the World Cup, five German championships and three DFB Cup victories with you. But titles are not everything – you are a very special person for our fans and all of us: thank you for everything you have done for us!

I just remember fondly the many evenings with you before the game at the team hotel, and our conversations that went beyond just football. And I can still see how we finally won the European Cup again in Milan in 2001 – after an eternity of 25 years of waiting.

In 2001, the football god repaid us in a big way for everything he had denied us in the most bitter way during the final in Barcelona against Manchester United in 1999: first through the successful heart-breaking Championship final and then during the gala evening in Milan.

I don’t think we would have gone from the deepest valley of tears to the highest peaks in just two years with any other coach. Your statement was that you should always look ahead: you are an example to us all, and thanks to you we have made history.

You have also become a faithful companion and a very good friend for me personally over the past decades. You and your word can always be relied on, this is becoming increasingly important in our time. People like you are role models for generations.

Dear Ottmar – all the best again, thank you again! At FC Bayern you have a permanent place: in the history of the club and in our hearts.

Your Uli Hoeness