Uli Hoeneß

Ulrich "Uli" Hoeneß (German pronunciation: [ˈuːli ˈhøːnɛs] ; born 5 January 1952) is a German football executive and former professional player who played as a forward. He played for West Germany at one World Cup and two European Championships, winning one tournament of each competition. During his playing career, he was primarily associated with Bayern Munich, where he won three Bundesliga titles and three European Cups.

Hoeneß later served as Bayern Munich's general manager and eventually as the club's president from 2009 to 2014 and from 2016 to 2019. In 2014, he pleaded guilty to tax evasion, ultimately serving 18 months in prison for the offense.

Early life and education

Hoeneß was born in Ulm, Württemberg-Baden. He grew up in a conservative, Catholic-influenced family as the son of master butcher Erwin Hoeneß and his wife, Paula, in Ulm. He attended the Hans-Multscher-Grundschule before transferring to the Schubart-Gymnasium, both located in Ulm. Along with his younger brother Dieter, who also later became a professional footballer and manager, he began playing football in the youth department of VfB Ulm. He later transferred to TSG Ulm 1846 (now SSV Ulm 1846). At the age of 15, he became captain of the DFB's school selection team. During training camps of the South German A-Youth team at the Schöneck sports school in Baden, he shared a room with Paul Breitner for the first time. A close friendship developed between the player from the Baden-Württemberg youth selection and the player from the Bavaria selection. Later, they moved into their first shared apartment in the Munich district of Trudering. In 1971, Hoeneß graduated from the Schubart-Gymnasium in Ulm. He was exempted from military service because wearing a combat helmet caused him head and knee pain.