Hannover 96 – Robert Schäfer: “More ideology than content” – 2nd Bundesliga
Robert Schäfer (46) was presented a year ago by 96 boss Martin Kind (78) as his successor and “man of the future”. Now the future is over again, Schäfer has disappeared through the back door.
The permanent contract was terminated on July 1st. It is the end of a serious child mistake and the total misjudgment and overestimation of one’s own powers.
Exclusively at BILD, the farewell interview with the child’s successor prevented.
BILD: Mr. Schäfer, 13 months ago you signed a permanent contract with 96. Now you’re gone again, have you failed?
Schäfer: “It’s just a shame. Because of course we didn’t finish what was planned here. But as the saying goes, it is what it is.”
BILD: What went wrong?
Schäfer: “I had to realize that the conflicts and fronts at 96, which had existed long before my contract began, continued – and the shareholders could never solve them, even with regard to my employment. From my point of view, it is more about ideology than about content, which is why the trains keep racing towards each other.”
BILD: Boss Martin Kind presented you as his successor. But you never were. Who misjudged the situation?
Schäfer: “I was not hired by Martin Kind alone overnight. Instead, there was a proper application process, starting with a job profile that not only included me but also other candidates, languages, and rounds of introductions and applications in certain constellations that lasted more than half a year. So I was delighted to have been accepted and for nothing was more stunned when I learned from the media that the club would reject me before I even got there and without even having spoken to me.”
BILD: The decisive eV representatives were against you from the start, blocked your appointment as managing director of the professional society KGaA. Why did you even start at 96?
Schäfer: “I wanted to convince with content and results. But that obviously didn’t matter, so it was a misjudgment on my part.”
BILD: Was there a temporary rapprochement or a meeting with the eV bosses?
Schäfer: “No, that was rejected from the start and confirmed by unfriendly statements in the press.”
BILD: Did you trust Art and his promises and commitments too much? Were you too naive?
Schäfer: “Due to the application process described, I had no reason to doubt it. But how much the ideology overshadows daily events in Hanover may have been underestimated by everyone, no matter how much the well-being of 96 is important to everyone.”
BILD: For Kind you were first “exactly the right man” and then “a mistake”. What do you think?
Schäfer: “Martin Kind never said that I was wrong. He said that it was a mistake to assume that a consensus could be reached with the eV representatives.”
BILD: That was hopeless, keyword 50+1 or Friedhelm Funkel…
Schäfer: “I brought Friedhelm to Fortuna and extended his contract. We cleared up all discrepancies back then. We recently had dinner together at our mutual favorite Italian restaurant in Düsseldorf. Everything is fine there.”
BILD: And 50+1?
Schäfer: “For me, this debate is now over because the majority of clubs are in favor of maintaining 50+1. So we have to accept that and make German football successful at 50+1. Concepts have to be developed for this.”
BILD: Instead of making decisions as a professional boss, you were only responsible for the arena and marketing. Have you ever succeeded?
Schäfer (laughs): “The opposite was the case. In day-to-day operations, the speed, the pressure and the demand for success have increased to such an extent that nobody in professional football could complain of boredom.”
BILD: Was it a lost year for you?
Schäfer: “Certainly not and it literally expanded my horizons. You always progress personally when you work with real guys like Martin Kind.”
BILD: And for 96?
Schäfer: “In my opinion, no. The starting position for the new season is better than a year ago. I hope that leads to success and ultimately promotion.”
BILD: A successor for you is not in sight, the child is doing everything on its own again. Can that still be successful today?
Schäfer: “Yes, it can, but the day when the man must clarify the successor has to come and then a consensus has to be reached between the association and the shareholders. Because without a sense of togetherness, I see no basis for sustainable success.”
BILD: What’s next for you personally? There was contact with Hertha…
Schäfer: “I’m just talking to a few protagonists from football. But I’m also considering doing something of my own. Entrepreneurship excites me more than ever.”