The many faces of Uli Hoeness
Uli Hoeness has been released from prison after just 21 months behind bars. Now the 64-year-old fallen hero is set to embark upon a new chapter in his eventful and successful life.
Free again
After 637 days in prison, Uli Hoeness is once again a free man. The former Bayern Munich president was released after serving just half of his three-and-a-half-year sentence. Media reports suggested that Hoeness was planning to celebrate his return home with a brass band, but he somehow managed to escape the notice of waiting photographers when he left the prison.
"It's not over!"
This statement, which Hoeness made at FC Bayern's annual general meeting, is being seen as a hint of what may lie in his future. He has said that he will take a vacation before announcing what he plans do next. He held meetings with Bayern sporting director Matthias Sammer and CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge while he was still in jail, which has fueled speculation about a comeback at the club.
A bitter day for Hoeness
March 13, 2014: Hoeness is convicted of evading 28.5 million euros ($31 million) in taxes and is sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail. Prosecutors had asked the court for a sentence of five years and six months. Hoeness begins serving his sentence on June 2, 2014, making the fall from grace of a German soccer legend complete.
Goal scorer
Alongside Gerd Müller, Uli Hoeness was once part of the most prolific strike force in Europe, but at just 27, he was forced to end his playing career due to injury. Hoeness was part of the Bayern team that won both the Bundesliga and the European Cup three times. He was also part of a West German national team that won both the European championship and the World Cup.
Big winner
In 2013, Bayern Munich won the treble; the Bundesliga title, the German Cup, and the Champions League. "An unbelieveable year," said the top club executive, who was still a free man, despite the fact that a warrant for his arrest had already been issued.
President
The peak of Hoeness' career in football is followed by the lowest point of his personal life. At Bayern Munich's annual general meeting, the club's membership applaud their president, who is moved to tears. He rules out resigning from his post.
A helping hand
Hoeness is always there with a helping hand for a friend in need. Clubs like St. Pauli and even rivals Borussia Dortmund have been known to profit from his generosity. He also reaches out to help former teammates like Gerd Müller, who struggled with alcohol, or players Sebastian Deisler who suffered from burnout and Dietmar Hamman, who was stricken with both alcohol and compulsive gambling.
Former friends
Politicians like German Chancellor Angela Merkel used to like to be seen with Uli Hoeness, but since his conviction on tax evasion, there has been a chill in their relationship. Merkel has said that she has a tremendous amount of respect for the former Bayern president's charity work, but that this has been tarnished by a "sad facet" of his character.
Golf enthusiast
In sporting terms, Uli Hoeness can do more than just kick a football, he also has a passion for golf. The former Bayern president likes nothing more than to play a round at the course near the Tegernsee lake, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Munich. And who knows; maybe even the odd player transfer has come together over a round of golf.
Family man
For the most part, Uli Hoeness keeps his private life to himself. He has been married to his wife Susanne for 40 years and his two children, Sabine and Florian are grown up. Hoeness enjoys a quiet life at home, and there have been no known scandals involving his family. The Hoeness are coping with the tax-evasion scandal as a family.
Sausage producer
Hoeness, the son of a master butcher, started up the HoWe sausage-making company in Nuremberg in 1985, which now supplies major businesses such as Aldi or McDonalds. HoWe, which is where Hoeness made a lot of his money, has been taken over by his son Florian.
A stroke of luck
On February 17, 1982, Uli Hoeness was the sole survivor of the crash of a private jet, while he was on his way to a West German national team friendly. The three other people on board the plane died. Hoeness, who was asleep on the back seat of the plane when it crashed, remembers nothing about it.
Daum's cocaine habit
A feud with former Bundesliga coach Christoph Daum began when both appeared on a sports talk show. The feud reached its climax with the cocaine scandal surrounding the then-designated national team coach Daum in 2000. Daum never took up the post, after a test on his hair turned up positive for coke. "I wouldn't have believed he was capable of it," Daum said of Hoeness' tax-evasion conviction.
Butt of jokes
Hoeness' tax-evasion conviction makes him an easy target for jokesters. This float at the Carnival parade in Mainz portrays Hoeness as a fool who scored an own goal by turning himself in.