Taking Bayern Public?

By no means does Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness mince words -- particularly when it comes to fair competition in Europe, which he underscored recently by bemoaning the "Russianization" of soccer. Of course he meant owner Roman Abramovich of London club Chelsea and the 410 million euros ($520 million) the oil tycoon is paying his superstar-packed squad this season. That sum is twice Munich's payroll, something that is causing headaches for Bayern's bosses.

But Hoeness is also hugely ambitious and will not idly stand by while clubs like Milan, Barcelona, and naturally Chelsea, shift into high gear and leave Germany’s most successful team in the dust.

So if Bayern Munich will never have a mega-wealthy patron the likes of Abramovich -- one person can not have a controlling interest in a professional team in Germany -- it will have to seek other means to maintain its position as one of Europe's premiere teams. Hoeness thinks that taking the club public will provide the needed capital.

He told the sports Web site Sport 1 that Bayern Munich is a "prime candidate" for the stock market.

"We are profitable, have no debts and have our own stadium," he said.

Biding his time patiently

The conditions seem optimal for Munich but a public offering is not in the cards in the near future. To take that final step, Hoeness would have to have a larger say than he currently does as general manager. The most important voice at the moment belongs to team president Franz Beckenbauer. That should end by 2009 according to Hoeness.

"My contract (as GM) expires in 2009, as well as Franz Beckenbauer's presidency," he told Sport 1. "It is planned that Franz Beckenbauer will no longer run for that post and I will become president. We will have to see that we have a successor for me by 2009."

Hoeness, who once starred as a midfielder with Beckenbauer on some of Bayern Munich's best teams in the 1970's, will have to maintain an attitude of wait and see regarding taking the club public. Although Bayern own the rights to the Allianz Arena, their local rivals 1860 Munich, who themselves are navigating difficult financial waters, could regain the share they sold to Bayern in the spring. That is an incalculable factor that very much affects Bayern's future income.

Playing in the big league

The price that teams have to pay to play big league European soccer is not insubstantial, running in the hundreds of millions, if not billions of euros.

In the late 1990's, while riding a wave of success in Europe that was highlighted by a Champions League victory in 1997, Borussia Dortmund took that leap of faith. They became Germany's first and only public professional soccer team, going on the market in October 2000 during the dot.com boom. Then front office manager Michael Meier placed a risky wager by bringing in more top-name players who in turn had to excel.

But the bet didn't pay off as the team's performance on the pitch flatlined. Income from European club competitions dried up, driving Dortmund to the brink of bankruptcy. Angry stockholders, many tried-and-true Borussia fans, drove Meier and president Gerd Niebaum from their offices in early 2005.

When and if Bayern Munich does finally decide to go public, it most likely will have the whole-hearted backing of its supporters. The team announced this week that its membership roll surpassed the 120,000 mark, making it according to club officials, the second-largest club by member numbers behind last year's Champions League victors FC Barcelona.