Bayern Munich boss Uli Hoeness admitted his own wrongdoing in January 2013 - by filing an amended tax return that showed he avoided paying taxes by means of a Swiss bank account. After his trial got underway Monday (10.03.2014), the man long considered a role model is back at the center of public attention - in part because of his surprise confession that he withheld 18.5 million euros ($25.7 million) in tax revenue from the state.
The case has drawn so much attention because Hoeness is a former national player and still serves as the president of Bayern Munich. That makes him among the most successful and powerful sports figures in the country.
The 61-year-old has had an impact on German soccer like hardly anyone else. He turned Bayern into a world-famous and very rich club - achievements he has called his life's work. And the club is now in a better position than ever. The team wins match after match, and Bayern's financial profits to the tune of 430 million euros put other German clubs to shame.
Hoeness also has a reputation for straightforwardness and charitable acts. He has personally donated millions to social causes, while encouraging others to do the same. The long-celebrated manager even helped other football teams who were in financial trouble by setting up friendlies with Bayern.
Players in need of support also turned to Hoeness. Among them were Gerd Müller, who struggled with alcoholism, and Sebastian Deisler, who suffered from depression.
Precisely because Hoeness was so popular with politicians, his tax-dodger past meant many high-profile leaders suddenly had to distance themselves from him. In the lead-up to the September 2013 federal polls in Germany, his case offered much fodder to the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens in their campaign platforms dealing with ongoing national debates on tax fraud.
Hoeness said in an interview with the magazine Focus that he had initially expected to settle the matter through a planned tax agreement between Germany and Switzerland, supported by Merkel's conservatives. However, that deal was blocked by opposition parties. The tax agreement would have made it possible to pay taxes retroactively on money kept in Switzerland, meaning tax dodgers could have gotten away without fines and even without their names becoming known. For the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens, this was not acceptable. As they hold a majority in Germany's upper house, they were in a position to block the bill.culled
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