As of: February 16, 2024, 9:56 a.m
By: Patrick Reichelt
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Michael Wolf and Steffen Hamann are legends of EHC Red Bull Munich and FC Bayern Basketball.
In our interview they talk about the SAP Garden.
Munich – They are two legends of their Munich clubs.
Michael Wolf led the EHC Red Bull Munich to three championships, Steffen Hamann was a player from the very beginning of the Bayern basketball team's professional project.
Both now met at the construction site of the future home of their former teams - the SAP Gardens, which Red Bull is currently building in the Olympic Park.
Mr. Hamann, what do you associate with Munich?
Hamann: In terms of sport, it was a step back for me to the second league.
But I immediately felt the big project, the vision, the power behind something like this at FC Bayern.
It started with Dirk Bauermann being signed, then Demond Greene, a national coach and another national player - for the ProA.
And then they tried to talk to me.
I was at Alba Berlin and was captain of the national team.
And personally and family-wise, I have found my second home in Bamberg.
Mr. Wolf, your perspective was different...
Wolf: A little, yes.
After nine years in Iserlohn, with no real chance of winning a title, the path was already quite clear: going to EHC Red Bull Munich to win championships.
I was also captain of the national team, so the direction was clear.
And we did that very successfully.
The first championship in particular remains particularly memorable.
So much falls away.
You never forget that.
Hamann: That's right.
It wasn't the first for me here in Munich.
But for the club it was the first in modern times.
There was already a lot of steam there.
And the fact that we managed to do that is something very special.
“It will be number one”: Wolf and Hamann are enthusiastic about the SAP Garden.
© Mathias Stickel
What do trophies mean to you in general?
Hamann: My father stored mine somewhere.
I don't have anything at home.
I have it all in my head.
Wolf: Me too, I have my things in the basement somewhere... Hamann: That's always a bad sign... (laughs) Wolf: As you say, it's all in the head.
Although: If you stop, it won't be all that real for the first few months or years.
Only with a little distance do you see what you have achieved.
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When will the moment of understanding come?
Wolf: Partly only now, when you see what was created.
Which you somehow contributed to.
You were 33 when you moved and won three championships with the first top club of your career. Did the thought ever arise: Why only now?
Wolf: Oh, that's always the case.
I really, really liked it in Iserlohn.
I would do it again in a heartbeat.
That was my second home with my family up there.
I had always hoped that I could do a little more sporty work, but unfortunately that didn't work out.
With Munich and the Red Bulls it just happened that way.
It also worked out that Munich is much closer to my home in Füssen.
Well, I wasn't the youngest anymore, but it was still okay, I guess.
Hamann: (laughs) And now say: Others have to judge that.
They were players who, once in the right place, stayed for a long time, which is untypical of the scene.
Hamann: The greatest thing for me at the beginning was playing for my hometown club in Bamberg.
But at some point you just know everything and everyone and when the fan in row seven isn't there, you think to yourself, what's wrong with him?
Is he ill.
But at some point you get to the point where you think: If you don't go now, you'll never go.
Berlin was indeed a rival, but also an opportunity.
The wellness oasis is taking shape: a look into your future cabin area.
© Mathias Stickel
By moving to Munich, you both followed the call of a brand. Was the associated stability important?
Wolf: Well, you already knew that where Red Bull is involved, success is usually not far away.
That's certainly what you hoped for.
Because they simply know what they have to do.
And that's why they got the right players and the right coaches.
The manager is still there.
We also heard early on that a hall was planned, which also shows that it is not a short-term commitment.
Hamann: I certainly wouldn't have moved to any second division team.
Sure, Bayern stands for something, when Uli Hoeneß speaks, there is something behind it.
Of course that also means pressure.
We were told clearly that we had to achieve promotion in the first year.
You wouldn't buy a license.
But what has become of it also stands for itself.
Enough that you stayed on board almost straight away...
Hamann: Yes, that's what the club stands for.
That was one of Uli Hoeneß's first speeches to us.
That the club is like an umbrella.
If you can't play anymore, he'll catch you.
And that was the case.
I was a youth coach for seven or eight years and now a brand ambassador.
It’s incredibly exciting in such a dynamic project.
It was only a short-term stay with you, Mr. Wolf.
Wolf: Yes, I worked with Christian Winkler for the first time after I ended my playing career.
I am still in regular contact today.
But at the moment the family situation – we have a shoe shop in Füssen – no longer allows this.
Let's see what happens next.
But I always thought differently because it was never really clear to me that things could go that far in ice hockey.
And suddenly you're in the Hall of Fame...
Oh yes, suddenly the time has come.
The way the clubs are developing, including the SAP Garden, would you like to be back at the beginning?
Wolf: When I look at the hall here, I would definitely want to play there again.
Put on your ice skates and play another round.
But those times are over.
Hamann: Sure.
We were here with the current team and they were all excited.
And I feel the same way.
Of course it makes you tingle and you would like to stand on the dance floor again.
Because in the early years you simply couldn't imagine something like this.
But okay, I think we both had enough time to separate ourselves from the sport.
And those over 40 hurt their bones enough.
(laughs)
Lively discussion: Hamann (left) and Michael Wolf.
© Mathias Stickel
What role have halls played in your careers? As a player, do you fall in love with courses?
Hamann: The funny thing is: I moved in all the clubs.
In Bamberg and Berlin in today's arenas.
Here in Munich from the ice rink to the Rudi Sedlmayr Hall, today's BMW Park.
I love that one.
I like places where the old combines with the new.
But sometimes you also think more about certain games.
Like the game against Würzburg that we played in the second league in the big Olympic hall.
In front of 12,000 spectators.
I think Effenberg brought the ball onto the field with the convertible.
Unforgettable.
Wolf: I've played pretty much everywhere.
Old ice rinks, modern multifunctional arenas.
I used to enjoy playing in Hamburg.
After the club withdrew from the top German league, the league was of course no longer played in this hall.
But if you see what's happening here in Munich, then the SAP Garden will be my new number one, even if I don't play anymore.
Athletes often talk about the last game of their career. Mr. Wolf, you have lost yours. Does that hurt?
Wolf: No, I had great years in Munich, I also had a very, very nice last regular main round home game, which was still organized because you don't know what will happen in the playoffs.
We made it to the Champions League final and we also reached the final of the DEL.
Unfortunately we lost both.
But Mannheim played very well and rightly became champions.
I don't have any negative memories of it.
And who can say that the away hall will rise from their seats for them, as happened with you in Mannheim...?
Wolf: Oh yes, I was very surprised and a bit overwhelmed emotionally.
I was very grateful for that.
Hamann: I won the last game, at the championship in Berlin.
The week after that was wild.
My jersey is now hanging on the ceiling, I see it every day when I go to work.
Unfortunately, basketball still doesn't have a Hall of Fame in Germany.
Maybe at some point we'll find a way to be proud of the past.
As FC Bayern, we now want to give a push to the top four in the cup.
The day before the semi-finals there will be a gala with around 50 legends at BMW Welt.
People like Henning Harnisch, Norbert Thimm, Holger Geschwindner – all generations.
Dirk Nowitzki will send us a message of greeting.
Interview: Patrick Reichelt