Chapter 831 The Last Fig Leaf

In Germany, in addition to the gap between the East and the West caused by World War II, there have also been many conflicts between the South and the North.

Especially with the decline of some heavy industrial cities in the north and the influx of immigrants in recent years, the contradictions between the north and the south have become increasingly fierce. Although it has not led to conflict, there are many psychological prejudices.

In recent years, although there are big cities like Hamburg and Berlin in the north, in terms of livability, it still lags behind cities like Munich in the south. The latter is more suitable for living in terms of climate and environment, and is the favorite place for Germany's wealthy to gather.

But for some wealthy people in the north who have a sense of alienation with the south, asking them to live in Munich in the south is undoubtedly against their wishes. Therefore, they prefer Switzerland, which is further south.

Especially in the Zurich area.

Klaus Michael Kuhn, a well-known Hamburg super-rich man, ranked 39th on the Forbes Europe list and 95th on the Forbes Global list, and a shipping tycoon with a net worth of more than 10 billion US dollars, lives in Skidlegi, canton Schwyz, southeast of Zurich.

The 77-year-old Kuhn has lived in Switzerland for many years. Because he is engaged in the shipping industry, the appearance of his mansion is designed to look like the command cabin of an ocean-going ship. It is extremely luxurious inside and has always been reported by the media, but very few people have the chance to see it.

Although this German tycoon is already in semi-retirement, he is still very dedicated to Hamburg's affairs.

The most famous one was in 2008, when, in order to keep Hapag-Lloyd, a world-leading container ship operator with a history of more than 160 years, in Germany, Kuhn, together with the Hamburg city government, issued an appeal and formed a consortium with many investors to complete the acquisition of Hapag-Lloyd.

This acquisition further enhanced Kuhn's reputation and status in Hamburg.

Not only that, Kuhn is also a well-known avid fan of Hamburg.

Kuhn can be seen almost every time the Hamburg club faces a crisis.

The Kuhn family and the Otto family, which ranks 11th on the European rich list with a net worth of more than 18 billion US dollars, are known as the two major financial backers behind Hamburg.

Therefore, every time there is the slightest disturbance in Hamburg, they will be contacted first.

This time is no exception.

It was almost noon, the sun was shining brightly, and Kuhn Manor welcomed guests from Hamburg.

The butler recognized at a glance that the leader was Alexander Otto of the Otto family.

He is the younger brother of Michael Otto, who heads the Otto Group and is primarily responsible for Europe's largest chain of shopping mall development groups.

Don't underestimate the ECE Group. Although it is not as big as its older brother, the Alto Group, it has an annual turnover of 20 billion euros and owns nearly 200 large shopping malls in Europe, making it the dominant player in the European retail industry.

Unlike his elder brother Michael Otto who is keen on business, his younger brother Alexander Otto is more passionate about football. He has been an avid Hamburg fan since he was a child. Therefore, he and Kuhn are the most famous and influential representatives of Hamburg fans.

Also traveling with them were Bernd Horst and Sergei Barbaretz, both of whom were Hamburg's top local billionaires.

Basically, the only place that can attract so many wealthy people to appear in the same place at the same time is the Hamburg Club.

Klaus Michael Kuhn obviously knew the purpose of their visit, so he had a secret conversation with them in the study.

The topic of discussion is undoubtedly the current situation in Hamburg.

"In the past few days, Khov has been calling me and said he wants to meet with me."

In the study, Klaus Michael Kuhn sat in a circle with the visitors.

The 77-year-old, silver-haired old man spoke slowly and calmly, as if nothing was on his mind.

But everyone listened to him very seriously and followed his advice willingly.

"But I didn't see him, and later he simply stopped answering the phone."

Everyone was a little surprised when they heard this.

Unexpectedly, Kuhn was serious this time.

"We have given a lot to this club over the years, but in their eyes, it seems to have become a matter of course."

Kuhn's words were recognized by everyone present.

To some extent, this is what Hamburg's management thinks.

No matter what, no matter how much they struggle, it won’t matter in the end, because there will always be fans to support them.

At worst, we can just change the leadership!

But so many years have passed, and the leadership has changed wave after wave, what is the result?

"Remember the 1980s, when Bayern Munich in the south and Hamburg in the north represented the highest level of German football, and the duel between the two giants was known as the North-South Derby. How glorious was Hamburg at that time?"

This group of wealthy fans present, even the youngest Alexander Otto, are all witnesses of Hamburg's most glorious period. At that time, Otto was a passionate young man who was extremely eager to play football for Hamburg and play on the green field with his idols.

This is why he has been the representative of Hamburg fans over the years.

"Bayern Munich at that time was not as good as us. They were even in a financial crisis and almost finished. But what happened in the end? Not only did they survive, but they also rose in the 1990s and took advantage of the craze for television broadcasts to establish their position as the Bundesliga's hegemon."

"But for us, Hamburg's situation has been getting worse and worse over the past 20 to 30 years. We no longer have the demeanor of the Bundesliga giants we once were. Even the team's dignity has been lost time and time again!"

"In terms of money, we are not inferior to Bayern Munich. In terms of players, our foundation is not bad either. But why can Bayern Munich get out of the predicament and establish its position as a super power in the Bundesliga, while Hamburg is getting worse and worse. The first team is fine, the youth training camp is in name only, and even the team's financial income has problems..."

When Kuhn finished speaking, everyone present also had a look of indignation on their faces.

Now everyone says that Bayern Munich is the dominant team in the Bundesliga and other teams can hardly catch up.

But how many people know how many years it has been since Bayern Munich rose to prominence?

It was only since the 1990s that they truly established themselves as the Bundesliga's dominant force.

Hamburg, which also has superior objective conditions, is stuck in the quagmire.

The bottom line is that management is incompetent!

In the past, they were not unaware of the messes of the management, but they were fine with paying some money, but they were not good at getting involved in the daily operations of the team, and they did not have the time and energy.

So, they have always turned a blind eye and pretended not to know as long as it is not too excessive.

But in the past two years, the situation has clearly become worse.

They even nearly got relegated last season.

You know, Hamburg is the only team in the Bundesliga that has never been relegated.

For Hamburg fans, this is the last fig leaf of this traditional giants!

But that group of bastards couldn't even keep this last piece of fig leaf.

Now something like this has happened again, how can we tolerate it?

"How's the team doing lately?" Kuhn asked again.

"It's OK. We just won the last warm-up match. The fans are still looking forward to Tuchel's team."

Kuhn listened, nodded continuously, and sighed, "Yes, isn't the biggest wish of fans to see their team getting stronger and better?"

But soon, Kuhn turned his attention to Alexander Otto.

"Alexander, do you think this Bild incident has anything to do with Thomas Reik and Beiersdorf?"

Alexander Otto shook his head. "I have investigated. The one who leaked the secrets to Bild was my maid. She was bribed by a reporter from Bild to leak the privacy of my family to the other party. As a result, this time, she overheard the conversation between me and Thomas Lake, so..."

"In addition, there is another person who is said to be in the club's finance department. He has been in the position for more than six years, but has been fired by Thomas Lake. It seems that he has nothing to do with them."

Kuhn smiled faintly and did not comment.

"It doesn't matter whether they are related or not. What matters is whether they have the ability to lead Hamburg well. Is it possible for me to see Hamburg regain its former glory as the king of German football before I die?"

When everyone heard Kuhn say this, they noticed that he was already seventy-seven years old.

Although I am still in good health, I am old after all.

Over the years, he even rarely went to watch Hamburg's games, saying that he was afraid of being stimulated.

"There is no need to say much about Beiersdorf's ability. When he was kicked out of Hamburg's management, we tried to retain him. Tuchel's coaching level is also first-class in Germany. Even compared with Klopp, Löw and others, he is not much worse. As for Thomas Rek..."

At this point, Alexander Otto paused and said, "I have asked someone to learn about him. He is very capable and was originally an elite that Deutsche Bank focused on cultivating. However, he chose to leave. It can be seen that he wanted to make a career with his personal ability."

"From the various actions he has taken since arriving in Hamburg, although there is some suspicion of suppressing Kerkhove, it is also a long-term plan."

After Thomas Rek took office, the first thing he did was to vigorously eliminate redundant staff, clean up the club's financial system, and cut expenses in all aspects. Then he invited Bernhard Peters to reorganize the youth training camp.

To be frank, Hamburg's youth training ranks at the bottom in Germany.

What is not well known is that a few years ago, this group of wealthy fans had raised funds to rebuild Hamburg's youth training.

As a result, the money was given, but the youth training was nowhere to be seen.

Kuhn and others had asked about this matter countless times, but it always ended up in nothing.

"Alexander, I heard that your company has cooperation with Yang Huan?" Kuhn suddenly asked again.

As soon as Yang Huan was mentioned, everyone present looked over immediately.

Alexander Otto nodded. "We have close cooperation with the e-gift card company under WeChat, and we are also interested in building two shopping malls at Inter Milan's new stadium and Atletico Madrid's new stadium."

"So what do you think of him?" Kuhn asked with concern.

Alexander Otto shook his head. "I have met him in public several times, but I have no idea what kind of person he is. However, judging from how he managed Southampton and Atletico Madrid, if he is determined to develop in the Bundesliga, Hamburg's performance will definitely not be bad."

After hearing this, Kuhn's eyes lit up and he nodded, obviously understanding what was going on.

"Can you arrange a time for us to meet with him?" Kuhn asked.

"That shouldn't be a problem!" Alexander Otto nodded. "I'll give Thomas Lake a call. He should be able to arrange it."

Kuhn nodded and said no more.

Everyone could see that he was completely disappointed with Hamburg's management.

In the past, he was forced to compromise when there was no more suitable candidate.

But now, he wants to make a better choice.

At the end of the day, they like the burger itself, not the management!

In fact, as long as Hamburg is good, they don’t care who owns the club!