Thomas Helmer's Story of Almost Fighting Uli Hoeneß
Uli Hoeneß stepped onto the stage on Monday night as a celebrated icon, collecting the Legend Award at the Sport Bild gala. Out in front of the cameras, though, another Bayern face stole a slice of the spotlight with a story that cut straight through the glossy tributes.
Thomas Helmer admitted he once wanted to beat up the Bayern patron.
“He sometimes did wild things as well,” the former defender recalled on the red carpet. “When he gets emotional, I experienced him differently in the dressing room too. We almost had a fight once as well. I wanted to beat up Uli Hoeneß.”
Frozen night, boiling tempers
Helmer took everyone back to a bitterly cold European night.
“It was a Champions League match, I think against Kyiv. Old Olympic Stadium, felt like minus 17 degrees, 13,000 spectators – but live on television,” he said. “We were 1-0 up at half-time, but I think Kyiv ran through on our goal three times, they just did not get the ball in.”
The scoreline flattered Bayern. Hoeneß was having none of it.
Then, as Helmer tells it, the club boss “went crazy: ‘What are you playing at, what are you serving up to the spectators? This is an outrage for Bayern Munich. Millions are watching, no matter how many are here in the stadium… even if it is cold.’”
The tirade didn’t stop there. As Helmer walked past, Hoeneß turned the fire directly on him: “‘And you’re running around like my grandfather!’”
A flying cup and a quick escape
Helmer snapped.
He wasn’t going to let that insult slide in silence. “I then took a cup of electrolytes and wanted to throw it at his head,” he admitted. “But I did not hit him, I hit the wall. Then he was smart enough to go to the physios in the dressing room and hide.”
No punches, just a dented wall and a dressing room buzzing with adrenaline.
By the next morning, though, the storm had passed.
“The next day we then had a completely open conversation. Uli never held a grudge,” Helmer said.
From near-fight to lifelong trust
That, in Helmer’s eyes, is the essence of Hoeneß: explosive in the moment, but loyal and clear once the dust settles.
Helmer, who played under Hoeneß during some of Bayern’s most demanding years, still talks about him with striking warmth.
“There are two people in the world I would go to if I had a problem. No matter whether private, financial or health-related – one of them is Uli Hoeneß!” he said.
On a night designed to honour a legend, it was a raw, human tale like this that underlined why so many at Bayern still close ranks around Hoeneß when it really matters.
