Uli Hoeneß receives honorary prize from the DFL
Former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeneß received an honorary prize from the DFL in Berlin on Tuesday.
The DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL) awards the honorary prize in recognition of outstanding services to German professional football. ,
Hoeneß shaped Bayern as a player, team manager, board member, president, and chairman of the supervisory board. He won the Intercontinental Cup, three European Cups, three Bundesliga titles and the DFB Cup as a player between 1970 and 1979.
He added to his collection of silverware with Germany at international level, winning the 1974 World Cup and the 1972 European championship.
After 250 Bundesliga games and 86 goals, a knee injury forced him to retire, and in 1979, at the age of 27, Hoeneß became the team's general manager. Under his leadership, the German record champions established themselves as a global brand.
Watch: Uli Hoeneß, the man who made Bayern a giant of the game
“You captivated millions and gave German football a face,” said fellow World Cup winner and current Borussia Mönchengladbach president Rainer Bonhof in his speech at the event. “But above all, I am delighted that you are receiving this long-deserved award as a person.”
The DFL welcomed 160 guests from the worlds of sport, media, politics and business, as well as representatives from the 36 clubs in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, to the Berlin Telegraph Office.
Guest of honor was Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who emphasised the importance of football for society in his speech. On Wednesday, the DFL e.V. general meeting will take place, including the election of the executive committee and supervisory board.
All DFL honorary award winners
Since 2007, 16 people have been awarded the DFL honorary award (formerly known as the Bundesliga honorary award): Heribert Bruchhagen, Karl-Heinz Heimann, Jupp Heynckes, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Uli Hoeneß, Horst Hrubesch, Karl-Heinz Körbel, Udo Lattek, Lothar Matthäus, Prof. Dr. Tim Meyer, Wolfgang Overath, Claudio Pizarro, Dr. h.c. Fritz Pleitgen, Otto Rehhagel, Uwe Seeler, Rudi Völler .
Related news
Musiala returns to team training
The Bayern playmaker is taking the next steps in his recovery from a horror injury sustained at the Club World Cup.
King Kane in career-best form
Not satisfied with breaking record after record for Bayern, Harry Kane has hit a personal-best 50 goals in 2025.
Kane's Bayern career in numbers
With over 100 Bayern goals and 10 Bundesliga hat-tricks in record time, we crunch some of Kane's most impressive numbers in Germany...