“Sporting impetus is the crucial aspect”

hsv.de: It was an eventful start to the week following Pfingsten. The supervisory board relieved Jonas Boldt of his duties and appointed Stefan Kuntz as the new board member for sport. What were the reasons for this decision?

Michael Papenfuß: It was the conclusion of an analytical and decision-making process which we on the supervisory board put in place a few weeks ago in accordance with our responsibility. We looked into possible alternatives as part of this internally coordinated and orderly procedure, whilst we naturally reviewed and appraised the work of our board member responsible for sport. Finally, when it was confirmed that HSV would stay in the second division, we undertook a final evaluation of our detailed overall analysis. It was clear to us on the board: Sporting impulse is the crucial aspect. Therefore, we relieved Jonas Boldt of his duties and decided to appoint Stefan Kuntz as the new board member for sport. 

You mentioned Jonas Boldt’s special services to the club which went well beyond sporting development when announcing this decision. Why was he still relieved of his duties?

Jonas built a lot here – he initiated important developments and has led the club well together with his fellow board member Dr. Eric Huwer in recent times. He has also played a major role in HSV Fußball AG’s vital financial recovery. We, as the supervisory board, value these achievements greatly and I, as the supervisory board’s chairman and the club’s vice president, value Jonas highly. I told him that personally. However, the bottom line is unfortunately that HSV have failed to get promoted five times in a row during Jonas’ tenure as board member for sport. We’ve been striving to get back into the Bundesliga for six years and we’ve not managed it. That was and is decisive for us as an ambitious football club. Therefore, we made a joint decision as the supervisory board. 

The supervisory board and you in particular have had to take some criticism from the media en route to making this decision. They said the board has become too hesitant. According to the media reports, you failed to call Felix Magath, one of the potential alternative candidates, back. Additionally, there were a few rejections from other well-known people.

I’ve also read a lot of these stories or heard about them, and I’m still a bit surprised. Regarding the time window for our decision making, I can only say that we on the supervisory board created a time schedule weeks ago that we’ve followed. After it was confirmed that we would be staying in the 2. Bundesliga, we naturally also gave Jonas the opportunity to present his analysis with the necessary adjustments from his point of view. Subsequently, we undertook the final analysis and evaluations on the board. Finally, we made contact with Stefan Kuntz and personally informed Jonas Boldt. The accusation levelled at the supervisory board for years was that it did too much talking and leaked too much information, sometimes straight from meetings. All that didn’t happen this time around. Instead, outsiders spoke to the media and commented on the situation. I’d only like to say so much regarding the supposed rejections: It’s my understanding that you can only reject something if there are subsequent conversations and a corresponding offer. However, we only made an offer to one candidate – and that offer went to Stefan Kuntz.

Then the only thing still remaining is your failure to call Felix Magath back.

First of all, you shouldn’t blow things out of proportion. Yes, I failed to call Felix Magath back and I apologised to him at a subsequent meeting. Nevertheless, I’d like to point out that I obviously didn’t ignore Felix Magath’s call, but rather mentioned him immediately in the Personnel Committee of the supervisory board. Consequently, one of my colleagues called him, so as we discussed on the board in accordance with the division of responsibilities, someone had called him back for me. 

There was repeatedly talk in public of a possible third board member during the executive board discussions. What’s the case with this?

We’re not dealing with this at the moment. HSV Fußball AG’s organisation and leadership is strong and fully capable. 

One final question: What does HSV’s supervisory board now expect from the new make-up of the executive board?

Shared leadership with important and strategic decisions. We want to continue to follow the path we’ve taken, with Stefan Kuntz in charge of the sporting side of things. We need to use the summer break to fully prepare the sporting side of things and also further organisation for the 2024/25 season. We’re happy to provide advice and support.

Thank you for the interview.