We spoke to ex-Bayern Munich Ladies and Germany defender, and now current Bayern Munich ladies Sporting Director and MIP Board member, Bianca Rech. Here is part of the transcript of her interview.

 

What are the best pieces of advice you’ve been given about management?
Bianca: Best piece of advice – Listen to people. Don’t just decide because you think it’s the right thing to do. When you work in a group it’s very important to listen to the people and this especially applies to management.

You were the first group of MIP graduates. How do you think MIP had helped you to develop and succeed in your current role?
Bianca: I studied before, so learning I was used to it. But it was a great opportunity first to meet so many great people and to get information on a daily basis that it is so different from a normal university course. At most universities,  you listen to lecturers and they teach theory but at MIP we listened to people who were actually working in this business and we discussed it and you could have a great exchange with these people and it happened very often. This helped everyone on the course, particularly the ones who had just recently finished playing football and this helped them to go on to senior positions in the game.

So you had lots of “real-world learning not just theoretical examples?
Bianca: Exactly, this is one of the big differences between MIP and other Masters studies at other universities, you can’t really compare it.

You are one of a small number of female MIP graduates do you think it’s important that more women get involved in the expansion of the game?
Bianca: It’s great that MIP has female participants and its good for the group as sometimes women have different thoughts and it can help the group when there is a diversity of ideas. It creates a very good exchange and it is a must to have females working not just in the women’s game, but also in the men’s. It isn’t about how good is he or she, it is about is that person good enough for the job. The football industry is tough and not everyone can do it but there are definitely some that can. It would be good to have more women in the sport.

Which visit did you find the most interesting?
Bianca: They were all good, but I really liked Barcelona. In the evening we watched a Champions League match which was Barcelona vs a German team, Borussia Monchengladbach. The really interesting thing is that we did a simulation of what happened on a Champions League day to learn more about what goes into putting such a big game on.

You are on the MIP board – why did you want to be on the board?

Bianca: In general, I like to help and be active. I also really like everyone I’ve been on the course with and so I would like to help keep the group and all of these friendships alive. I think we can be a big asset to the world of football with our knowledge and experience, so I wanted to be a part of that. I want to help keep moving MIP forward.