So what is Vincent Kompany? The E-solution in Munich’s coaching odyssey? The ex-HSV professional doesn’t have to be bothered by that. His mentor raves about him. And Julian Nagelsmann sees an opportunity.
How far back in FC Bayern’s candidate alphabet you have to go to find Vincent Kompany is of no concern to the newcomer coach. In any case, the former Bundesliga defender of Hamburger SV comes well after the failed top solution Xabi Alonso in the Munich coaching rankings, who just crowned an outstanding season with the double with Bayer Leverkusen.
Kompany, Belgian, 38 years old, head coach since 2020, first at RSC Anderlecht in Belgium, then at FC Burnley in England, can see an impending job at the German record champions as a huge opportunity.
He has the blessing of Pep Guardiola, who is still revered on the Isar. And the fact that the Munich team under Thomas Tuchel failed to win a single title this season for the first time since 2012 can even be interpreted as a promising starting position.
Nagelsmann: Titleless Bayern season as an opportunity for Kompany
“It’s not a bad situation for a young coach like him,” said national coach Julian Nagelsmann before the DFB Cup final between Leverkusen and Kaiserslautern (1:0) in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on Saturday. On this basis, Kompany can leave his own mark on the club.
Nagelsmann was even Tuchel’s predecessor at FC Bayern. Between July 2021 and March 2023, he himself tried to leave his mark on the Isar. He was also part of Bayern’s current recruitment process, and was reportedly ranked just behind Xabi Alonso and thus well ahead of the risk solution Kompany. His signature in Munich on a contract until the end of June 2027 is now expected.
Guardiola has “a very high opinion of ‘Vinny'”
Nagelsmann said that he could change more at Bayern than if the Munich team had become champions again. At the same time, however, the national coach admitted that he did not know the Belgian particularly well or personally. “I have heard that he is a very good coach with an outstanding perspective and that he has had many good coaches who trained him,” said Nagelsmann. “So I think he will do well.”
One of Kompany’s trainers was Pep Guardiola. For three years until the summer of 2019, before the central defender moved on to Anderlecht as a player-coach, the brilliant Spanish coach worked with the former Hamburger SV defender at Manchester City. “I have a very high opinion of ‘Vinny’. It doesn’t matter if he was relegated with Burnley,” said Guardiola. “I have a great appreciation for his work, because of his personality and his knowledge of the game, how he deals with the media and many other things.”
With Burnley, first furiously up, then quickly down again
Kompany and Burnley FC were promoted to the Premier League in 2023 with ease after 29 wins in 46 Championship matches – and were immediately relegated as second-to-last with only 24 points. But those around Turf Moor will remember the furious debut season above all, because the squad was said to be too weak to stay in England’s elite league.
“If you believe that ‘Vinny’ is the right decision,” Guardiola said to the Munich boss, then such a boy needs unconditional support. “I would be happy if Bayern makes the best decision because I love this club for many reasons, especially the people who are still there.”
Is everyone at FC Bayern dependent on Hoeneß’s “mercy”?
Unconditional support? Those are two strong words. But there should at least be support from the club’s committees, which often have many voices. After all, the supervisory board, including Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, must have approved the appointment of Kompany. Otherwise there would be no three-year contract and no transfer fee to Burnley, which is said to be between ten and twelve million euros.
“Uli Hoeneß created the club as it is now. That was always the problem with his actions, because he wanted to control everything. If he had a coach he could control, then everything was fine. If a coach couldn’t handle him, there were problems,” said former Bayern coach Felix Magath, who won the double twice in Munich between 2004 and 2007, about the crisis at FC Bayern in a Sky broadcast.
This has been going on for decades. “Everyone who works here is at his mercy.” And Kompany should be able to cope with that too. Regardless of whether you want to call him an E-solution or an XY solution.
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
