analysis
The Munich team had wanted an experienced coach, but instead brought in Vincent Kompany, who has only been in the job for four years. The club is still exhausted from the Nagelsmann era.
When Vincent Kompany travels to Munich these days to sign a contract as head coach of FC Bayern, one sentence will have already preceded him. Max Eberl said it on the last Bundesliga matchday when he was asked whether there had finally been progress in the search for a new coach. An annoying question, especially as the sporting director also had to deal with another crisis, namely the 2:4 defeat against Hoffenheim, which meant a fall to third place. A region in the table that Bayern had only known from stories. In any case, Eberl answered the question about the coach: “The best comes last.”
A phrase, an attempt to stifle an unpleasant topic. But at what cost? “The best comes last” – with this sentence Eberl has put a huge burden on Vincent Kompany’s time in office before it has even begun. This young coach, who has only been in his job for four years and was recently relegated from the Premier League with Burnley FC – this Vincent Kompany is actually supposed to be the best coach for the great FC Bayern?
Heavy burden for Vincent Kompany
Eberl’s statement has defined the yardstick by which Kompany’s every training session and every game will be measured in the future. He will carry this burden throughout his three years at Bayern – if he is even allowed to stay until the end of his contract.
Kompany, 39, grew up in Anderlecht and was Manchester City’s defensive leader for eleven years. Even in Eberl’s eyes, he is not the ideal coach for FC Bayern. Everyone in the industry knows that, because the search for a trainer was semi-public, and people were constantly leaking out which candidate Eberl was currently negotiating with: Xabi Alonso, Ralf Rangnick, Oliver Glasner, Roger Schmidt, and even an extension with Thomas Tuchel was attempted. Eberl only got rejections.
One of the last on Eberl’s list was Vincent Kompany. That says nothing about his professional qualities – but it does reveal that Bayern actually no longer wants a coach like him. The club is still too exhausted from the almost two years under Julian Nagelsmann. He was also a young, talented coach, even more reputable than Kompany today, but still no match for FC Bayern with its complicated power structures. The people in charge at the time, Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic, paid little attention to him, and no help came from the powerful supervisory board around Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. The view was that if you’re a coach here, you know a solution to every problem. It was precisely this ability that would make him a Bayern coach.
Longing for the old masters
Some members of the supervisory board still long for the past, when grand seigneurs such as Jupp Heynckes, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti looked after the professional team. These were coaches who offered the all-round carefree package: they drove the team to peak performance and at the same time moderated the inner workings of the Bayern dressing room with sensitivity. Their words were heard and no one doubted their authority, because it was based on impressive life achievements.
Vincent Kompany cannot demonstrate any of this. Eberl knows this and will try in the coming weeks to sell Kompany as one of the most talented coaches in world football. As the Xabi Alonso of the day after tomorrow.
Will that help Kompany and ease the pressure of expectations a little? Not really. Eberl will find it difficult to defend Kompany against criticism in times of weakness, because he himself is on the ropes at FC Bayern. Eberl may have brought the club a coach after weeks of searching – but not the one they had wanted. FC Bayern has never been a training club, neither for players nor for coaches. Now Eberl has made it one, out of necessity.
Vincent Kompany – the Xabi Alonso of the day after tomorrow?
Eberl can only hope that Kompany has a solid season, which means at least winning the German championship and getting through the Champions League quarter-finals. Then he could look for a coach who fits the classic Bayern profile. Eberl doesn’t have to wait long to start scouting, because next summer will see more top coaches on the market than in decades. Pep Guardiola has already indicated he wants to leave Manchester City, Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso will be looking to prove himself on a bigger stage, and then there’s Jürgen Klopp, who is expected back from sabbatical.
All coaches who would meet Bayern’s requirements. It is unclear whether Eberl will be able to conduct the contract negotiations himself. His professional fate is closely linked to that of Vincent Kompany. The man who will have to prove from day one in Munich that the best really does come last.
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.
