FC Bayern has been searching for a new coach for a long time, but to no avail – and has now presented a surprise solution. Former Bundesliga professional Vincent Kompany is taking over. It is both a risk and an opportunity.
With the signing of Vincent Kompany, FC Bayern Munich has ended its months-long search for a coach. The Belgian, who is still relatively inexperienced as a coach, has been given a contract with the German record champions until June 30, 2027, as the Munich club announced. Kompany comes from the English club FC Burnley, with whom he was recently relegated from the Premier League. Nevertheless, the Bayern bosses see great potential in the 38-year-old surprise candidate and are now hoping for stability on the sidelines.
“Vincent Kompany is hungry and has everything he has: Even as a player, he was a leading figure in top international football and is also leading the way as a coach,” said sporting director Max Eberl in a statement. “We would like to see more continuity in this position. Together with him, we want to achieve a lot at FC Bayern – and of course be successful together.”
Xabi Alonso, Nagelsmann, Rangnick, Tuchel – now Kompany
After months of chaos, Bayern finally have planning security for the coming season. First, preferred candidates Xabi Alonso, Julian Nagelsmann and Ralf Rangnick, among others, had cancelled. Then the attempt to reverse the termination of Thomas Tuchel’s contract, which had already been agreed in February, failed. Instead, Kompany is coming, who also played for Hamburger SV for two years (2006 to 2008) during his impressive playing career.
But what is most remembered is his time at the top English club Manchester City. After leaving HSV, the former central defender not only shaped the style of play of his team with his intelligent build-up play, which he led as captain for seven years from 2012. With his return to RSC Anderlecht in 2019, his career as a coach also began. He did not win a title with Anderlecht. Instead, he led Burnley to promotion to the Premier League in 2023 – but was immediately relegated with the club.
“It is a great honour to be able to work for this club – FC Bayern is an institution in international football,” said the new Bayern coach. “As a coach, you have to stand for who you are as a person: I love having the ball, being creative – and we also have to be aggressive on the pitch and courageous.”
Will Kompany lead FC Bayern to a “complete fresh start”?
In February, Munich decided to part ways with Tuchel at the end of the season. The former Champions League winner with Chelsea FC only won the championship with Munich in the 2022/23 season in more than a year. This season, the team was dethroned in the championship by Bayer 04 Leverkusen after eleven titles in a row. In the DFB Cup, the record winner was embarrassingly eliminated in the second round against third division side 1. FC Saarbrücken. The end result is the first titleless season for Munich since 2012.
Kompany must now shape the new start in the 2024/25 season, in which the Champions League final will take place in Munich. CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen even announced a “complete new start” after the announcement of the early separation from Tuchel. However, the search for a coach subsequently turned out to be much more complicated than sporting director Max Eberl, who was appointed at the beginning of March, had hoped.
Bayern want to “build continuity” again
“We want a coach who will accompany Bayern Munich to some extent in the long term,” Eberl repeated. “We want to build continuity.” With Kompany, who can see FC Bayern as a huge opportunity in his still young career, the Munich team is now taking a risk due to his limited experience.
Xabi Alonso was the preferred solution, but the Spaniard, as a champion maker, sees his future in Leverkusen for the time being. National coach Nagelsmann was also a candidate for a return to FC Bayern, but in April he preferred to extend his contract with the DFB until after the 2026 World Cup. The Munich team were close to reaching an agreement with Rangnick, but then he declined.
Pep Guardiola was the last
So will Kompany and Bayern now find mutual, long-term success? Pep Guardiola, who left in the summer of 2016, was the last Bayern coach to stay until the end of his contract – apart from the eternal Jupp Heynckes, who helped out after Carlo Ancelotti until the end of the season.
“If you believe that ‘Vinny’ is the right decision,” Guardiola recently told the Munich bosses, then a boy like that needs unconditional support. Training starts on July 15th – that’s when it’s all about Kompany and Bayern.
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.
