Bayern Munich’s long search to fill its vacant head coach position is over, with the German giant naming Vincent Kompany as manager in a shock move on Wednesday.
The 38-year-old Belgian, a surprise choice with his Burnley side relegated from the Premier League this season, has penned a three-year deal at the Allianz Arena.
Normally in contention for the biggest names in the business, Bayern has been searching for months, but has been knocked back by several candidates after its first trophyless season for 12 years.
After failed attempts to lure Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso, Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann and Austria’s Ralf Rangnick, Bayern tried to hold onto Thomas Tuchel, who had agreed in February to leave in the summer.
Tuchel, however, announced in May he “couldn’t agree on terms “to stay with the club and would “stick to the agreement we had in February”.
Instead, Bayern has decided on Kompany, taking a risk on an inexperienced, yet promising, candidate in one of the biggest jobs in soccer.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge of FC Bayern. It’s a great honor to be able to work for this club — FC Bayern is an institution in international football,” said Kompany in a club statement.
“I’m now looking forward to working with the players, building a team. Once the basis is right, success will follow.”
Burnley will reportedly receive 10.2 million pounds ($13 million) in compensation for allowing its manager to leave.
“We understand the allure and prestige of a club like Bayern Munich and respect Vincent’s ambition to explore new opportunities,” Burnley said in a statement.
Alonso 2.0?
After a successful playing career, where he captained Manchester City and the Belgian national team, Kompany returned to his first club Anderlecht to begin his managerial career.
He moved to Burnley in 2022 and took it to the Premier League as second tier league champion, before crashing back to earth over the past 12 months.
Yet, he crucially retained the support of his old coach at City Pep Guardiola, who advised his former club to go for Kompany due to his leadership qualities and determination to play an attacking brand of soccer.
“As a coach, you have to stand for what you are as a character,” added Kompany. “I love having the ball, being creative — but we also have to be aggressive and courageous on the pitch.”
Coaching instability has been a feature at Bayern over the past decade-and-a-half, despite its consistent on-field success.
Guardiola, whose three-year spell in Bavaria ended in 2016, was the last Bayern coach to complete at least two full seasons.
Used to poaching the best talent from its Bundesliga rivals, Bayern was shunned by Alonso, as he decided to take Leverkusen into the Champions League next season.
However, recreating the Spaniard’s success in Germany looks to have been on the minds of the Bayern board. Like Alonso, Kompany is a disciple of Guardiola and speaks German thanks to his spell at Hamburg as a player.
But, his transition into coaching has not been as smooth as the Leverkusen boss.
He finished third and fourth in his two full seasons at Anderlecht, before overseeing Burnley’s lowest ever points tally in the English topflight to finish second bottom of the Premier League this season.
Kompany, who is the same age as Bayern captain Manuel Neuer, now has a mammoth task ahead of him in attempting to revive Bayern’s on-field fortunes, not to mention navigating the club’s complex backroom politics, which have derailed more experienced coaches.
“I’m happy the link has happened between Bayern and Vinny,” Guardiola said.
“I have a huge regard for Vinny. The relegation with Burnley doesn’t matter.
“What I felt playing against him and knowing him, I have the highest opinion of his work, personality, his knowledge of the game and how he handles the media.”
Manchester City legend
Kompany joined Anderlecht at just 6 years old and came through the youth ranks, breaking into the first team in 2003 aged 17.
He left to join Bundesliga side Hamburg in 2006, and his stint at the former European champion would prove crucial to his Bayern appointment.
Kompany, a native French and Flemish speaker, learned German during his time in Hamburg — a crucial criterion for Bayern, who has been historically reluctant to sign coaches not proficient in the local tongue.
After two seasons in northern Germany he made the move that would define his career, joining City just before the club was taken over by a consortium from Abu Dhabi, which transformed it into the dominant force in English soccer.
Named skipper in 2011-12, he then captained City to its first English league title in 44 years.
The defender departed the Etihad in 2019, but has an enduring presence outside the stadium, with a statue built in his honor in 2021.
With 89 caps for Belgium, Kompany’s leadership also shone at a national level, where he captained the side from 2010 until stepping down from international duty in 2019.
Pep’s influence
Kompany’s qualities always seemed well-matched for a coaching career, but it was his time learning under Guardiola that crystallized that ambition.
“With Pep, I just knew I wanted to become a coach one day,” Kompany told Germany’s Suddeutsche Zeitung in 2023. “He influenced me a lot because he was the one who broke the game down so that I could fully understand it.
“With his absolute clarity, he was the trigger for me to explain football in my own way.”
Kompany’s ideology has been formed by Guardiola’s possession-based style.
He attracted criticism this season for not adapting as Burnley struggled with the step up to the Premier League.
But Bayern — the resources of which dwarf the rest of the Bundesliga — will be hoping Kompany can replicate the dominance shown in his one Championship season.