May 30 – Vincent Kompany is the unlikely new head coach of Bayern Munich on a three-year deal following a lengthy search that saw the German giants rejected by several top candidates.
The 38-year-old former Burnley manager and Manchester City captain arrives at Bayern tasked with masterminding a revival after his predecessor, Thomas Tuchel, led them to a third-place finish in the Bundesliga – disastrous by their own high standards – 18 points off champions Bayer Leverkusen.
Although Burnley were relegated from the Premier League one year after promotion, Kompany won praise for the team’s attractive style and promised to bring the same tactical philosophy to Bayern.
“As a coach, you have to stand for what you are as a character: I love having the ball, being creative – but we also have to be aggressive and courageous on the pitch,” Kompany said in a Bayern statement.
Even though he arrives at a low point for Bayern, Kompany will still be expected to win trophies and his appointment ends a search that took more than three months since the club announced in February that Tuchel would leave at the end of the season.
Kompany’s record last season with Burnley is hardly typical of a new coach for the 33-time German champions who even tried – and failed – to persuade Tuchel to stay on despite him leading the team to its first season without a trophy since 2012.
In his favour, however, Kompany has experience of playing in Germany after spending two years with Hamburger SV from 2006 before an 11-year stay at Manchester City.
“I want the players of Bayern to be really brave on the ball, to have personality. I want the team to be aggressive, to represent those two things,” the Belgian, who began his coaching career at Anderlecht, said.
“Absolutely brave when they have the ball and make a decision and absolutely aggressive, something they carry every minute of the game. Always. I’m now looking forward to the basics: working with the players, building a team. Once the basis is right, success will follow.”
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