Charles Jackson
Following Thomas Tuchel’s decision to leave the club at the end of the season Bayern Munchen are about to hire Belgian coach Vincent Kompany to fill their coaching vacancy, according to The Guardian. Kompany is coming off a disappointing campaign with Burnley which saw them finish 19th in the Premier League, being relegated to the Championship. While Kompany has managed to oversee an exciting attacking team in the English second division, this has not translated to the Premier League.
Although he lost some of his best players with Nathan Tella It is Ian Maatsen both arriving in the Bundesliga, Kompany does not have the average credentials expected for Bayern Munich. Spend time training Anderlecht and Burnley, Kompany’s potential has been demonstrated as his preferred 4-2-3-1 has been dynamic, but his greatest honor as a manager is winning the Premier League. If he ends up taking over at Bayern, a Bundesliga title would be expected, but he would also be expected to at least have a DFB Pokal or Champions League title.
With the presence of Bayer Leverkusen, who has become a force under Xabi Alonso, none of this would be easy for Kompany, but this would be an appointment that shows how far Bayern’s name has fallen. Returning to Tuchel after allegedly trying Ralf Rangnick, Julian NagelsmannUnai Emery, Julen Lopetegui and Oliver Glasner, times are changing as Bayern can call in any manager they want and have him take over.
Under CEO Oliver Kahn, Bayern’s decision-making has been questionable, as even Nagelsmann’s dismissal was something Bayern are starting to regret. It’s an aging but talented team that needs a new spark alongside Harry Kane but there are doubts as to whether Kompany could be the man to take it to the Allianz Arena.
Sometimes former players can take on these roles and excel, but for every example like Alonso, there are three more similar examples Steve Gerrard. While Kompany has more experience coaching a team than any of these examples before landing his first “big” job, potentially landing one with expectations as high as Bayern Munich could change things. Xabi had the buy-in of the entire board and was allowed to make mistakes when finding balance, which would not be something Kompany would have.
This is not to say that Kompany is a bad coach because, given the circumstances, he did well with a newly promoted team. He managed Lyle Foster leave due to mental well-being with excellent balance and has been openly praised by his players for the atmosphere brought to Turf Moor, but in the Premier League the goals simply didn’t come as they were third lowest scoring behind only Sheffield United It is Everton.
Why would Bayern want to sign Kompany?
Looking back at everyone wanting their own Xabi, the key word is aura. When Xabi speaks, everyone listens and believes what he is saying. Although Kompany is not at the same level as the Leverkusen manager, listening to Kompany talk, even when it comes to negative things like his team’s relegation, you want to believe that he will get it right. He tried to get his Clarets to play a progressive style with through balls when they had space and trying to beat defenders in one-on-one situations, but man-to-man they were not good enough to turn this into wins.
While Kompany could have tried to defend more and slow things down, this is also not a method that has always worked and these principles are things that can impress bigger teams like Bayern Munich. Bayern always wants to be ahead because they must be the better team in most games and be able to increase possession. It’s a strange situation to know how many coaches are linked, but the one common thread between them all is the ability to run a club from top to bottom. Kompany is still growing in that sense, but this is where Bayern could have a gem on their hands if this is done correctly.
Is there a risk in hiring?
Given the amount of rejection seen from Bayern, it appears they will take what they can get, but Kompany’s lack of European coaching experience could be an issue. He managed just three appearances in European competition, leading Anderlecht to the qualifying rounds of the Europa Conference League, where they fell to the Dutch. Vitesse. These competitions are times when a coach has to make important decisions and potentially change his default settings and employ tactics to throw the opponent off balance, whilst ensuring his team is well prepared.
In league games, as long as there is consistency, Bayen should win the majority of their games, but adjustments in matches are what will make the difference. There are areas like central defense where new players will be needed and decisions will have to be made in midfield, but this is a good squad from top to bottom. Bayern scored the most goals in the Bundesliga, with 94, but the problem was allowing 45 goals. A new coach will not need to reinvent the wheel when taking charge of Bayern, but if Kompany is chosen, he will have to quickly learn how to make a difference at critical moments in the game for the club.
It’s hard to say whether things would work out as it’s a risky signing for Bayen, but stranger things have worked too and produced club legends.
