Former Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany has been appointed as the new head coach of German heavyweight Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
The 38-year-old has agreed a three-year deal, which will see him depart Burnley to take over from German manager Thomas Tuchel, after Bayern agreed a compensation fee worth around £10.2 million with the Premier League club.
Kompany led Burnley to triumph in the Championship in the 2022–23 season, but he was unable to replicate that spark in the English top-flight this campaign, with the Clarets suffering relegation after finishing 19th.
The former Belgium international, known for his silky style of play, thanked the Bayern hierarchy for their trust in him before highlighting the philosophy he would be bringing to the Bavarian side.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge of FC Bayern,” Kompany said. “It’s a great honour to be able to work for this club – FC Bayern is an institution in international football.
“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. I’m now looking forward to the basics: working with the players, building a team. Once the basis is right, success will follow.”
Welcome to Munich, Vincent Kompany! 🙌#MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/HcnKwd2V6G
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) May 29, 2024
Bayern finished third in the Bundesliga this season, 18 points behind league champions Bayer Leverkusen, led by Xabi Alonso, who was initially on their shortlist for new managers after former Tuchel announced his departure in February. Also on their list of preferred managers were Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann and Austria’s Ralf Rangnick.
However, Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen has backed their appointment of Kompany, whom he tagged as the “right choice for the club.”
“All of us at the club agree that Vincent Kompany is the right coach for FC Bayern and we are very much looking forward to working with him,” Dreesen said.
“Max Eberl and Christoph Freund have worked tirelessly and meticulously to find a coach who will lead FC Bayern to success and continue to develop the club with new ideas. Vincent Kompany represents exactly the togetherness and team spirit that we need.”
The former Belgium international has a huge task on his hands as he will be expected to oversee a turnaround for Bayern, who endured a poor 2023–24 campaign where they failed to win the Bundesliga title for the first time in ten years and finished trophyless for the first time since 2012.
