Vincent Kompany was officially presented as Bayern Munich’s new coach on Thursday, insisting he did not share the football world’s surprise at his appointment.
Bayern’s decision to take a gamble on the 38-year-old former Manchester City defender took many people by surprise because his first foray into managing in the Premier League ended with the relegation of his Burnley side two weeks ago.
But Kompany said: “I think the aspect of being surprised is because you assume it is the only club that called and you only assume it because I am a private person.
“Maybe I was surprised by the first call but it wasn’t from Bayern Munich” he told the press conference, speaking in a mixture of German and English.
“My mentality is that I never haven’t ever worked for a top club in my head,” Kompany said.
Kompany replaces Thomas Tuchel after failed attempts by Bayern to lure Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso, Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann and Austria’s Ralf Rangnick to one of the biggest jobs in the game.
Reflecting on Bayern’s recruitment process, he said with a smile: “The only thing I can say is, the fact I am here means they are doing a very good job!”
And he set out a clear vision of how he wants to shape his new team which has just suffered its first trophyless season for 12 years.
“As a coach, you have to coach who you are as a person.
“I grew up on the streets of Brussels. I want the players of Bayern Munich to be brave and have personality on the ball. I want the team to be aggressive. I want the team to represent my character, to be brave and aggressive.”
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 them to the Premier League as second-division champions, before crashing back to earth with a poor season in which they won just five games and slipped back into the Championship.
Bayern’s sporting director Max Eberl believes they have made a sound investment in acquiring Kompany, someone he said had been on their radar “for a long time”.
“Vincent has everything except the experience of having worked at a top club so far.
“He has a great personality and his style of play suits FC Bayern perfectly: we want to be dominant, we want to have the ball. He also stands for that. We’re delighted to have this coach with us and to take the next steps with him.”
He added: “In terms of experience, we’re now going down the path together with him.
“We had a long decision-making process when looking for a coach and I can say: you save the best for last.”
