End of the South Korea tour
Loud and demanding: Kompany’s pressing style enlivens Bayern
Stands for loud, active coaching: Vincent Kompany. Photo
© Ahn Young-joon/AP/dpa
The Bayern stars are experiencing a new coaching style. Neuer, Müller and Kimmich like it. Sporting director Eberl explains the Kompany approach – and what counts in the end.
After the slightly delayed landing in Munich after a night of flying, Vincent Kompany gave his players a day and a half to recover from the exertions of the South Korea trip. Hard work is the 38-year-old Belgian’s credo. But the former top player Kompany is careful in his role as coach, even if he intends to introduce a new style of football at record speed to the record champions. The best way is to keep what is good – and to become title-winning again with something new.
Kompany seems to be more focused on the inside than the outside – this was evident during the intense days in Seoul. The young head coach doesn’t like to explain much in public, and he doesn’t particularly like reporters’ questions about individual players.
“Bayern played very similar football for a long time”
He also preferred to let others talk in detail about the Kompany style of football that was evident in the 2:1 friendly against Tottenham Hotspur. Sporting director Max Eberl, for example. Or the players. “Bayern Munich played very similar football for a very long time,” said Eberl after the many championship years in the recent past, which Bayer Leverkusen were able to end with impressive Xabi Alonso football. They want to fight back with Vinnie style football.
Kompany’s approach is as follows. “He wants to have an incredibly high willingness to run, high energy, high intensity on the pitch,” said Eberl. Especially against the ball. Against Tottenham, it looked like the team pressed extremely high and aggressively – man against man. The ball wins should lead to scoring opportunities and goals through lightning-fast switching and combination play. Goal scorer Harry Kane can be happy. But does Kane, who is due to start training in the middle of the week, fit in with the intensive pressing style?
Dominant all-in pressing
Konrad Laimer, probably the most aggressive ball-hunter in the Munich squad, spoke of an “all-in pressing” at the end of the Korea tour. The Austrian is convinced that “the style of play will be very dominant” once the entire Munich team has “the finer points” down pat.
The Bayern stars have to get used to a different approach during training and in games. Kompany coaches and teaches in an extremely active, loud and energetic way. But his style is getting through. “Especially in the beginning, it can be louder from the sidelines,” said captain Manuel Neuer. “You need him to call in,” said Laimer.
“We are currently doing everything we do very conscientiously,” said veteran Thomas Müller, who is taking part in his umpteenth preseason training. The coaching team around Kompany is “leading the way with commitment and discipline – and we follow,” said Müller: “And that is urgently needed. Because we have a lot planned for this season. We are being handed over from one department to another in training. Everyone has the reins of action in the coaching department.”
The difference to Nagelsmann and Tuchel
Unlike Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel, Kompany starts in Munich without a great coaching resume. But compared to his predecessors, he can point to a great playing resume, especially at Manchester City, where he also learned from Pep Guardiola. Neuer, Müller and Joshua Kimmich also valued his work at Bayern.
Kimmich expressed his positive impression after just a few days of working together: “Kompany has his ideas with the ball and against the ball. He does that quite well, with videos and the way he coaches on the pitch.” A “certain signature” is already recognizable.
“Fantastic football with 2:2, 3:3, 4:4” is not enough, noted Eberl. “Attractiveness comes from results. Attractiveness and no results eventually leads to unattractiveness and no results.”
Kompany and his “mindset”
Kompany, however, believes that he and FC Bayern can be a perfect match. “I think we fit together very well,” he said in Seoul when he spoke about his mindset. Success is what drives him. “I’ve had to win my whole life. Why should that change here? That will never change. The club’s expectations can’t be any higher than my expectations of myself.”