Are Kompany's Bayern a glimpse at football after Pep?
With Vincent Kompany making an impressive impact at Bayern Munich, BBC Sport's tactics expert Umir Irfan takes a closer look at the manager's unique style.
Vincent Kompany won the Premier League four times with Manchester City [Getty Images] Vincent Kompany achieved so much as a player at Manchester City that he has a statue outside Etihad Stadium. With Bayern Munich, he is striving for greatness all over again. His appointment as Bayern boss in May 2024 raised eyebrows.
He had, after all, just taken Burnley down to the Championship. But the move appears to have been a masterstroke. Under his guidance, Bayern won the Bundesliga last season.
They are on course to retain their title, sitting 12 points clear at the top. And they hold a 2-1 lead over Real Madrid going into the home leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday. As speculation continues over Pep Guardiola's future, Kompany's ties to Manchester City make him a potential future option for that job.
In the meantime, he is imposing his own style at Bayern, on and off the pitch. Kompany spent 11 years as a player at Manchester City, captaining them for eight of those seasons [Getty Images] There have been concerns among fans this season that the game's top teams, faced with stubborn man-to-man defensive set-ups, are taking a less risky approach in attack. But Kompany's Bayern lean into that risk, playing freely both in and out of possession.
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