Curious: Bayern didn’t realize just how good Vincent Kompany is | OneFootball

Vincent Kompany has not only put FC Bayern back on the path to success on the field. Since the Belgian took over as head coach in the summer of 2024, a much calmer atmosphere has settled around the German record champions. CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen now even describes the 40-year-old as a “real stroke of luck.”

After winning the league title in his first season, Kompany most recently led the Munich team to the double. In the Champions League, their run didn’t end until the semifinals against eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain. Beyond the on-field successes, however, Bayern’s leadership is apparently most impressed by Kompany’s handling of players, the media, and difficult situations.

“That really is a stroke of luck,” Dreesen gushed on SPORT1’s ‘Doppelpass.’

The Bayern coach’s communication skills, in particular, have won over the CEO. “The fact that it works so well and that Vincent handles this communication so elegantly,” Dreesen emphasized.

This quality is particularly important at FC Bayern. Hardly any other German club is under such constant public scrutiny. So far, however, Kompany has consistently managed to moderate discussions without unnecessarily generating new headlines.

Even Bayern didn’t realize just how good Kompany is at this

Things got interesting when Dreesen was asked whether club officials had been aware of this exceptional strength of the Belgian’s even before signing him.

“No, you can’t really know that in advance,” the Bayern boss admitted with surprising candor. In hindsight, Dreesen also didn’t want to pretend that this development had been foreseeable from the start: “It wouldn’t be right now to claim otherwise.”

In doing so, the CEO admits that Kompany has actually exceeded Munich’s expectations in this area.

When he was signed in the summer of 2024, the Belgian was by no means the undisputed top choice. Since then, the picture has changed fundamentally. On the field, Kompany has delivered titles, and at the same time, he seems to enjoy nearly unrestricted support within the club.

“I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like him.”

Photo: IMAGO

Dreesen made it clear just how popular Kompany is within the club with another statement.

“In any case, I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t like Vincent, even though he might not always say everything,” explained the 59-year-old.

Kompany apparently has a particular knack for sidestepping uncomfortable or controversial questions without coming across as dismissive. It’s precisely this ability that impresses Dreesen: “He just has such an elegant way of wrapping things up. And we didn’t know that about him before,” added the Bayern boss.

For the record champions, signing the Belgian has thus paid off in several ways. Kompany ensures on-field success, has a good rapport with the team, and at the same time conveys to the outside world the calm that has repeatedly been lacking at Säbener Straße in the past.

Munich is also banking on its coach for the long term. Kompany is under contract with FC Bayern through the summer of 2029. According to Dreesen, there is currently little reason to believe that the partnership could end prematurely. What was once a rather surprising coaching decision has apparently turned into a “real stroke of luck” for Bayern.