„Did the opposite“: Kompany finds clear words for Lennart Karl | OneFootball

In the midst of the turmoil surrounding Lennart Karl’s Real statements, Vincent Kompany has now also spoken out, with the Bayern coach firmly defending the youngster.

At the press conference before the second half of the season opener against VfL Wolfsburg, Kompany spoke at length for the first time about Lennart Karl’s comments. The 17-year-old had expressed his desire to play for Real Madrid one day during a visit to a fan club – a statement that made waves. Kompany now focused on the attacking player’s performance and attitude.

„I try to look at the whole thing from a distance. I look at the big picture and the context – what does a 17-year-old Lennart Karl do every day: he trains well and very hard – how many 17-year-olds do that? He works extremely hard for the team, delivers every day in training, in games and in meetings,“ said Kompany.

He stressed that Karl is already showing a lot of professionalism despite his young age. „Maybe he made a small communication error, but in the bigger picture: he’s concentrating on the right things. He’s had a very good week of training. He’s really earned his minutes.“

Kompany the only one „not talking to him about it“

photo: IMAGO

The Bayern coach also reported that Karl took action himself immediately after the discussion: „He immediately called Christoph and Max and apologised for what he said.“ Kompany continued: „I tried to be the only one not to talk to him about it. TikTok talked, Instagram talked, BILD talked, Kicker, Sky, whatever, everyone had an opinion. So I tried to be the only one not to talk to him about it. His team-mates teased him a bit – that was funny.“

With regard to Karl’s training attitude, Kompany was once again clear: „If he trains badly, then he has a problem with me. If he doesn’t give 100 per cent, then he has a problem with me. But he did the opposite, he trained and played very well and worked very hard. He apologised, and for me that’s fine.“

Freund and Eberl also defend Karl

Christoph Freund and Max Eberl had already made it clear after the test match in Salzburg how FC Bayern felt about the incident. Freund told Servus TV: „I think that’s Lenny. Anyone who knows Lenny knows that. That’s how he plays soccer! He wears his heart on his sleeve. He doesn’t give a shit, we say – even on the pitch. He talks like a 17-year-old lad.“

Sporting director Eberl also emphasised after the game: „A 17-year-old is allowed to make mistakes. He came to us the day after and said: I don’t think I said something really good. For us, the matter is off the table, it was never an issue. He shows his performance on the pitch.“

Karl’s performance against Salzburg underlined this impression: after coming on as a substitute, he scored two goals and provided an assist – a sporting response to the discussion off the pitch. He should also get his minutes against Wolfsburg and can continue to silence the negative voices.