Vincent Kompany reminisces over Pep Guardiola tutelage during Manchester City career | OneFootball

Former Manchester City captain and current Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany has looked back at his time playing under Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium.

Kompany led the Blues to two Premier League titles under Guardiola in the twilight of his professional career, with City breaking every record in the book en route to a plethora of domestic silverware in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.

The 39-year-old was appointed Bayern Munich manager in May 2024 and it would be no overstatement to say that the Belgian has slowly but surely exceeded expectations in the German capital, with the Bundesliga giants as strong as any side in world football at present.

Executives at the Etihad Stadium are believed to be keeping a close eye on Kompany’s managerial career as they prepare for life beyond Guardiola, who has under 18 months left on his current deal at Manchester City.

Kompany penned a new four year deal at the Allianz Arena that is set to keep the former defender at Bayern Munich till 2029, with Manchester City also understood to have formed an early-stage three man shortlist of possible replacements for Guardiola.

Guardiola is expected to make a decision on whether he sees out the final year of his existing contract at the Etihad Stadium towards the end of the current campaign, with City still fighting for an unprecedented quadruple in the business end of the season.

City have turned a corner in recent weeks following a sluggish start to 2026 that saw Guardiola and co struggle for consistency and throw leads away for fun in second halves of games, allowing Arsenal the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League.

However, the tide has turned at the Etihad Stadium and as Manchester City gather momentum, Arsenal have fallen off and allowed the Blues to claw their noses back into the title race, with the pair also set to meet in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on March 22.

Kompany will be cheering for his former club, whom he captained for eight seasons to a plethora of domestic silverware, as Manchester City and Guardiola look to usurp Arsenal in the title race and go all the way in various competitions.

In recent media commitments, Kompany was asked about his favourite title won during his career. “The first title we won with Manchester City,” the Bayern Munich manager said, as quoted by iMiasanMia on X.

“We won it at the very last second. We’d actually lost it in the final matchday, then Sergio Aguero scored at the last second and we won the title. That was my favourite.”

Kompany was further quizzed on what it was like working with Guardiola. “It’s not really about tactics,” the Belgian added. “It’s about mentality to always want to win everything, see every game as an important game, no difference between a game against your main rival and a game against a team from the second division. Having this mentality to always be there.”

Manchester City can build on their recent purple patch with a fifth straight win in all competitions when Newcastle United visit the Etihad Stadium on Sunday night, with Guardiola’s troops set to be fresh after being given three days off after last week’s FA Cup fourth round win over Salford City.