Burnley's Alan Pace makes 'crazy' Vincent Kompany claim | OneFootball

Burnley owner Alan Pace admitted he didn't know of Vincent Kompany before hiring him to manage his club in 2022

Vincent Kompany is one of the brightest young managers in world football, managing an utterly dominant Bayern Munich side at just 40 years of age.

Before his move to the German giants, though, he led Burnley for a couple of years between 2022 and 2024, overseeing one of the most dominant Championship sides in recent memory, alongside a rather disappointing Premier League campaign which ended in relegation the year after.

It was at Turf Moor that the former Manchester City defender really established himself as a top manager to look out for in the future.

His time at Anderlecht was positive, and his impact over the couple of years he spent in the dugout at the club where he began his playing career was highlighted by the fact that they finished 11th in the Belgian Pro League the year after he left, but his time at Burnley allowed him to showcase his managerial skills on a bigger stage.

Burnley chairman opens up about working with Vincent Kompany

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Kompany's hiring was one of the first successful turns in the ALK era at Burnley under chairman Alan Pace. The first 18 months of his ownership saw the Clarets avoid relegation in 2021 before falling into the Championship a year later, ending their six-year stay in the top flight.

But, there was a possibility that the popular Belgian boss didn't land at Turf Moor at all in the summer of 2022, as Pace didn't have much of a clue about who he was when the American businessman left Wall Street to delve into English club ownership.

Speaking to the For All The Saints podcast, per the Burnley Express, he said: "The crazy part is that I had no idea who he really was.

"We didn't know who Vince was, and we actually went to a game of Man City, and it was one of my partners who called me over and said there was a statue of Vince there, and no, I didn't know, so he must be a big deal.

"I was quite far down the path of looking for managers at the time, and one of my partners came to me and said, 'We should look at him,' and it was a mutual connection who made an introduction, and I went to go and meet him."

Luckily enough, it didn't take long for Pace to get acquainted with the man whom he would employ as his new manager that summer, explaining that he felt "smitten" during the meeting with him.

"I have to say, from the first five minutes of meeting him, I was smitten by the way he thinks, the way his brain works, the way he discussed things, the way we were able to communicate concepts and ideas. An endless dialogue to discuss football and life, the intersection of, he was just an amazing, amazing person from the very first moment I met him," he continued.

"I was due to get back on a train to come back, and I ended up missing six trains because our meeting went so well.

"From there, we got to know each other much better and spent many more times of conversation. You know what, it’s probably been one of the best opportunities from my perspective to get to know someone so incredible, so talented, so amazing, where you feel, ‘I’m not worthy, you’ve done so much, and I will never get close to what you have done.'

"Just to be in your orbit, to feel your sunshine, if you will, for a brief moment in time, was phenomenal."

Pace has met some fascinating people throughout his life, from prime ministers to Princes and other famous faces on Wall Street, and, clearly, Kompany is one of the best he's ever met.

"Somebody asked me who the most incredible person I've met so far is, and I know some people will never realise it in the same way that I do, but Vince is one of those. People will be so lucky to get to meet him and know him for who he really is," he concluded.

Burnley will hope to recapture Vincent Kompany's brilliance back in the Championship next season

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Kompany departed Turf Moor in the summer of 2024 to take the Bayern Munich job, and while it may have raised eyebrows at the time, given he'd just been relegated from the Premier League on 24 points, it's proven to be a masterstroke from the German giants.

Burnley have watched him progress away from them with a twinge of jealousy, but mainly with pride, and they could only dream now of securing the next Vincent Kompany to lead them into the future.

Kompany's successor, Scott Parker, delivered similar results to the Belgian, collecting 100 points and leading the Clarets back to the top flight in his first season, but was unable to re-establish them in the Premier League, finishing with just 22 points.

So, Alan Pace is, once again, looking for a new manager ahead of the Championship campaign kicking off in August. Wales boss Craig Bellamy, who assisted Kompany at Turf Moor, seems to be the candidate they are pursuing, and they'll be hoping he could make it a hat trick of centenary seasons if he does get the job.

The focus then would be to go one better than both Kompany and Parker and ensure that their subsequent hypothetical Premier League stay lasts longer than a single year.