Max Eberl spills the beans! How Kompany ended up at FC Bayern | OneFootball

Vincent Kompany is the architect of Bayern’s current run of success – but his appointment was by no means a foregone conclusion. Chief Sports Officer Max Eberl has now openly admitted that the Belgian was not originally the first choice for the coaching job at FC Bayern

With a little distance, however, the verdict is clear: „Now, 20 months later, you have to say it’s a stroke of luck for Bayern,“ explained Eberl in the ZDF sports studio

The 40-year-old had even exceeded expectations. „I couldn’t have imagined how things would turn out,“ admitted the Bayern boss – underlining how surprisingly positive the collaboration has developed

Many rejections before Kompany

The path to today’s successful coach began with several setbacks. Eberl confirmed that Munich initially favoured other coaches. „It’s no longer a secret that Julian Nagelsmann was an issue, that we spoke to Ralf Rangnick, that we spoke to Oliver Glasner. Some also wanted Hansi Flick back,“ said Eberl

It was only after these rejections that Kompany came more into focus – and even then there was initially a great deal of skepticism. „When we presented the name, there was a question mark at first,“ recalled the 52-year-old

Doubts internally too – Guardiola as „can opener“

photo: IMAGO

Particularly noteworthy: even Eberl was initially hesitant to put Kompany’s name at the top of the list. „To be honest, I didn’t have the courage to introduce Vincent Kompany first,“ he admitted openly

But after talks with the Belgian, the picture quickly changed. Together with Christoph Freund, they came to the conclusion that Kompany would be a perfect fit for FC Bayern, both as a person and in sporting terms

A prominent advocate finally tipped the scales: Pep Guardiola. „I said to Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: ask Pep what he thinks, and that was a bit of a can opener,“ explained Eberl

With this backing, the decision was made in Kompany’s favor – a choice that in hindsight turned out to be a direct hit

Today, FC Bayern is once again one of the best teams in the world and plays for all the major titles. Kompany has not only established a clear playing idea, but has also strengthened the team spirit in the long term

History shows: even if Kompany was not the first thought – in the end, he was exactly the right decision for FC Bayern.