Bayern - the king of Germany, the ambitious force in Europe.

Bayern Munich still dominates the Bundesliga to the point where they can almost win the title with their eyes closed, but whenever they step onto the European stage, they become suffocated and struggle to breathe. Can the "Bavarian giants" create something different, something groundbreaking, in the new season?

Bayern Munich has long been considered the "king" of German football, a formidable force in Europe. But next season, will they continue their dominance or simply stagnate under Vincent Kompany? To find the answer, we need to go back to May of last year.

Kompany fell from the sky.

At the end of the 2023/24 season, Bayer Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso were a true beast, conquering the German league without a single defeat. Bayern under Thomas Tuchel not only lost the championship after 11 years but also dropped to third place. Tuchel's departure was undeniable, but what was puzzling was the hasty appointment of Kompany.

That same season, Kompany made his managerial career a failure by leading Burnley to relegation with only 24 points. Bayern even had to pay Burnley $13 million in contract compensation to secure this failed manager. There are various explanations for why Bayern's management chose the former Belgian defender to replace Tuchel.

British media revealed that Bayern had approached Xabi Alonso, Julian Nagelsmann, Ralf Rangnick, Hansi Flick, and even Mauricio Pochettino to replace Tuchel, but all declined. And so, Vincent Kompany – initially only a backup option – unexpectedly became the final choice after all the "plans A, B, C…" were successively rejected.

There's a theory that since returning to power at Bayern, Uli Hoeness has disliked Tuchel – who was brought in under CEO Oliver Kahn and Sporting Director Hasan Salihamidzic. When both Kahn and Salihamidzic left after the 2022/23 season, Tuchel lost these crucial pillars. Hoeness bluntly called him a "disaster," arguing that Tuchel lost Bayern's traditional identity and was the reason Allianz Arena fell into an inescapable crisis. Therefore, Hoeness's support for a 38-year-old coach like Kompany, who had just been relegated, to lead Bayern could be seen as an affirmation that anyone could do better than Tuchel.

Vincent Kompany is considered to have a style that suits Bayern Munich.

What Kompany can do for Bayern in the 2024/25 season could bring great pride to Hoeness. Bayern reclaimed the championship from Leverkusen. Not only that, with 82 points after 34 rounds, Kompany's team earned the most points in the last five years. In the three previous seasons that Bayern won the championship, the points total didn't even reach 80. The number of goals scored, at 99, is also the highest in the last four seasons.

Bayern's performance only truly declined in the Champions League, when they were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Inter Milan. Prior to that, in the 2023/24 season under Tuchel, the "Bavarian giants" reached the semi-finals and only succumbed to Real Madrid in a moment of bad luck, thanks to Joselu's unexpected brilliance. Looking at the overall picture, being eliminated in the quarter-finals isn't too bad, as in three consecutive seasons from 2020/21 to 2022/23, the Bavarian team also only reached this stage.

Kompany's advantage over his two predecessors is that he has built a positive atmosphere in the Allianz Stadium dressing room. This is also considered the main reason why Bayern chose Kompany after they had to go through headaches under the two previous strong-willed coaches.

Professional expertise needs to be demonstrated rather than psychological ability.

From the moment he took over, Kompany earned greater trust from the players compared to Tuchel and Nagelsmann. The players appreciated that Kompany only offered personal criticism internally, never publicly criticizing them. The Belgian coach always stood up to defend his team, a stark contrast to previous coaches.

Tuchel often analyzes mistakes in such detail that by the end, everyone listening knows exactly which player was at fault. Nagelsmann, on the other hand, often gives the whole team the feeling that victory is the collective achievement of the team and the coach, while defeat is entirely the fault of the players.

Kompany, on the other hand, understood very well the importance of preventing the team from being divided by mutual recriminations. He also had enough authority to control the players, while Nagelsmann was too inexperienced and Tuchel too critical.

Bayern Munich has just won the German Super Cup.

While winning people over is an essential art for a coach, a prerequisite for their success is mastery of tactics and strategy. When Bayern asked for his opinion on appointing Kompany, coach Pep Guardiola praised his former player at Man City for his expertise, personality, and knowledge of football.

Later, Bayern Munich's sporting director, Christoph Freund, explained: "Vincent Kompany is the type of coach that perfectly fits Bayern's philosophy and playing style. His teams always want to possess the ball, want to play dominant and high-intensity football."

This season, Bayern continues to place its trust in and invest in Kompany's squad. After parting ways with Leroy Sane, Bayern spent 70 million euros to buy Luis Diaz, a player suited to their possession-based style of play. Coupled with the fact that their most dangerous rival, Leverkusen, has fallen apart after coach Xabi Alonso's departure, the Bundesliga title seems to be firmly in Kompany's hands.

What Bayern's management and the Belgian coach crave most is the Champions League. The only problem is that Bayern's squad upgrades have been too minimal compared to the changes made by the English teams and the two giants, Barcelona and Real Madrid. PSG remains the unattainable pinnacle after Bayern's convincing defeat at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Another important point Kompany needs to remember is that Flick, Nagelsmann, and Tuchel all had successful first seasons but left the club in their second due to declining performance. Will Kompany's ambition help him remain at the Allianz Stadium when next season concludes?

Source: https://znews.vn/bayern-vua-nuoc-duc-ke-khat-vong-o-chau-au-post1575247.html