Bayern - the king of Germany, the aspirant in Europe

Bayern Munich have long been considered the “king” of German football, a formidable force in Europe. But next season, will they continue to break through or just stagnate under Vincent Kompany? To find the answer, we need to go back to May last year.

Kompany fell from the sky

At the end of the 2023/24 season, Bayer Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso were a true monster, conquering the German league without losing a single match. Bayern under Thomas Tuchel not only lost the championship after 11 years but also dropped to 3rd place. Tuchel's departure was indisputable, but what was confusing was the quick appointment of Kompany.

That same season, Kompany marked his managerial career by leading Burnley to relegation with only 24 points. Bayern even had to pay $13 million in compensation to Burnley for this failed coach. There are many different explanations for why Bayern's board 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 of them refused. And so Vincent Kompany - who was only a backup plan - suddenly became the final choice when "plans A, B, C..." were all rejected one by one.

There is a theory that since returning to power at Bayern, Uli Hoeness has not liked Tuchel - who was brought in under CEO Oliver Kahn and Sporting Director Hasan Salihamidzic. When both Kahn and Salihamidzic left their posts after the 2022/23 season, Tuchel lost important "shields". Hoeness bluntly called him a "disaster", saying that Tuchel lost Bayern's traditional identity and was the reason why the Allianz Arena fell into a dead-end crisis. Therefore, Hoeness's support for a 38-year-old coach like Kompany to lead Bayern can be seen as a move to affirm: anyone can do better than Tuchel.

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

What Kompany does for Bayern in the 2024/25 season could make Hoeness proud. Bayern took back the championship from Leverkusen. Not only that, with 82 points after 34 rounds, Kompany's team has the most points in the past 5 years. In the last three seasons that Bayern won the championship, the number of points did not reach 80. The number of goals is 99, the most in the last 4 seasons.

Bayern's performance only really declined in the Champions League, when they stopped at the quarter-finals against Inter Milan. Previously, in the 2023/24 season under Tuchel, the "Gray Tigers" had advanced to the semi-finals and only succumbed to Real Madrid in an unlucky position due to the unexpected brilliance of Joselu. Looking at it from an overall perspective, stopping at the quarter-finals is not too bad, because in three consecutive seasons from 2020/21 to 2022/23, the Bavarian team only stopped at this round.

Kompany's plus point compared to 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 previous two personality coaches.

Need to demonstrate expertise rather than mental ability

Kompany has enjoyed a higher level of trust from the players than Tuchel and Nagelsmann since he took over. The players appreciate that Kompany only makes personal criticisms internally, never publicly. The Belgian always stands up for his team, which is very different from previous managers.

Tuchel often analyzes mistakes in great detail, to the point where everyone listening knows exactly which player is at fault. Nagelsmann, on the other hand, often makes the whole team feel that victory is the result of the team and the coach, and defeat is entirely the fault of the players.

Kompany, on the other hand, understands the importance of not letting the team be divided by blaming each other. He is also authoritative enough to tell the players what Nagelsmann is too young and Tuchel is too critical.

Bayern Munich just won the German Super Cup.

Although winning people over is an art that coaches need to have, the prerequisite for their success is to be good at tactics and tactics. When Bayern asked for their opinion on appointing Kompany, coach Pep Guardiola praised his former player at Man City for his expertise, personality, and knowledge of football.

Bayern Munich sporting director Christoph Freund later explained: “Vincent Kompany is the type of coach who fits very well with Bayern’s philosophy and playing style. His teams always want to have the ball, want to play dominant, high-intensity football.”

This season, Bayern continues to trust and invest in Kompany's squad. After parting ways with Leroy Sane, Bayern spent 70 million euros to buy Luis Diaz to suit their control-oriented style of play. In addition, the most dangerous opponent, Leverkusen, 'disbanded' after coach Xabi Alonso left, the Bundesliga championship seems to be in the pocket of Kompany and his team.

What Bayern's board of directors and the Belgian coach crave most is the Champions League. However, the "Gray Tigers" squad upgrade is too little compared to the changes of English teams and the two giants Barcelona and Real Madrid. PSG is still the lofty peak after Bayern's convincing defeat at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Another important thing for Kompany to remember is that Flick, Nagelsmann and Tuchel all had successful first seasons but had to leave their clubs in their second seasons due to poor results. Will Kompany's desire keep him at the Allianz Stadium come the end of next season?

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