PressSplit
At FC Bayern, there is constant discussion about the head coach. Cristiano Ronaldo indirectly gives Bayern fans hope with a statement.
Munich – Since his appointment in May, a question mark has been hanging over Vincent KompanyThe former central defender spent two years each at RSC Anderlecht and Burnley FC in his coaching career, the move to FC Bayern is a correspondingly big leap.
Cristiano Ronaldo: This is what makes a world-class coach
In the past, big and well-known coaches stood on the sidelines of the German record champions. Julian Nagelsmann Within three years, the club has hired the second coach under the age of 40. In the case of Kompany, the question is more about his experience than his age, but his appointment is still a hot topic in the press.
Cristiano Ronaldo has spoken about the secret of success of great coaches © IMAGO/Bruno de Carvalho
If Cristiano Ronaldo has his way, FC Bayern fans can still hope for a successful tenure for the Belgian. In an interview with former defender Rio Ferdinand, Ronaldo named experience at player level as the most important criterion for great coaches: “The people who understand something about football are 99 percent of the people who have been in the dressing room. The most successful coaches in the world are Pep Guardiola and Sir Alex Ferguson. They were players before, they were in the dressing room. They understand things, they know how to deal with the players.”
Bayern coaches’ playing experience decreased
With Jupp Heynckes, Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti, coaches of this format were active at FC Bayern between 2011 and 2018. After that, however, the Munich team were no longer fishing in the top shelf.
In the summer of 2018, Niko Kovač arrived, who played for the record champions from 2001 to 2003 and won two titles during this period. Hansi Flick (November 2019 – May 2021) was at FC Bayern for five years and won the championship four times, and also played in the 1987 European championship final against FC Porto. The current coach of FC Barcelona surprisingly turned out to be a successful coach, won the sextuple and then defended the championship.
Nagelsmann (July 2021 – March 2023) and Thomas Tuchel (March 2023 – June 2024) never even played for top clubs. Nagelsmann ended his career due to injury at the age of 20, and Tuchel had to hang up his football boots at the age of 24. So neither of them were able to gain much experience in the dressing room.
Kompany has more experience than Nagelsmann and Tuchel
Although Tuchel had enjoyed success with Borussia Dortmund, Paris St. Germain and Chelsea before his time at Bayern, while Nagelsmann reached the Champions League semi-finals with RB Leipzig and is currently working successfully as national coach, both coaches failed early on in Munich – just like Kovač.
Top clubs are a difficult environment because the pressure to succeed means there is little time for development and every setback is painful. The challenge of keeping a squad full of stars happy and preventing problems from arising is just as great.
As the long-time captain of Manchester City, who won twelve titles with the Sky Blues and reached the World Cup semi-finals with Belgium in 2018, Kompany has an advantage in this regard. The 38-year-old earned respect in the dressing room early on, and starting with five wins in five competitive matches gives him additional credit. Perhaps he will actually succeed in creating continuity in the coaching position. That would be important for FC Bayern from a sporting and financial perspective.
