It’s no secret that Vincent Kompany needed little to no convincing when asked to join Bayern Munich. But you might think he would’ve asked his ex-coach, mentor, and most recently, colleague — Pep Guardiola for advice, as the Manchester City manager has coached Bayern Munich himself in the past.
In a recent interview with Bundesliga, Kompany revealed that he actually didn’t talk to Pep before making this decision. “It was important for me to have a neutral decision”, said Kompany.
He continued, “Afterwards it was good to speak to people, not just Pep but others as well because you want to understand the players and the people. It’s no different to when you go and visit Munich or Bavaria in general and you want to try to collect as much information as you can so that when you come in, you can fit in somehow. You want to almost immediately inspire and convince them.”
As it turns out, Bayern was the only party to talk to Pep before the move was completed.
Both Kompany and Pep were phenomenal players, and one can only hope that Kompany will be met with the same success as a manager while forming his own identity as a coach. The season shall set the tale for his success and will tell us how much he has learned from Pep.
Interested in an in-depth review of Bayern Munich’s preseason so far? How does Harry Kane fit with the team, and what are Vincent Kompany’s plans for Thomas Müller? Will selling De Ligt and Mazraoui have unintended consequences? We talk about all that and more on our newest podcast episode! Listen to it below or on Spotify (or Patreon):