All things considered, it was a relatively short preseason for Vincent Kompany and Bayern Munich on a wholistic level. He has only had his full squad back for a few weeks after the internationals made their returns from EURO 2024 and Copa America duty and the start of the competitive season has technically already come. Bayern’s 4-0 win at SSV Ulm marked Kompany’s first competitive match and win in charge of Bayern, which came just over a week prior to match week one in the Bundesliga at VfL Wolfsburg.
Aside from the rather disappointing 1-1 draw with Düren, Bayern’s preseason fixtures and win over Ulm painted an optimistic picture for how the season will go with their new Belgian manager, following up on their first season without silverware in over ten years. With a decent amount of movement in the transfer market already, and the window open until the end of the month, there has been a lot for Kompany to take in and digest, but there is an underlying feeling that he has done exceptionally well thus far to get on the same page with the squad.
Keeper Manuel Neuer recently explained his appreciation for Kompany’s clear and precise communication. He feels that the former Manchester City defender has already done a good job of speaking with individual players in the squad and getting everyone on the same page in a compressed window of time.
“Communication is key for every coach. It’s vital to talk to the players and to get feedback from them. You need to know how the players think and he did this very quickly by talking to individual players. He wants to teach us his philosophy, because it’s critical that we are all following one philosophy, which is usually decided by the coach. We are all ready to listen and are very focused on delivering the things that the coach is demanding of us,” Neuer explained (via @iMiaSanMia).
Photo by Marco Steinbrenner/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images
“It’s important to him that we are dominant and that we always offer solutions to one another. Everybody needs to be ready and show what they can do on the pitch. There is a lot of coaching and individual conversations happening on this,” the keeper continued.
The preseason performances and routine win over Ulm suggest that Kompany is steering the ship rather confidently, but as Neuer alluded to, responses to certain stations will be the difference maker between success or failure this season for Bayern. They are a club that is almost always going into any given clash as the odds-on favorite, but it is up to them to deliver upon that sentiment, which is a collective effort that stems from the tactics Kompany will put forth and the adjustments he will make.
Looking for more thoughts on Bayern Munich’s transfer window, plus our takes on Manuel Neuer’s retirement from the German national team? What about some predictions on how Bayern Munich will do this season? Great, then check out our Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
