Vincent Kompany has said he would never compare himself to Pep Guardiola as the Belgian follows in the footsteps of his old manager at Bayern Munich.
Kompany has been unveiled as the new manager of Bayern Munich, taking charge of the German giants following Thomas Tuchel’s exit at the Allianz Arena.
The 38-year-old was relegated with Burnley in the Premier League last season, but his early performances at Anderlecht and the Clarets have convinced Bayern that he is ready for the step up to one of Europe’s top clubs.
Kompany played under Guardiola, regarded as the world’s best manager, during an illustrious playing career at Manchester City and follows in the footsteps of the Spaniard by taking charge in Munich. Guardiola won three consecutive league titles in charge of Bayern between 2014 and 2016, but Kompany is keen to avoid any comparisons between the two.
“I’ve played at the highest level in my career and I want to pass that on to my players. I would never compare myself to Pep Guardiola. He was very important in my career,” he said at a press conference.
“I’ve also recently spoken to Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeneß and they also stand behind me. But I don’t want everyone to only be convinced of me beforehand, but also of my work on the pitch during my time here.”
Kompany will reunite with former Manchester City teammate Leroy Sane in Germany and said he is keen to ‘coax everything’ out of the winger.
“When I was in the Championship, I only watched the Championship, in the Premier League only the Premier League. You don’t have time to watch any more football. We had a really good time together in Manchester. I wasn’t just captain at City, I was more than that. I will try to coax everything out of him and everything out of every player.”
Asked what he will bring to the role, Kompany said he has a clear vision of what he wants from his side and said internal talks will take place on player recruitment this summer.
“I coached one of the youngest teams in Belgium and one of the smallest teams in England. What I bring to the table are things that will help the players to improve. I have a clear vision and will also implement it here in Germany.
“We’ll discuss internally what the squad needs. We want to win every game, always. That must always be our priority. Of course, the Champions League final is in Munich in 2025. But we won’t achieve that by talking about it, we’ll have to work hard for it every day in training.”
