After several disappointments, Bayern Munich finally ended their search for a new coach last week with Vincent Kompany. The Belgian coach agreed to a three-year contract with the Bavarian club. Bayern have finalized the compensation terms with Burnley. Kompany is expected to be at Sabner Strasse later this week.
The Belgian coach was not at the top of Bayern’s shortlist to replace Thomas Tuchel. Die Roten wanted Xabi Alonso to succeed Tuchel, but the Spaniard decided to stay at Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern approached Julian Nagelsmann, Ralf Rangnick, and Oliver Glasner to fill this position but couldn’t get the deal over the line for different reasons.
Before making a move for Kompany, Bayern also tried to convince Tuchel to extend his stay, but they couldn’t reach an agreement with the German coach. According to Bild (via iMiaSanMia), Max Eberl and Christoph Freund pushed for a long-term appointment in Kompany instead of looking for a stopgap appointment for a season.
Hansi Flick also held talks with Bayern. The German coach was open to signing a deal until 2025, but Freund and Eberl believed Die Roten needed a long-term project and a squad overhaul. They believed Kompany was the right person to spearhead this change with a long-term strategy.
Freund and Eberl will need the project with Kompany to succeed for the sake of their jobs at Bayern. The record Bundesliga champions will have to show patience with a young coach. They failed to do so with Julian Nagelsmann a year ago. Bayern cannot afford to repeat the same mistake with Kompany.
It will not be a straightforward 2024/25 season for Bayern. Kompany may need some time to adapt and get the team back on track to challenge for domestic and European honors. Eberl and Freund will have to protect him whenever there is a poor result and create an environment at the club that will help him to succeed.
After ending the season without a trophy, Bayern are expected to make several changes to the squad. Kompany will have a big say in the squad rebuild. His first task is reportedly to get clarity around the future of Alphonso Davies. The Canadian full-back has 12 months left on his contract.
Bayern will start accelerating transfer plans once Kompany is in the building. The Belgian coach is expected to hold talks with players who want clarity about the project to commit their future to the club. Appointing Kompany is a big gamble for Bayern, but it will be fascinating to watch how the young Belgian coach performs in Bavaria.