Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany is looking forward to his seeing his team back in action on Saturday against Hamburger SV in its first match after the international break.
“We’re always favourites at home. But every game has its risks; every team comes to get points. What happened in the past had nothing to do with Merlin Polzin (HSV coach) or me. The club has confidence following their promotion. That can always be dangerous. They go in with complete confidence because they won a lot of games
last season. It’s nice for the two cities; there’s also a bit of that north-south rivalry between two very beautiful cities. It’s a game with a lot of history. We’re looking forward to it,” said Kompany (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
Kompany, of course, has a deep connection with Hamburg, where he really started to make his name as a player. In fact, the last time Hamburg defeated Bayern Munich in Munich, Kompany was actually on the team.
“I haven’t played for many clubs in my career, only 3. I’ve always maintained contact with them. My time in Hamburg wasn’t easy on a sporting level, and it wasn’t easy personally either, but it was also enjoyable. My mother died during that time, and my sister had cancer. But I made many friends; the club was always there for me. The connection is always there. Now, my focus is Bayern Munich, and I’m trying to get that same feeling here. That’s the special thing about this job, building a connection with a club, and that worked out well here in my first season,” Kompany said. “I still remember the game; afterward, I decided I wanted to leave. In 2008, there were the Olympic Games in China, and HSV brought me back, and then I sat on the bench in Munich. I was so angry [laughs]. My country was playing in the semi-finals and I wasn’t allowed to play. That was unacceptable to me on principle. Everything else at HSV was great; I have great memories of that time. My father tried to convince me to stay back then. But I wanted to leave; I didn’t make a bad decision by joining Manchester City.”
As for his squad, Kompany is confident, but is looking forward to getting some of his injured players back later this fall.
“I have 100 percent confidence in the players we have. The squad is a bit smaller. But the most important thing is that I’m happy to play any player, I have 100 percent confidence in every player. Of course, certain players like Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies, Itō, you can’t replace like-for-like. But there isn’t a single player in our team that I’m not happy to play,” said Kompany.
For this week, Kompany also indicated that there are no new injury concerns: “Everyone returned fit from the national teams.”
Bayern Munich is back in Bundesliga action after an international break and just before the Champions League kicks off.
Could Bayern Munich get caught looking ahead? Maybe, but Vincent Kompany will surely have his boys focused on the task at hand — facing Hamburger SV at the Allianz Arena. Let’s get into it all — this is what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show:
- What to watch for with Hamburger SV.
- A look at Bayern Munich’s injury situation.
- A guess at Bayern Munich’s starting XI — will Kompany go with his regulars or will he look ahead to facing Chelsea in the Champions League next week?
- A prediction on the match.
