Josep “Pep” Guardiola’s exit from Manchester City on Friday was a shocking one.
Following 10 years at the Saudi Arabian sports-washing project, the 55-year-old Catalonian manager has ended his time as manager there. It is by far his longest stint as a manager in professional football, having remained four years at FC Barcelona and three years at Bayern Munich in his previous stints as manager.
During those 10 years, Guardiola changed the footballing landscape in England and left a huge impression on many
people. One of those people is current Bayern manager Vincent Kompany, who captained Josep’s City team from 2016-2019. When Kompany became a football manager in 2020, Guardiola’s influence on Kompany’s style of play was noticeable. Teams pressed high, held a high line, played expansive attacking football and looked to dominate in every single aspect of the match.
It is this influence that Kompany was asked about in the press conference ahead of Bayern’s DFB-Pokal final against VfB Stuttgart, with the announcement of the end of Guardiola’s tenure in Manchester still fresh in everyone’s minds. Kompany took his time to explain:
“Of course I have my own character and personality, but I have Pep to thank for this trust and belief that I could become a coach. His influence was big,” Kompany readily admitted (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “People talk a lot about tactics and technique, but in the end it’s about this willingness to win everything and always keep going. For me it was a gift to be able to work with Pep. The years I worked with him gave me this hunger to become a coach.”
Guardiola even helped Kompany receive the job of head coach at Bayern. Back in 2024, before the big Belgian’s appointment, Bayern’s brass approached Josep for his thoughts on Kompany and received an enthusiastic recommendation.
Still, it is too easy to say Kompany owes it all to the 55-year-old. Guardiola certainly influenced him and helped him on his path during time together at the sportswashing project in Manchester, but Kompany has since branched out and is carving out his own legacy at Bayern. While Guardiola has cemented his legacy and leaves behind a completed job in Manchester, Kompany is only getting started in Munich.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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