Vincent Kompany was not the obvious choice to succeed Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich. He had just suffered relegation with Burnley, and appointing him to lead one of the biggest clubs in world football was a gamble that raised plenty of eyebrows. Yet, Max Eberl saw something in the Belgian coach that went far beyond the results on his CV.
Now, with Kompany having restored Bayern’s attacking identity, revitalized the atmosphere around the squad, and established himself as one of the most exciting coaches
in European football, Eberl has opened up about how the appointment came together in an interview with Säbener 51 (as captured by@iMiaSanMia).
The initial conversation that changed everything
Asked whether Kompany was his masterstroke signing, rather than a player, Eberl explained why the appointment would not necessarily have been an easy sell at the time.
“I joined the club at a time when it was already clear that the coach would not continue beyond the end of the season. And now, looking back, I can say this: if I had presented Vincent Kompany as my very first choice, I don’t know what the reaction would have been,” said Eberl. “The relegated Burnley manager as Thomas Tuchel’s successor?”
Kompany was not the only candidate considered. Bayern explored several options, including Julian Nagelsmann and Ralf Rangnick, before Eberl decided to contact the former Manchester City captain.
“Of course, we worked our way through a list of candidates. Julian Nagelsmann was one of them; that’s no secret. I had a very good relationship with him, but he decided to take the Germany job. Ralf Rangnick also went in a different direction,” Eberl stated. “We analyzed the market very carefully at the time, and everything we heard about Burnley’s young coach was positive. At some point, I said, ‘Right, I’m just going to give Vinnie a call.’ We spoke on the phone before our Champions League semi-final in Madrid. After four hours, I had to say, ‘Sorry, it’s 6 p.m. I have to go to the team meeting.’ — I hung up and thought: Wow, this feels good! He’s a real character. Then I asked Christoph Freund to form his own opinion of him. He came back equally convinced.”
Four hours on the phone was enough to leave a strong impression on Eberl. Freund came away equally enthusiastic, but Bayern still needed to be convinced that Kompany’s relegation with Burnley did not tell the whole story.
Why Bayern looked beyond Burnley’s relegation
Kompany had led Burnley to promotion with 101 points before suffering relegation in the Premier League. For Bayern, however, the important question was not simply whether his previous team had stayed up. It was what his approach to football revealed about his potential.
“Vinnie won promotion with Burnley with 101 points, only to be relegated again the following season. You could have looked at that and thought: He can’t get the job done; he can’t adapt. But we saw things differently. He has a clear footballing philosophy. He didn’t want to sit back with eight men in defense and hope for a point against Manchester City and Liverpool, with their billion-euro squads, in the Premier League. He wanted to win games, and I saw that as a positive,” said Eberl. “Furthermore, I knew that Pep Guardiola had Vinnie on his list of potential successors for when he eventually decided to step down as Manchester City manager. During all those discussions, which also always involved Jan-Christian Dreesen and Herbert Hainer, I suggested that Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeneß simply give Pep a call, since they have a good relationship with him. Two hours after that phone call, the response came back: ‘Okay, let’s do it!'”
That was the decisive moment.
Bayern Munich saw a coach with a clear identity, an attacking philosophy, and the courage to take on opponents regardless of their financial resources. Guardiola’s opinion provided another important endorsement, helping the club move forward with an appointment that initially seemed unlikely.
The final meeting in Manchester
Even after Bayern had settled on Kompany, there was one more meeting to complete. Eberl and Freund traveled to Manchester to finalize the agreement, and the sporting director recalled how the negotiations unfolded in the early hours of the morning.
“Then Christoph and I flew to Manchester for the final meeting. At three in the morning, Vinnie said, ‘Okay, I’d like to sleep on it and talk to my wife.’ — I lay down on his sofa. He asked, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘Uli told me I’m not allowed to leave your house until you’ve signed.’ He then said, ‘Yes, Max, I’ll do it. But I need to talk to my wife first.’ In the end, he still managed to push me out the door,” Eberl said with a laugh.
It is a fitting ending to a story that began with a four-hour phone call and culminated in Bayern appointing a coach who was far from the obvious candidate.
Eberl and Freund trusted what they saw in Kompany rather than allowing Burnley’s relegation to define him. They identified a footballing philosophy that aligned with Bayern’s identity, sought confirmation from people they trusted, and ultimately convinced the club to take the plunge.
The result has been a Bayern side playing proactive, attacking football, with a renewed sense of confidence and togetherness.
Sometimes, the biggest decisions are not about signing the most obvious name. They are about recognizing the right person before everyone else does. For Eberl, that person was Vincent Kompany.
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