Vincent Kompany apparently came into this world with two things already installed: a football and a strong opinion about how a football club should be run.
Long before he was managing Bayern Munich, Kompany was on the U-11 team at Anderlecht, where Albert Martens coached him in the academy. According to Martens, the young Kompany was already displaying the personality that would eventually make him a Premier League captain, Manchester City legend, and Bayern Munich head coach.
“He was definitely always
the boss, no matter which team he was playing for,” Martens told Bayern Munich magazine Säbener 51 (as captured by Tz).
And apparently, “always the boss” extended well beyond the pitch.
During a Belgian television report about Anderlecht’s U-11 team, young Kompany was asked about the club and decided this was his opportunity to conduct an impromptu transfer-market audit.
His complaint? Anderlecht was spending money on expensive signings instead of giving its academy products enough opportunities.
At 10 years old.
Most kids that age are worried about whether they are getting enough playing time; Kompany was apparently worried about the club’s recruitment strategy. Martens still laughs about it, admitting that Kompany “made a really good point” and had always possessed a knack for finding the right words.
The leadership qualities were obvious, although becoming a future elite manager came with a few growing pains. Kompany hated losing. Absolutely hated it.
According to Martens, Anderlecht’s youth teams regularly played small-sided games in training, and whenever Kompany lost, the tears came out. Naturally, none of it was ever his fault—a detail that sounds remarkably familiar to anyone who has watched Kompany passionately dissect a Bayern Munich performance from the touchline.
Eventually, Martens decided young Vincent needed a lesson in leadership. During a U-12 match against Molenbeek, Kompany gave his teammates a furious dressing-room speech after a poor first half. So Martens did the logical thing: he took his best player off.
Anderlecht went on to win comfortably. Afterward, Kompany’s father, Pierre, thanked Martens for the lesson. Vincent was never quite as grumpy after that when things went badly for his team.
Nearly two decades later, Martens still sees that same child in the Bayern Munich coach: the passion, the ambition, the honesty, and the desire to dominate.
There is something wonderfully fitting about the story. Bayern Munich’s current manager was questioning Anderlecht’s transfer policy before he was even old enough to drive a car.
Now, he is running one of the biggest clubs in Europe. Some things really do start early.
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