Vincent Kompany has put his stamp on Bayern Munich in his year and a half in charge. But the Belgian manager does not really see it that way — and he isn’t as focused on the metrics, either.
In a November interview with club magazine Säbener51, Kompany was prompted about whether Bayern’s Champions League first half against Paris Saint-Germain — a 2-1 victory in November despite an early Luis Díaz red card following his brace — best exemplified so-called Kompany ball.
“I don’t think like that. I don’t want
to see ‘Kompany football’ — I want to see Bayern Munich,” Kompany replied in remarks captured by @iMiaSanMia. “Against PSG, we defended extremely high at first, then deeper later on — and yet we kept our look. But to say: ‘That was my football’ — that’s not how I’d put it.
“I want a team who are dangerous in every phase. Even if we’re defending deep in our penalty area, our opponents should be aware that we can score with three passes — like in Frankfurt.
“And when Manuel Neuer has the ball, we have to get the message across: Bayern can be dangerous at any time, whether after ten passes or just one. Even against deep-lying opponents, we want to show we can find gaps and remain a threat. Throw-ins, corners, for us or against us — we always have a plan to make something out of every situation. This feeling is much more important to me than running data or possession stats.”
At times in his first season at Bayern, there was a feeling that Kompany’s approach was rigid and unchanging. But that is proving to not be the case.
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