Bayern Munich, so often regarded as the juggernaut of German football, are going through humbling times at the moment as they huffed and puffed during their 11th consecutive title defence and fell short.
Despite Harry Kane being added to a stacked front line that includes Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane and Kingsley Coman, injuries and inconsistency put paid to their title hopes last season.
Indeed, the Bavarians needed to be perfect in order to pip Xabi Alonso’s side who enjoyed one of the greatest football seasons in recent history. Having accrued 90 points and conceded only 24 league goals all season, Bayer Leverkusen consistently found the net in the dying minutes of games as they came within one game of an invincible treble-winning campaign.
The Black and Reds were unstoppable and it would have been nigh on impossible to keep up with them, talk less by an underwhelming Bayern team. The Bavarians needed an urgent mini-rebuild and a frantic search for Thomas Tuchel’s replacement saw them go through a number of candidates.
There were multiple rejections from the likes of Julian Nagelsmann, Ralf Rangnick, Roger Schmidt, Xabi Alonso, Oliver Glasner, Julen Lopetegui and Unai Emery, as well as an embarrassing attempt to persuade Tuchel to stay, but they ended up turning to Vincent Kompany
Clearly, the decision to appoint a coach relegated with Burnley into one of Europe’s biggest jobs is an incredulous one, to say the least.
Why Vincent Kompany?
Modern football is leaning towards managers who are disciples of Pep Guardiola; think Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, Xabi Alonso at Leverkusen, Enzo Maresca and Kompany winning the EFL Championship in consecutive seasons at Leicester City and Burnley respectively.
Guardiola is a particular reference point in Bavaria given his legacy there, some of his framework will be welcome and their new manager was selected with that in mind.
Indeed, Kompany got Burnley promoted to the Premier League with a similar expansive approach that helped deliver a record 101 points in the EFL Championship with only three defeats from 46 games.
However, that dynasty at the Clarets failed to yield dividends despite significant investment in the off-season, Burnley could not impose themselves on much better opponents and failed to adapt to the Premier League as confidence dropped.
The Belgian manager’s style emphasizes on lots of ball possession and taking risks that certainly suit players of a high quality. That is thus the rationale behind Bayern’s decision to appoint Kompany given they do possess the quality of players capable of delivering this dynamic football.
Par for the course, the Bundesliga giants have begun their recruitment in style and are giving off the right signs of intent to provide a well-balanced roaster for their new manager to work with.
Michael Olise has been the most significant acquisition so far with a shock £50million move to the Allianz Arena in spite of strong interest from Premier League clubs. The Frenchman hit ten goals and six assists in 19 games last season despite missing a huge chunk of the campaign with two serious hamstring injuries.
Olise will join a star-studded frontline that needs a refresh and he offers bags of creativity and supreme dribbling qualities, but it is his unpredictability and confidence that really marks him out to be a potential hit in the Bundesliga.
With even better teammates around him, the 22-year-old is set to go to the next level and his style of play will please the Allianz Arena faithful who have enjoyed some truly talented wingers over the years.
Olise is just another to have moved to Bayern from the Premier League within the last year after Harry Kane, Eric Dier and Vincent Kompany, Joao Palhinha also left Fulham this summer and those stars will have familiar faces to with in this new era for their new club.
Bavarian vengeance
Hiroki Ito, Palhinha and Olise have all been signed while Josip Stanisic has returned from a loan spell at Leverkusen. Yet, Bayern are in advanced talks with Jonathan Tah.
It appears Die Roten are active on the departure end as much as they are working on arrivals as Matthijs De Ligt could be on the move while Joshua Kimmich is also likely to leave before he enters the final year of his contract.
This means that Kompany should have a very strong squad that is capable of competing on all fronts, they will be confident that 2025 can be the year that Kane finally ends his trophy curse. However, it is up to the coaching to live up to the standard required to get a very demanding club over the line.
Whatever the outcome will be one of the extremes; either Bayern are ruthlessly criticised should Kompany struggle, or they are lauded for their imagination if he thrives. The former Belgium captain will finally see his fixation to those dynamic attacking principles judged having enjoyed contrasting fortunes in the top two levels of English football.
Either way, getting the best out of Kane will be crucial to any hopes this term after the Englishman had arguably his best season in recent memory and came close to smashing Robert Lewandowski’s Bundesliga goalscoring record, but saw the rest of the team around him collapse.
The 30-year-old bagged three goals at Euro 2024 despite arriving at the tournament short of full fitness, but England came within four minutes of at least forcing extra-time in the final against Spain. It is scary to think what could have been had Kane not had a disappointing collective season at club level or rocked up to a major tournament lacking in fitness or confidence.
Kompany must have a galvanizing effect on the Bayern squad and he has spoken out on what he expects during preseason:
“It’s important to feel right away that a new season is starting and to immediately have the right mentality. Of course it’s still preparation, you’re not fully fit yet, you still have things to learn.
“But mentally, you have to be fit from the start. The focus should be on getting back on top. The squad must 100% have this intensity and this focus to be successful again”
Style and application are the most important elements for the Bayern boss right now, and regardless of the stain of relegation, he can somehow be accepted as the answer for Bayern.
The club is massive and the players are top-quality, now is the time for Kompany to prove he belongs.
