Vincent Kompany joins Kim Min-jae's Bayern Munich as new manager

Football

Published: 30 May. 2024, 13:19 Updated: 30 May. 2024, 16:51

Vincent Kompany joins Kim Min-jae's Bayern Munich as new manager

Vincent Kompany celebrates after a Championship match between Burnley and Sheffield United in Burnley, England on April 10, 2023. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Former Burnley manager Vincent Kompany has been appointed as the new Bayern Munich manager, the Bundesliga club announced Wednesday.

Kompany, 38, signed a contract that runs through June 30, 2027. Bayern is the third team the Belgian manager has taken charge of after Belgian team RSC Anderlecht and English club Burnley.

“All of us at the club agree that Vincent Kompany is the right coach for FC Bayern and we are very much looking forward to working with him,” Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said in a statement released on the club’s official website on Wednesday. “Vincent Kompany represents exactly the togetherness and team spirit that we need."

Kompany, who spent his glory days at Manchester City from 2008 to 2019 as a center-back, started his coaching career at RSC Anderlecht in 2019 as a player-coach and led the team until he joined then-Championship team Burnley in 2022.

He won the Championship and sent Burnley to the Premier League in his first season but failed to save the club from relegation to the second division in the 2023-24 campaign after finishing 19th place on the 20-team table.

The appointment of Kompany comes after former manager Thomas Tuchel left the position following the last match of the 2023-24 Bundesliga season against Hoffenheim on May 18.

Bayern had a relatively unimpressive year under Tuchel last season, failing to win a Bundesliga title for the first time in 12 years after finishing the league in third place and winning zero trophies.

The best XI of Bayern could see some changes with the new manager in charge, which may leave opportunities for center-back Kim Min-jae to re-establish himself as a regular defender pick.

The 27-year-old was a regular pick in the first half of the last season but saw a decline in playing time after his return from the Asian Cup in February.

He also drew criticism from Tuchel for costing Bayern a 2-2 draw with Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals on April 30 during which Kim was involved in conceding both goals — by making rash movements that allowed Vinicius Junior to capitalize a through ball and score and giving away a penalty.

Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae, right, challenges for the ball with Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior during the first leg of the 2023-24 Champions League semifinals against Real Madrid at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany on April 30. [AP/YONHAP]

Kim has four more years left on his contract.

Until Kim earns a chance to shine next season, Kompany will be in preseason action with Bayern heading to Korea in the summer for the Coupang Play Series — an exhibition game series launched in 2022 — in which they will face Tottenham Hotspur led by captain Son Heung-min on Aug. 3.

The two sides will clash in another preseason game in London on Aug. 10.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]