Why Vincent Kompany's appointment shows Bayern Munich are getting desperate

Bayern Munich appointed Vincent Kompany as their new manager earlier this summer, which many suggest is an odd appointment. Given the Bavarian giants’ history, signing a manager who just oversaw a relegation campaign with Burnley is not what you would expect, could it spell trouble ahead?

Kompany oversaw a difficult year for Burnley, finishing 19th in the Premier League and conceding the second-highest number of goals with 78, per Transfermarkt. The Clarets picked up just 24 points, finishing eight points behind Nottingham Forest in 17th (Forest had a four-point deduction for PSR breaches).

There wasn’t anything unlucky about Kompany’s team either, with Understat suggesting their expected points should have only secured 18th, 17 points below Forest’s expected points.

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Bayern are clearly banking on Kompany’s untapped potential given his young career, tutelage under Pep Guardiola during his playing career and his 22/23 season in the Championship with Burnley, where he led them to promotion and 101 points.

After Thomas Tuchel and Bayern “jointly decided to end their working relationship,” per the club website in February, there was huge speculation who the next manager would be, with Tuchel at one point rumoured to be in line for a shock reappointment. After Tuchel, Kompany still wasn’t the first choice…

Munich’s first choice, per ESPN, was Xabi Alonso, who was too busy leading Bayer Leverkusen to an undefeated Bundesliga title to worry about Bayern’s advances.

Sporting director Max Eberl, who was only appointed in March, then turned his attention to Julian Nagelsmann, who had previously worked as Bayern’s manager from 2021-23 before being unceremoniously fired.

Bayern’s advances were, once again, rebuffed, with Nagelsmann instead extending his contract with the German national team, per Constantin Eckner for ESPN.

Next on Bayern’s list was Ralf Rangnick, who was reportedly interested in the role. Ultimately, the timing wasn’t right, with Bayern requiring Rangnick to leave his role with the Austrian national team before Euro 2024, something the German wasn’t willing to do.

Next on Bayern’s extended list was Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner, whose time in charge of the South London club had proven to be a revelation. Per We Are Palace, the Eagles demanded a fee of £86m (€100m/$109m) in exchange for Glasner’s services, a figure that proved too much for the Bavarian club.

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Next up were Hansi Flick, Roberto De Zerbi and Erik ten Hag on Bayern’s list, with the former taking charge of Barcelona, De Zerbi moving to Marseille and ETH staying at Manchester United.

As previously mentioned, Munich were already getting desperate, so turned their attention back to Thomas Tuchel, offering him a chance to change his mind. ESPN reported many of Munich’s senior players, including Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller, as well as newer members of the squad, Eric Dier and Harry Kane, were all in support of Tuchel staying in charge.

Only after rejection after rejection was Vincent Kompany considered a serious option, with talks starting in mid-May and a deal being struck just weeks later. For Kompany, who probably had no interest in battling for another promotion with Burnley, it was a no brainer, for Munich, it was a desperation move.

Max Eberl told reporters in a statement, “We're delighted to have signed Vincent Kompany. In our talks with him, we were immediately on the same page.” Which is lucky for Bayern, as they were swiftly running out of options.

For Kompany, the 24/25 season is somewhat of a freehit, with Munich going trophyless in 23/24, he has a low bar to clear. Before the 23/24 season, Munich were on a run of 11-straight Bundesliga titles, what followed was Munich's first trophyless season since the 11/12 season. The Bavarians will be anxious to not make this a habit, so any signs of a struggle and fans and directors will start to worry.

Munich have been busy in the transfer market, signing Michael Olise from Crystal Palace and João Palhinha already this summer, bolstering an already impressive squad. Bayern Munich will never be an undesirable job for a manager, but if there is another trophyless year, and managerial sacking as a result, it could begin to look like a poisoned chalice very quickly.

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