FC Bayern has had turbulent years as a coach – but a new era seems to be beginning with Vincent Kompany. By extending his contract until 2029, the record champions are focussing on something that has been in short supply recently: consistency and a clear line.
Since taking office in the summer of 2024, Kompany has stabilised the club in record time, restored structure and team spirit – and created an initial basis for success by winning the league title and the Super Cup within a year. Eleven competitive match wins in a row at the start of the new season impressively underline the 39-year-old Belgian’s signature.
A signal of continuity and trust
Bayern are sending out a strong signal with their extension until 2029: Vincent Kompany is to become the face of a new era – similar to Ottmar Hitzfeld, who characterised the club for six years between 1998 and 2004. Only Udo Lattek, who moulded Munich into a top European team in the 1970s, has been on the touchline even longer.
Great coaches such as Pep Guardiola and Hansi Flick have also left their mark, but none have stood for continuity as much as Hitzfeld and Lattek. It is precisely this stability that the club would now like to build on again.
Kompany said after the contract extension: „I am grateful, honoured and would like to thank FC Bayern for the trust they have placed in me from day one.“
He himself epitomises the new generation of coaches who lead not through loudness, but through clarity, communication and empathy.
Kompany unites team and club
„He is a figure of identification who unites players, fans and everyone at the club,“ explained sporting director Max Eberl. CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen praised Kompany for „bringing the fun back to FC Bayern – and the spark has really been ignited“.
The Belgian is also held in high regard outside the club. Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann described him as a „very pleasant colleague“ with „calming charisma“. For Lothar Matthäus, Kompany is even the decisive factor for the new Bayern dynamic: „He has reunited the team and the players are having fun together again.“
It is precisely this cohesion that is the foundation on which Kompany is building his work – a far cry from the unrest that has characterised the club in recent years.
No repeat of the Nagelsmann mistake
After the departure of Hansi Flick in 2021, FC Bayern experienced several false starts in a row. Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel each lasted less than two seasons – too short to create sustainable structures. Those responsible later openly admitted that parting ways with Nagelsmann had been a mistake.
The club wants to break this cycle with Kompany. His contract until 2029 symbolises a return to continuity that goes far beyond sporting results.
If you compare Kompany’s path to date with previous successful coaches, it becomes clear that he is bringing back calm, identity and stability – values that Bayern has often lacked recently. Should he fulfil his contract, he would be the longest-serving coach since Hitzfeld – and could be the one to lead the club into a new era.
Bayern are not just relying on a coach, but on an idea: dominant football with humanity, discipline and a clear plan.