Vincent Kompany is probably the guarantee for success at FC Bayern, but Uli Hoeneß has now revealed how bumpy the road to signing him was. Once again, it is clear that the Belgian was not the first choice at first.
In an interview with kicker, Uli Hoeneß explained that several candidates were initially considered: „We were sceptical at the beginning, he was number four or five that we spoke to. I’m thinking of Julian Nagelsmann, Ralf Rangnick, Thomas Tuchel first and also Oliver Glasner, who would have come if Crystal Palace had released him.“
It was only in a roundabout way that Kompany came more into the focus of those responsible. One of the triggers was an external assessment that left an impression. „When we called Pep Guardiola before Vincent’s signing and asked what he thought of him, he said we could take him blindly,“ said Hoeneß.
Hoeneß: „That was Max Eberl’s idea“
The decisive turning point finally came at a personal meeting. Hoeneß described the moment very specifically: „That was Max Eberl’s idea. The first meeting took place in the Käfer, with Herbert Hainer, Max, Christoph Freund, Vincent and his father.“ After a short time, his opinion had already been confirmed.
The long-time Bayern patron recalled: „After half an hour, I gave Max a push and gave him the thumbs up, I knew: That’s him!“ His message for the subsequent talks was correspondingly clear: „I then told Max to please take some laundry with him to stay overnight, he didn’t need to come back from the negotiations without a contract.“
At the same time, the current Bayern coach is also highly regarded within the team, with central defender Jonathan Tah recently describing Kompany as a „top coach“ in an exchange with Granit Xhaka at the international match between Germany and Switzerland, highlighting both his sporting and human qualities.
Former teammates also have positive things to say about the Belgian, with ex-teammate David Silva saying: „He has an eye for everything, thinks deeply about things and works incredibly hard“. The Spaniard also emphasized: „Vincent has always had what it takes to be a coach“.
