Vincent Kompany has earned yet another special accolade. Just recently, the Bayern coach was named Germany’s Coach of the Year, and now the Belgian also tops the list in an analysis of public perception of Bundesliga coaches. More than 8.3 million German-language posts were included in the study.
On the field, Kompany has put FC Bayern back on track. But apparently, the 40-year-old is also extremely well-liked off the field.
This is according to an IMWF study conducted in collaboration with FCBinside. The study examined how Bundesliga coaches are perceived in online media and on social networks.
The data set is extensive: For the period from June 2025 to May 2026, more than 8.3 million German-language digital posts and snippets about the 18 Bundesliga clubs were analyzed. In more than 400,000 of these, the respective coaches were also discussed.
Kompany tops the overall ranking
The study did not rely solely on how frequently a coach was mentioned. In addition to quantitative visibility, the quality and tone of the coverage were also factored into the evaluation. Furthermore, the study examined the impact that a coach’s public perception has on his club’s reputation.
In terms of pure visibility, the coaches of Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Dortmund (Niko Kovac), and FC Bayern (Kompany) came out on top.
The Belgian fared even better in the qualitative analysis. Here, Kompany took first place, followed by Hoffenheim coach Christian Ilzer and Freiburg coach Julian Schuster.
In terms of “impact”—that is, the extent to which coaches influence the reputation of their respective clubs—the coaches of FC Augsburg, Union Berlin, and Werder Bremen came out on top.
However, the decisive factor is overall reputation, which combines the various factors. And that’s where Kompany takes first place. Behind the Bayern coach are the coaches of FC Augsburg and Dortmund’s Niko Kovac.
More than 430 million sources were taken into account
According to IMWF, the results are based on an AI-powered analysis. The analysis included online media, news sites, Facebook, X, forums, blogs, and online communities. In total, the database comprised more than 430 million potential sources.
Only German-language content was analyzed and then classified as positive, neutral, or negative based on its tone. This assessment, in turn, was factored into the reputation calculation.
For Kompany, the result is further confirmation of his work so far with the German record champions. Just recently, he was named Coach of the Year in the traditional poll conducted by sports journalists.
Now, the IMWF analysis shows that the Belgian impresses not only because of his athletic achievements. In terms of public perception as well, Kompany ranks at the top compared to his Bundesliga counterparts.