Vincent Kompany has sparked a new dynamic in youth development at FC Bayern. Time and again, the 40-year-old gives talented players from the club’s own academy the opportunity to train with the pros or get their first minutes of playing time. According to academy director Jochen Sauer, this is no coincidence.
“Vincent is definitely closely involved. It’s certainly impressive how many young players he gave the chance to make their debuts last season,” Sauer explained in an interview with SPOX.
However, Kompany had already proven that he has a special knack for young players long before his move to FC Bayern. Ironically, the Belgian played a decisive role in the development of a former Munich prospect.
Kompany helped Zirkzee in his development
Joshua Zirkzee was once considered one of the greatest talents at the Bayern Campus. However, the Dutchman didn’t make his definitive breakthrough with the first team in Munich. In the 2021–22 season, the record champions loaned him to RSC Anderlecht—which was coached by Kompany at the time.
For Sauer, this collaboration was a complete success: “He’s already proven at Anderlecht that he can work with young players. He played a major role in ensuring that our loan player, Joshua Zirkzee, continued to develop exceptionally well.”
Under Kompany, Zirkzee had a strong season in Belgium and then took the next step. In 2022, Bayern sold the forward to FC Bologna. In retrospect, Zirkzee is thus also an example of how the successful development of a youth academy player can benefit the club both on the field and financially.
Kompany also knows from his own career how important trust is for young players. “Vincent grew up at the top youth academy, RSC Anderlecht, and that has shaped him. As a talented player at Anderlecht, he was given an opportunity, seized it, and became a world-class player at Manchester City,” Sauer explained.
Bayern has fundamentally rethought its approach to the youth academy
The “Kompany effect,” however, is only part of a larger trend at the German record champions. According to Sauer, cases like those of Angelo Stiller and Kenan Yildiz have led club officials to fundamentally reassess the transition from the youth academy to the first team.
Both were developed at FC Bayern but subsequently made their breakthroughs at other clubs. “Stiller and Yildiz certainly contributed to our increased focus on this transition,” Sauer explained. The key, he said, is that a young talent is given the opportunity to prove himself in the first place.
Meanwhile, the Munich club is reaping a double benefit from its youth development program. Players like Jamal Musiala, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Josip Stanisic, and Lennart Karl are making the leap to the first team and saving the club from costly transfers. At the same time, Bayern is now generating substantial transfer fees from young players for whom there is no long-term place on the professional roster.
Kompany has further accelerated this development. Together with sporting director Max Eberl and director of sports Christoph Freund, he is ensuring that the youth academy is more closely integrated with the professional department.
For Sauer, it is therefore clear that the club’s current success did not happen overnight. Years of youth development work are increasingly bearing fruit—and with Kompany, Bayern now has a coach on the bench who is willing to give young talents a real chance, even at the highest level.