Bayern Munich's transformative coach, Vincent Kompany (40), is even being mentioned as a future managerial candidate for Manchester City.
The British broadcaster BBC highlighted on the 15th (Korea time) that "Vincent Kompany's Bayern could be a facet of football after Pep Guardiola."
Kompany took the Bayern reins despite a relatively limited resume. At the time, there was much doubt. It was right after he had relegated Burnley to the Championship. Many found it hard to understand why Germany's premier club Bayern had chosen Kompany.
The result was the exact opposite. Kompany won the Bundesliga in his first season. This season Bayern are also leading the table. After 29 matches they have 76 points, 12 points ahead of second-place Dortmund. In the Champions League they won 2-1 in the first leg away to Real Madrid in the quarterfinals, putting them in a favorable position for the semifinals.
BBC described Kompany's Bayern as "reminiscent of Guardiola's Manchester City, yet freer and bolder."
The key is movement. Especially movement without the ball.
Kompany's Bayern constantly change positions when the opponent plays man-to-man. Players mix up positions to draw opposing defenders out and create empty space. The round of 16 against Atalanta in the Champions League was a prime example.
At the time Bayern faced Atalanta, who defended man-to-man across the pitch. Kompany dropped Serge Gnabry from an attacking midfield position to center back. Atalanta's defender followed Gnabry down. In that moment the space behind Gnabry opened and Bayern players exploited the gap.
Ultimately Atalanta fell into a strange structure where the forwards were marking defenders and the defenders were shadowing attackers. Bayern dominated with a 10-2 aggregate score over the two matches.
Italian coach Luciano Spalletti also praised them. He said, "Bayern provided an encyclopedia of movement and positioning in football."
It was similar in the first leg of the quarterfinal against Real Madrid.
Bayern started in a 4-2-3-1 formation. When they had the ball Joshua Kimmich dropped into the defensive line. Together with the two center backs he formed a back three, creating a numerical advantage against Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius.
Meanwhile fullbacks Josip Stanišić and Konrad Laimer narrowed inside. Real Madrid defended narrowly in a 4-4-2. Arda Güler and Federico Valverde followed Bayern's fullbacks into the center.
Then the flanks opened up.
Bayern's center backs immediately passed to the wide attackers. When Michael Olise received the ball the opponent's pressure was already late. Olise took the ball and drove forward. He unsettled the defense, created space and pushed Real Madrid back into their own half.
The build-up to the second goal was exactly that. Olise carried the ball in himself, and Serge Gnabry and Luis Díaz made runs into the space behind. Real's defenders had no choice but to retreat. At that moment Harry Kane dropped into the empty space in front of the penalty area. No one could stop him. Kane took a shot and it became a goal.
The BBC explained, "Olise is a creator, Díaz is a runner, and Kane drops to link up or enters the box. Their strengths fit together perfectly."
Their defensive approach is also unique.
Bayern attempt one-on-one pressure high up the pitch. However, they do not insist on man-to-man all the way. If the opponent breaks the press and crosses the half line, they immediately switch to zonal defense. Depending on the situation they shift to 4-4-2 or sometimes 5-2-3.
In the Real Madrid match Luis Díaz tracked Trent Alexander-Arnold all the way. The former forward Díaz at one point dropped into the defensive line and formed a temporary back five.
The BBC evaluated, "Kompany's strength is making complex tactics understandable to good players and allowing them to move freely within that framework."
Kompany is only 40 years old. He is at the beginning stage as a coach. Even so, he is already being mentioned as a candidate to succeed Manchester City. There are even calls that he could be Guardiola's successor.
Kompany watched Guardiola's football longer and more closely than anyone. Now he is changing Bayern in his own way.
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