It could be an opportunity for Kim Min-jae (28, Bayern Munich), as Bayern Munich are reportedly targeting Burnley manager Vincent Kompany (38).
“Bayern Munich are in talks with Manchester City legend Kompany,” Germany’s Sky Sports reported on July 21.
Bayern Munich have world-class players in both attack and defense with the signings of Kim Min-Jae and Harry Kane in the 2023-2024 season. Thomas Tuchel, who took over midway through last season, got his ‘dream players’ and together they challenged for a 12th consecutive Bundesliga title.
But the result was irrelevant. Bayern Munich lost the Meisterschaft (Bundesliga trophy) early to Bayer 04 Leverkusen, who went on to win the title unbeaten, and packed up early in the German Football Association (DFB) Pokal, where they were beaten by a third-tier side. Even in the UEFA Champions League (UCL), their last hope, they couldn’t get past the Real Madrid wall and were eliminated in the last four.
Bayern Munich even failed to finish second in the league, blowing a 2-0 lead to Hoffenheim in the final match before falling 2-4. 스포츠토토 This is the first time since the 2010-2011 season that Bayern Munich has finished in third place. It was another humiliation for the Bavarians, who finished the season unbeaten for the first time in 12 years after the 2011-2012 season.
The biggest problem is another matter.
It“s been three months since the club decided to say goodbye to Tuchel, and they still haven”t found a coach for next season.
Bayern Munich announced in February that Tuchel would part ways with the club after this season. Tuchel was originally scheduled to lead the team until June 2025. However, he fell out with the club’s board of directors over poor results and rumors of discord, and agreed to part ways sooner than expected. The plan was to bring in a new coach to revamp the team.
However, Bayern Munich’s search proved much more difficult than expected. Xabi Alonso, the number one choice, decided to stay at Leverkusen, while Julian Nagelsmann re-signed with the German national team. Add to that the losses of Austria national team coach Ralf Rangnick and Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glassner, and the return of Hanji Flick fell through.
The situation sparked speculation that Tuchel would stay, but it never materialized. Tuchel was unable to reach an agreement with Bayern Munich on the terms of his contract and decided to leave the club without a second thought. The Bavarians also approached Roberto De Zerbi, who had just parted ways with Brighton, but were rebuffed again.
No one else wanted to come to Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich made a surprising choice. They reached out to Burnley manager Kompany. Now, Bayern Munich are reportedly targeting a minority group in the PL, including Kompany.
The young manager, born in 1986, is an integral part of City’s history as a center back. As captain, he won 12 titles with City, including four Premier League titles (2011-2012, 2013-2014, 2017-2018, 2018-2019).
Kompany retired from his hometown club RSC Anderlecht in 2020. He joined the club in 2019 as both a player and manager before taking charge of Burnley FC in 2022.
Kompany has also distinguished himself as a coach. He led Burnley to the Championship (second division) title in the 2022-2023 season and won four Manager of the Month awards in one year.
However, he was relegated from the PL. Kompany brought the same high-pressing, aggressive tactics he used in the Championship to the PL, but he had his limitations. Burnley finished the season in 19th place with 24 points (W5 D9 L24) and were relegated after just one season.
Nevertheless, Bayern Munich have been linked with a move for Kompany.
According to Sky Sports’ Florian Platenberg, “Bayern Munich are considering the appointment of Kompany after numerous failed managerial appointments. The Bavarians have already contacted Kompany and are in early talks with him.”
“At Burnley, Kompany favored a 4-2-3-1 formation, a tactic Munich used to great success. His contract runs until 2028.” “Kompany has been at City for more than a decade, since 2008, during which time he was tutored by Pep Guardiola,” the reporter added.
It’s a shocking situation where a manager who relegated a team could be in charge of Bayern Munich as soon as next season. However, it could be a great opportunity for Kim Min-jae. Kompany’s emphasis on a high defensive line and aggressive pressing is exactly the kind of tactical style that suits him best.
In fact, Kim struggled with his changed role under Tuchel in the second half of the season, telling T-Online, “I’ve always played with conviction as a defender. But that wasn’t always required at Bayern Munich, so I had an internal conflict,” he confessed.
“I often hesitated because I couldn’t play with confidence. I tried a lot to show the coach what he wanted. Tactically, 안전놀이터 I should have done a better job of fulfilling the coach’s demands, but I didn’t always do it right.”
Of course, it’s true that Kim Min-jae made more mistakes towards the end of the season. However, the change in style of play and lack of playing time also had an impact. With a new coach who emphasizes attacking soccer again, Kim’s strengths could come back to life. It”s possible that he could return to his days of being one of the best defenders in Serie A, dominating opponents with his aggressive style.