Experience the thrill of the game

Experience the thrill of the game


By Eduard Banulescu

Vincent Kompany was Bayern Munich’s surprise choice at the start of the 2024/25 season, given the German giant’s ability to hire a new coach and overcome one of the biggest crises in the club’s recent history. However, Kompany’s background and tactics made sense.

While Kompany’s time in Bavaria will be dominated by the trophies or winning them, the coach got off to a surprisingly good start.

Yes, Bayern Munich is back on the right track, and that’s why I’m looking at Vincent Kompany’s tactics today.

Career before managing FC Bayern Munich

Vincent Kompany always seemed destined to achieve greatness in the world of football. Every year millions of children compete to become professional footballers. The physical qualities as well as the work rate and intelligence that Kompany possessed as a youth made him one of the most sought-after teenagers in all of Belgian football.

After successful stints at Anderlecht and Hamburger SV, Kompany received a transfer to Manchester City, a club that would soon become very rich and ambitious. The centre-back won four Premier League trophies at the Etihad and was one of the best players in the Belgian squad The Golden Generation.

The respect he enjoyed, as well as the public support of former coach Pep Guardiola, helped Kompany boost his own managerial career immediately after his retirement. He was the first player-coach of boyhood club Anderlecht before getting the opportunity to manage Burnley in the Championship.

Burnley played an aggressive possession style inspired by Guardiola’s City and secured immediate promotion to the Premier League, but fell back the following year.

Surprisingly, Kompany still had a job at the end of the season, and even more surprising was that he was offered by Bayern Munich. Bayern had recognized Kompany’s tactics as the ones that immediately suited their own.

Vincent Kompany's tactics that he used for Bayern Munich in the 2024/25 season

Why should Bayern Munich bet so much on a young, untested coach? Yes, a large part of the decision has to do with the reputation that Kompany enjoys. The Belgian was one of the most respected team captains in recent years, a highly intelligent man and one of Pep Guardiola’s best students.

But it is the tactical philosophy he tried to employ, even as Burnely faced an inevitable relegation to the Championship, that made Bayern Munich sit up and take notice.

Vincent Kompany is working to create a team that is comfortable in possession. His ideal team can build slowly and deliberately, moving comfortably between the lines.

Positioning is an ideal part of tactics. The players position themselves so that they can defend from the front. Ideally, formation and movement should reduce the space for attacks both inside and outside the field. Meanwhile, the positioning should also offer Kimpany’s team superiority in attack.

Vincent Kompany's tactics that he used for Bayern Munich in the 2024/25 seasonVincent Kompany's tactics that he used for Bayern Munich in the 2024/25 season

Formations and adaptability

During his time as coach of Anderlecht and Burnley, Vincent Kompany opted for a robust 4-1-4-1 formation. In attack, this shape changed slightly to a 4-2-3-1, with two pivot points setting the rhythm of the game. This setup promoted fluid passing, flexibility and the players changing roles and positions during the game.

Since arriving at Bayern Munich, Kompany has largely opted for a similarly flexible 4-2-3-1 formation that gets the best out of defensive midfielders Joshua Kimmich and teenager Aleksandar Pavlovic.

Bayern Munich in defense

Vincent Kompany has been brought in to rebuild the Bayern Munich team, but largely with the players already at the club. Sure, the Belgian was allowed to spend more than 50 million euros each on Michael Olise and Joao Palinha, but the core of the squad was inherited.

Kompany plays with a flat-four defense. He had so much trust in his players that he approved the transfer of players like Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui to Manchester United. Instead, he gave the central defensive partnership between Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-Jae more confidence, and it paid off.

In defense, Kompany has instructed his wide players to play narrower and less offensive. Indeed, Alphonse Davies had earned the reputation of being the most attacking full-back in the world. Raphael Guerreiro is also taking on more supporting roles, with Kompany wanting to take advantage of the two players’ tackling and passing skills.

Bayern Munich in attack

Bayern Munich under Kompany is a possession-oriented team. While this is in the team’s DNA and this approach is expected, the pace and patterns of Bayern’s 2024/25 version are proving to be more efficient than in recent years.

Bayern plays from the back and uses slow, quick passes. This requires great control from all members of the force. The Kompany team particularly enjoys possession of the ball in the opposing defensive third.

The key to all of this was the tactical commitment of Harry Kane and Joshua Kimmich, as well as the undeniable skill of the players.

The England captain is often instructed to drop deeper to receive a pass. This also forces the opposition defense out of possession, as last year’s record proved that an unmarked Harry Kane is almost certain to score.

Harry Kane, the secret weapon

Kane is only allowed to make around 20.5 passes per game. However, he makes 1.4 key passes per game and is currently the team’s main assist provider. With Muller and Musiala able to run behind the defense and be served by Kane’s pass, Bayern are very dangerous.

Joshua Kimmich has also found his form again under Vincent Kompany. As one of the most versatile top players in modern football, Kimmich is able to change roles throughout the game. To put it simply, his presence solves many of Bayern’s biggest problems.

Kimmich starts most games as a defensive midfielder, capable of accurately distributing passes to his teammates. He makes almost 110 passes per game. These have a success rate of 93.3%. Kimmich averages 2.8 key passes and 1.5 crosses per game.

But Kimmich could also drop deeper to form a defensive trident with Upamecano and Min-Jae. Furthermore, when in possession of the ball, Kimmich can slide between half-spaces or make a rush into the penalty area, similar to Granit Xhaka, who Xai Alonso played at Bayer Leverkusen.

Harry Kane is once again the team’s main goalscorer. His €90 million transfer was a risk that paid off brilliantly. Bayern are exceeding their xG, with the exception of Kane, giving hope that this return will be manageable.

Vincent Kompany's tactics for Bayern Munich in the 2024/2025 seasonVincent Kompany's tactics that he used for Bayern Munich in the 2024/25 season

Construction phase

Vincent Kompany, like Pep Guardiola, wants to make the best possible use of the space and his players’ ability to control the ball.

For this reason, it is not uncommon for Davies and Guerreiro to move into midfield during Bayern’s build-up phase. It is also not unusual for Manuel Neuer, still one of the world’s best goalkeepers, to act between the two central defenders.

When playing against an opposing team that likes to sit narrower, Michael Olise and Serge Gnabry will play wider to create more width. If Davies and Guerreiro then have the upper hand, the runs may be one below the other.

Joshua Kimmich may also move into the half-space. And while Harry Kane tends to drop deeper to receive the ball, Thomas Müller or Jamal Musiala look for space behind the opposition defensive line.

What are Bayern’s problems under Kompany?

Although Bayern Munich has returned to the top of the Bundesliga for now, there are some signs of weakness. Better equipped opponents will try to exploit this.

Firstly, FC Bayern is a team that uses what can be described as that blackmailed Of course, the aggressive approach to winning the ball back comes with high risk and high reward. When the opponents managed to squeeze between the team’s press, Bayern found themselves in trouble.

Kompany also likes to use a box midfield and flood the central areas with players. Attempts to stop attacks in other areas, as intended, did not always work and left Bayern vulnerable there.

Finally, the fact that Neuer can join the central defenders and stay high up means that Bayern are often exposed to quick counterattacks.

What’s next for Kompany and Bayern?

Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich plays entertaining football. The team can outwork most opponents and this style brings out the best in some players like Kane, Kimmich or Musiala.

Kompany has done enough to prove that he is not out of his depth here. This is despite the fact that he is a young manager who has never coached at this level.

But as we all know, Bayern’s success is measured by trophies, and their failure by not being able to win the most important trophies. Only this will legitimize Kompany’s tenure, regardless of how well the team played in some games.

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