According to a report from The Athletic (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), freshly-minted Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany might not always be as open as his players might like.
The new boss will “protect” his players from attacks outside the locker room, but is not exactly going to have an open door policy with his decisions to his squad members:
Vincent Kompany is not the most personable man-manager. While his media tendency is to protect his players from criticism and draw attention towards their effort and endeavour, privately he is not known for explaining selection decisions or taking time to tell individual players why they are not in the team.
Kompany gives short shrift to players’ complaints or to those who moan or sulk. In a sense, he is egalitarian: he wants players to prove that they deserve to be playing. That places particular emphasis on training. Players who do not perform do not get picked. In that context, it is perhaps not surprising that some [Burnley] players – and staff members – were not sad to see Kompany depart
BFW Analysis
On the surface, a coach who does not feel like he has to explain his decisions and who relies on the performance principle sounds great. In reality, though, things could get complicated with roster like the one in Bavaria. Managing the personalities at Bayern Munich is not the same as working with the groups at Burnley or Anderlecht.
The most successful coaches of Bayern Munich’s modern era (Jupp Heynckes and Hansi Flick) were master communicators, who were equally adept at delivering both good and bad news to their players — and still finding a way to come out with major support. Most recently, coaches like Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel had communication tactics similar to what The Athletic is reporting Kompany will use in handling players.
How did that work out? Well, the twosome won just four of 12 possible trophies.
Different strokes for different folks, eh?
Anyway, is all — or even any — of this true? That is hard to say. These types of stories always have the possibility of being influenced negatively by the sources involved. Maybe it is true, maybe it is not, but it will be something to monitor in the coming months.
It is not time to hit the panic button just yet for Bayern Munich fans, though, as signing day represents the start of new journey. Will it be smooth sailing or a trip through stormy seas?
Grab your ticket, climb aboard, and find out with the rest of us…
The time they are a changin’ at Bayern Munich. Vincent Kompany looks like he is taking over in Bavaria, while the club’s former favorite son — Hansi Flick — is heading to FC Barcelona. Which one will make out better with their new club? We’ll find out, but in the meantime, there could also be some Bayern players who are on Flick’s transfer radar, too. basically, we’ve got a lot to talk about with all of that, plus some appreciation for Bayer Leverkusen’s incredible season. You can check all of that out on the Bavarians Podcast Works Show, which is available on Spotify or below:
