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·16. Oktober 2024
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·16. Oktober 2024
Speaking exclusively to kicker, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge reveals that he spent ‘almost two hours’ on the phone to Pep Guardiola to discuss Vincent Kompany when Bayern Munich’s search for their next head coach was underway in Spring, a call in which the Manchester City manager was convinced by his appointment.
“Max Eberl asked me to speak to him because I am very close friends with Pep,” said Rummenigge. “I told Pep that I needed an analysis that was authentic and honest. We then spoke on the phone for almost two hours. To cut a long story short, he said he was one hundred percent convinced that Vincent Kompany was absolutely the right coach for Bayern.”
After a trophyless campaign, Bayern Munich had a big job on their hands to replace Thomas Tuchel. Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso, Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann and Hansi Flick were all front runners, two of which signed contract extensions at their current employers, while Flick opted for Barcelona.
“Sometimes fate helps you,” added Rummenigge. “The number of rejections that Max Eberl unfortunately had to deal with meant that we may have ended up getting exactly the coach we needed for this team. There were two decisive factors: the team enjoys the style of football, and so do the fans. Football has to be fun. That’s exactly why children play in the street. And you can see that in our team too.”
Kompany enjoyed a 100 percent start to his Bayern Munich career with six successive wins, but his side has hit a minor blip of late. With successive draws in the Bundesliga against Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt, the Rekordmeister also suffered a 1-0 defeat in the Champions League at Aston Villa.
With an important game against Stuttgart on Saturday, Bayern Munich face another difficult test.