Vincent Kompany said Pep Guardiola gave him the belief to become a coach after working under the Manchester City manager for three seasons.
Kompany spoke in Berlin on Friday before Bayern Munich face Stuttgart in the German Cup final. The Belgian captained City during Guardiola’s early years at the club and won back-to-back Premier League titles in 2018 and 2019.
“I have my own personality and my own character, but the trust and belief that I could become a coach: for that, I owe gratitude to Pep,” Kompany said.
“And that is just how great his influence is.”
Kompany described Guardiola’s leadership as the strongest influence on his coaching career, even though he admitted their relationship inside the dressing room was not always close.
“I maybe wasn’t his best friend in the dressing room, or maybe I wasn’t always loved, but I had an incredible belief in his style of leadership.”
Guardiola won six Premier League titles and the Champions League during a trophy-filled spell at City. Kompany has quickly built his own managerial record since taking charge of Bayern Munich in 2024.
The former Belgium captain has already guided Bayern to consecutive Bundesliga titles and could secure another major trophy against Stuttgart on Saturday.
Kompany also pushed back against criticism that Guardiola focuses too heavily on tactics.
“Far too much is said about tactics or technique or whatever else. For him, it simply came down to that absolute desire to win everything, no matter what it was.”
“It was a gift for me to have had the opportunity to work with him during that time.”
“I know that I owe this hunger to become a coach to those years I spent with him.”
