Plenty of eyebrows were raised when Bayern Munich appointed Vincent Kompany as their new manager on a three-year deal last May.
Kompany’s managerial CV didn’t amount to much. He initially guided Burnley out of the Championship in 2022/23 after outspending everyone.
The Premier League presented a different challenge and Kompany quickly looked out of his depth despite shelling out another £100 million on new players.
While Bayern are on course to win the Bundesliga this season, the jury remains out about Kompany’s suitability to manage a club of their stature.
Kompany flounders as Celtic push Bayern to the limit
Bayern winning the Bundesliga proves little in the grand scheme of things. Their resources dwarf the rest of the league, which creates an unbalanced competition.
On that basis, the Champions League is where Kompany’s managerial ability should be judged, and the early signs are not promising.
Bayern lost three of their eight games in the opening phase to miss out on automatic progression to the last-16. The dismal 4-1 defeat at Barcelona was a disturbing low point.
A knockout round play-off tie against Celtic should not have been problematic for Bayern, yet they needed a fortuitous stoppage-time goal to make it through.
Brendan Rodgers outcoached Kompany at the Allianz Arena, and the Scottish Premiership giants were unfortunate not to take the tie to extra time.
Bayern will face Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen in the next round. It would be a brave move to back them to defeat either team.
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