Man City news: How Pep Guardiola's endorsement sealed Vincent Kompany's Bayern Munich move

Bayern Munich are one of the powerhouses of European football this season, and their success is inextricably linked to Vincent Kompany. But before the Belgian took charge, the managerial role at the Allianz Arena came close to going to several other candidates.

According to Marca, the search for a successor to Thomas Tuchel proved extremely complicated. Ralf Rangnick, Julian Nagelsmann and Oliver Glasner were all considered, as was Bayern's "Plan A", Xabi Alonso, who ultimately chose to remain at Bayer Leverkusen, where he had stated he "still had work to do."

"At first, we were sceptical. He was the fourth or fifth person we had spoken to. I was thinking of Nagelsmann, Rangnick, Glasner…" club president Uli Hoeness admitted.

It was in that context that Kompany's name emerged. "It was a daring bet for everyone at the beginning," said Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, one of the greatest players in the club's history and a member of the supervisory board. "At some point last summer, Max [Eberl] and Christoph [Dreesen] came to us after several rejections and told us they had had good conversations with Vincent. They were convinced they had found the right coach."

The decisive call to Guardiola

The final green light for Kompany's appointment came via a phone call to Pep Guardiola. Rummenigge revealed that sporting director Max Eberl had asked him to consult the then-Manchester City boss, who had managed Kompany at club level and knew him well.

"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. So I thought: if Guardiola gives him such an endorsement, everything will be fine."

The depth of the Guardiola-Kompany connection is such that the Spaniard became the Belgian's greatest coaching influence. Kompany has previously acknowledged that his "biggest influence came when I was already 30, when Guardiola explained his ideas — and a week later I already knew I would become a manager."

Despite Guardiola's backing, Rummenigge admits there were few guarantees of success at the outset. The president faced criticism, and "some of the things written in the media were not funny at all" — but the landscape has changed entirely. "After a series of rejections, we finally opted for Vinnie. Sometimes fate smiles on you. I've seen great coaches at Bayern, and Vinnie is adapting to that level. I'm enjoying watching the team again, which wasn't always the case in recent years. The football is good, the results are coming, and there is peace in the club again," Rummenigge said.

Record-breaking numbers — and a comparison with Guardiola

The numbers under Kompany are remarkable: one Bundesliga title, one German Super Cup, 75 wins from 99 matches. This season, Bayern have reached 100 Bundesliga goals, equalling the club's own record from 2019-20, the year of the treble.

For Bayern and Germany legend Lothar Matthaus, the current squad even surpasses the side managed by Guardiola between 2013 and 2015. "This Bayern is the strongest I have seen so far. In my opinion even better than under Pep Guardiola, because they also play forward. Not just sideways and backward passes, but they try to play forward," he told Sky 90.