Vincent Kompany hits the ground running at Bayern Munich

Vincent Kompany was introduced at Bayern Munich this morning as the club’s new manager and got straight to business with his press conference.

The new boss says that he realizes what he has gotten himself into in taking such a high-profile job.

“I know what a big club Bayern is. I’m proud, but also very motivated to be here. As far as I’m concerned, the season can start straight away,” Kompany said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “I live my job so intensively that I don’t have much time for (being surprised at Bayern’s job offer). I was immediately convinced by Max (Eberl) and Christoph (Freund) and later by all the others.”

Like just about everyone else, Kompany has heard the rumors that not every board member at Bayern Munich was onboard with is hiring, but that does not bother him.

“At top clubs like Bayern, you have to stand together internally. What the outside world thinks doesn’t matter, I don’t care about that. I coached one of the youngest teams in Belgium and one of the smallest in England. What I bring to the table are things that will help the players to improve. I have a clear vision and will also implement it here in Germany,” Kompany said. “Pressure from outside has never impressed me. I respect that people have an opinion. What I can control is my work and my players. If we are the best, the outside world will follow us. You may ask me the question of pressure 10,000 times, but the answer will remain the same. It is not part of my life.”

Kompany has already begun assessing his roster, but said that he needs more time before he really has a feel for what he has in his arsenal at Bayern Munich.

“It’s still too early to talk about players. I’m looking forward to working with them. I want to find out how hungry the players are. Bayern didn’t become champions last year, I’m familiar with that situation, too. I’ll look at which players are hungry enough to play for FC Bayern,” Kompany said. “You have to be on the same page internally and I felt that here. That’s why I decided in favour of Bayern and against other options. In our first year at Burnley in the Championship we set a record points tally, in our second in the Premier League we had one of the smallest budgets. We didn’t change much after promotion, I gave it my all. I’ve stayed the same. That’s why I have no plans to change here either.

“I grew up on the streets of Brussels, in the Anderlecht academy. You have to be a team, I want my players to have courage, to be aggressive. I want us to play like that, that’s also what defines my character. We want to maintain that throughout the entire game.”

And yes, Kompany is aware what is at stake for next season with the Champions League finale set to be held in Munich.

“That makes this Champions League season perhaps even more special than the others. I’m being honest about that. But we won’t achieve that just by talking,” Kompany remarked.

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: