Kompany could have already ended up at Bayern Munich in the early 2000s. This is what Pierre, his dad, reveals to us. “All the big clubs in Europe wanted him when he was at the Anderlecht youth school. Johan Cruijff followed him on behalf of Barcelona. There was also interest from AC Milan and major French clubs, including Lyon. But also from Bayern.”
Pierre remembers how Vincent was contacted by Germany’s biggest club. “A man noticed him at an U17 national team tournament in Poland. It was Uli Hoeness (the current president and former striker of Bayern and sports manager there between 1979 and 2009). He slipped his business card with his phone number into Vincent’s pocket. ‘Will you tell your dad to call me?’, he asked. However – and this was quite scandalous – Vincent had not received much playing time in this tournament. He was not often a Red Devil as a youngster.”
At 17, he was the best Mauve in the Champions League against Bayern.
The archives confirm it: in this U17 tournament in Sobolew and Karczew, Kompany (who wore number 13) only started against Romania (1-2 defeat). He came into the game against Slovakia in the 68th minute (0-3 victory) and he had to stay on the bench the entire match against Cyprus (0-0). The only two other players on this team who have broken through are goalkeepers: his friend Yves Makalambay and Frank Boeckx, his goalkeeping coach at Anderlecht.
For Vincent’s parents, there was no question of going abroad. “Our response was the same to all these big clubs: our children stay at home together and they study. The obsession was not to make Vincent a footballer. First the studies. And if the sport succeeds for him: so much the better. These clubs stopped insisting when Vincent signed his first professional contract at Anderlecht (July 1, 2003, at age 17).”
Kompany in a duel with Pizzaro. ©Photo News
At 17, Kompany played in the Champions League with Anderlecht’s A team against… Bayern Munich: 1-1 at Parc Astrid and 1-0 at the Olympiastadion. Especially in the first leg against Makaay and Pizzaro, Vincent was the best Mauve, even if his loss of the ball allowed Roque Santa Cruz to equalize. He was preferred to Glen De Boeck. He played the return match between a mathematics and history exam.
2024-05-23 16:49:00
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