After Bayern’s 1:4 in Barcelona
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Even after the eye-opening defeat at FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany has no doubts that his style of football will lead to the desired success over the course of the season. “We have the quality, we have the players,” said the 38-year-old Belgian after the 4-1 defeat in the Champions League and before the Bundesliga game on Sunday (3:30 p.m.) against winless bottom club VfL Bochum. “We have to continue to be dominant and get the results from that. The basis for me is that the team works. The problems can be solved.”
Sports director Christoph Freund also remains convinced of the path taken under the new coach. “If the team sticks to the match plan that Vincent draws up, that will certainly be the key to success. The hard work of the team and the coaching staff will pay off in the long run. We will reward ourselves even more with results.”
However, Kompany feels that there has to be a reaction to the criticism, which he understands: “The next game after Barcelona is very important for us.” His analysis after his clearest defeat with FC Bayern was: “Not only did everything go wrong, There were good moments too.”
In Barcelona, despite the 1:3 at halftime, he still had the feeling that we could still win 4:3 or 5:4. For him, the goals conceded are not a failure of the defense, but “the entire responsibility always lies with the team.” Sports director Max Eberl reacted poisonously to criticism of the central defender immediately after the end of the game in Catalonia and recommended that the sports reporter who asked the question get his coaching license (see article).
After criticism: Kompany and friend introduce themselves to Bayern captain Neuer
Criticism of captain and veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has recently become louder. Kompany and his friend, however, clearly placed themselves in front of the 38-year-old. “If we lose, we lose together, not just Manu, but the whole team and the coaches,” said the coach. “This is important. If Manu changes his game, it’s only to become even better. Criticism is part of it, but hopefully we can be successful against Bochum.”
Freund said: “Manu certainly had games in which he wasn’t so brilliant. It’s difficult for a goalkeeper when you don’t allow many chances but use them with ice-cold precision. Manu is always trying to improve. He plays a very offensive goalkeeping game and our style of play suits him. He is still a great support for the team and a great personality. He is very present, we are very happy that he is in goal for us. There will be many games where we will talk differently about our goalkeeper because he won games for us. We are absolutely sure of that.”
Coach change in Bochum as an “unknown factor” for FC Bayern
The team as a whole should deliver again in Bochum. The change of coach at VfL is “an unknown factor” for Kompany. The previous assistant coaches Markus Feldhoff and Murat Ural will be on the sidelines as an interim solution against the record champions after the separation from head coach Peter Zeidler. But his focus is more on his own team anyway, said Kompany. “We will not make any difference in preparing for this game because there is a new coach now. We won our last game in the Bundesliga. We will keep trying to win.” It would be Bayern’s 50th win in the 75th league game against Bochum.
