Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany will miss his team’s Champions League semifinal match against Paris Saint-Germain due to a suspension.
“I’ll be sitting somewhere in the stadium. Maybe not too far from you [journalists]. The procedures are clear. I know when I’m allowed to do something and how I can support the team. I’m not involved in every part. The most important thing is that we solve this as a team, and we can do that,” Kompany said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “Danksy (Aaron Danks) already has experience; he spent some time on the sidelines in England. He also usually plays a more vocal role, both in training and in games. I have 100% confidence in the staff and everyone else as well.
When asked if he would pull a José Mourinho and sneak into the dressing room via a laundry basket, Kompany chuckled at the notion.
“I’m 1.92m tall, so unfortunately I don’t fit in any laundry basket,” Kompany said with a laugh.
As a former defender, Kompany’s focus against PSG immediately flows toward the French club’s incredible attacking group, but he thinks maybe PSG should be worried about his attackers.
“I can turn the question around: What do they do with our attackers? It goes both ways. Both teams have an incredible amount of creativity, also in terms of positioning and finding solutions. It’s about details, intensity, and energy. We’re playing each other four times now. We have experience against them, but so does the opponent.” Kompany said.
Kompany’s squad will be a little thin due to the injuries to Raphaël Guerreiro, Lennart Karl, Tom Bischof, and Serge Gnabry.
“We always want to have the entire squad available. Raphaël Guerreiro’s injury isn’t too serious, but it’s obviously a pity that it happened at this stage. Tom Bischof and Lennart Karl will also be back soon, and Sven Ulreich is back. We have the squad we need to take on this game” said Kompany.
Kompany also noted that he admires the job that his counterpart, Luis Enrique, has done. Consequently, Kompany also addressed Enrique saying that PSG is the best team in the world.
“He’s doing an incredible job. A year and a half ago, when we beat Paris, a swarm of journalists was criticizing Luis Enrique. But I felt back then what kind of team they had, and that something was happening here. They had a young team, but they sent a clear message. I wasn’t surprised that they won the Champions League. You can see that there’s a real team spirit in Luis Enrique’s teams. His players run, they fight – he does that with all his teams, a huge compliment to him,” said Kompany. “In my view, the defending champions are fully entitled to claim what they want. We’re fighting for the title that PSG won last year. They deserve every bit of praise. We want what they have. We’re hungry. Tomorrow is the first leg; there will be a second leg in Munich, and we hope that over the course of these two matches we’ll prove to be the better team.”
The manager was asked what would be different from the last match between the squads and he thinks the games between the clubs have been so close that is difficult to tell.
“It’s hard to say. These games have always been very close; sometimes we’ve won, sometimes they’ve won. It could have gone either way. We have plenty of players with experience in matches like this. Luis Enrique said it all comes down to the finer details – and that’s exactly what it will be. The players will decide the outcome. It’ll be decided by the players’ belief and quality,” said Kompany.
Finally, when asked if the Bayern Munich vs. PSG contest should be the final, Kompany dismissed the notion.
“No, there are still four teams left. All four of them can still dream of the title. When it comes to playing style, we’re facing a match that’s incredibly intense. They can prevent the opposition from getting into their rhythm. With PSG, it’s like a storm bearing down on you,” said Kompany.
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