1. Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany was born on 10 April 1986 and is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Bundesliga club Bayern Munich.
51 Facts About Vincent Kompany
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Vincent Kompany represented the Belgium national team for fifteen years, and served as captain.
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Vincent Kompany began his professional career at Anderlecht; having graduated from their youth system, he was with the club for three seasons as a first-team player before moving to Bundesliga club Hamburg in 2006.
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Vincent Kompany was included in the Premier League Team of the Year in 2011,2012, and 2014, and won the Premier League Player of the Season in 2012.
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Vincent Kompany won eleven more trophies at City and made 360 total appearances.
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Vincent Kompany earned 89 caps for Belgium in a 15-year international career, having made his debut in 2004 at age 17.
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Vincent Kompany was part of their squad that came fourth at the 2008 Olympics and went to the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2018, coming a best-ever third at the latter.
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In 2019, when his contract expired after eleven years at City, Vincent Kompany returned to Anderlecht as player-manager.
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Vincent Kompany made his professional debut on 30 July 2003 in a UEFA Champions League second qualifying round first leg away to Rapid Bucuresti, starting in a goalless draw.
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Vincent Kompany won several awards including the Belgian Golden Shoe and the Belgian Ebony Shoe.
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In late 2003, Vincent Kompany was a target for Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson to cover the long-term suspension of defender Rio Ferdinand.
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Ferguson attended Anderlecht's trip to Celtic in the Champions League group stage so that he could watch Vincent Kompany, but was instead impressed by Celtic midfielder Liam Miller and signed him.
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Vincent Kompany speculated that the club's lack of success in the past 20 years despite its large supporter base could not be attributed to the players alone.
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On 19 October 2009, Vincent Kompany signed a new five-year deal with City that would keep him at the club until 2014.
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Vincent Kompany finished the season winning the club's Supporters' Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year awards, clocking up 50 appearances in all competitions including 37 Premier League starts.
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On 11 May 2012, Vincent Kompany was named Barclays Player of the Season for his outstanding performance in the Premier League, the first time the award was won by a City player.
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Vincent Kompany played in that final, but had missed part of the league campaign due to injury, with Mancini citing his absence as a major factor in the failure to retain the title.
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Vincent Kompany appeared just 15 times during the campaign, although his continued importance to the team was evidenced by the fact he would always return to the starting line-up as soon as he was fit.
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Vincent Kompany had already lifted the EFL Cup again in February 2019 after a penalty shootout victory over Chelsea.
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On 19 May 2019, it was announced that Vincent Kompany would be leaving Manchester City to become player-manager of his first club Anderlecht.
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Head coach Simon Davies would be placed in charge of tactical changes and substitutions, while Vincent Kompany would be given the captain's arm band.
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Vincent Kompany went to the Olympic football tournament in China in 2008, after his club Hamburg finally authorised his absence.
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Vincent Kompany did not take the flight back, allegedly due to a lost passport, and Hamburg demanded that FIFA take action against the Royal Belgian Football Association.
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Vincent Kompany did not return until nearly midnight and Advocaat removed him from the squad altogether, although on 24 February 2010, he was recalled for the friendly against Croatia.
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On 13 May 2014, Vincent Kompany was named in the Belgium squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
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At the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Vincent Kompany featured in five of his nation's seven matches, playing every minute in the knockout phase as they advanced to the semi-finals before losing to eventual champions France, overcoming England to finish third, their highest ever placing in the competition.
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Vincent Kompany was described as one of the best defenders in world football, and in the history of the Premier League; he was recognised to be an intelligent and physically strong centre back, with excellent aerial ability, mobility, and leadership qualities, as well as good technique and distribution.
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Vincent Kompany was a very accurate tackler, with strong positional sense, and excelled at reading the game and anticipating his opponents.
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Vincent Kompany initially played as a central or defensive midfielder before being moved to a centre-back role.
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On 17 August 2020, it was announced that Vincent Kompany would be the head coach at Anderlecht for the next four seasons, after retiring from professional football on the same day.
31.
On 14 June 2022, Vincent Kompany was appointed manager of EFL Championship club Burnley on a deal of undisclosed length, following the club's relegation from the Premier League.
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Vincent Kompany won the award for a second consecutive perfect month, finishing the month 17 points clear of third place.
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Vincent Kompany won the Manager of the Month award for February 2023 after having gained 14 points from six matches.
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Vincent Kompany signed a new contract on 7 May 2023, tying him to Burnley until 2028.
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Vincent Kompany was reported as saying "I am happy to be part of this moment".
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Vincent Kompany was criticised for mainly buying inexperienced players, resulting in an uncompetitive squad.
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On 29 May 2024, Vincent Kompany was appointed as the new head coach of Bundesliga club Bayern Munich, signing a three-year deal.
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Adrian Clarke of the Premier League official website and Thom Harris of The Athletic wrote in 2023 that Vincent Kompany had a passing and possession-based style of football similar to his former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, and greatly different to the direct and physical football of former Burnley manager Sean Dyche.
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Vincent Kompany is an official FIFA ambassador for registered charity SOS Children.
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In March 2013, Vincent Kompany bought the Belgian third division club Bleid as a "social commitment towards the youngsters of Brussels", with the intention of offering disadvantaged youngsters the opportunity to use sport as a vehicle for self-improvement.
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Vincent Kompany's father, Pierre, is a Congolese immigrant to Belgium and serves as his agent.
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Vincent Kompany had been interned as a student for rebelling against Mobutu Sese Seko, the dictator of Zaire.
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Vincent Kompany then faced further setbacks with his parents' divorce and eviction from his home.
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Vincent Kompany said in 2019 that due to widespread drugs and gangs in his local area, he could have chosen an "extremely wrong path" at this age.
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When Vincent Kompany was 20, his mother and sister underwent cancer treatment.
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Vincent Kompany married his Mancunian girlfriend, Carla Higgs, a lifelong Manchester City supporter, on 11 June 2011 and together they have a daughter born in 2010, and two sons, born in 2013 and 2015.
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Vincent Kompany has a number of pastimes and interests which keep him occupied outside of football.
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Vincent Kompany has an interest in politics and graduated with an MBA at Manchester Business School in 2018 after several years of study.
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Vincent Kompany was raised speaking French at home and Dutch at school due to the multilingual nature of Brussels.
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Vincent Kompany learned German, English, and a level of Spanish and Italian.
51.
However, Vincent Kompany closed down both bars within a year of their opening.