Vincent Kompany

At 38 years old, Vincent Kompany has this physical status:

Club career

Kompany was born in Uccle, Brussels, and started his career at Anderlecht at the age of 17, winning multiple prizes, including the Belgian Golden Shoe and the Belgian Ebony Shoe. Despite the fact that several leading European sides immediately showed keen, the player and his entourage first began to develop for a few years at Anderlecht. "Don't you be concerned, I will stay here forever," he told Berend Scholten at UEFA.com. "The zeros in my employment are not particularly significant at the time." I would have left if I wanted to leave right now."

On June 9, 2006, however, it was revealed that Kompany had been purchased by Hamburger SV for a €10 million as a replacement for fellow Belgian Daniel Van Buyten. He made six Bundesliga starts for the club in his first season before suffering an achilles injury in November that barred him from participating for the remainder of the season. Despite his inability to participate in the season, he was selected in a 30-man provisional squad for the 2007 European Under-21 Football Championship.

Manchester City, a Premier League club, signed Kompany from Hamburg on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee on August 22, 2008. He made his debut two days later against West Ham United in a 3–0 home victory and was playing the entire match. Kompany scored his first goal in City's 2–1 away loss to Wigan Athletic on September 28. Kompany began playing as a defensive midfielder at Manchester City early in his career.

Kompany signed a new five-year contract with City on October 19, 2009, extending his stay at the club until 2014. In a 6–1 victory over Burnley, he scored his second league goal for the club against Portsmouth and his third in a 2–0 home victory against Portsmouth.

After previous wearer Nedum Onuoha, who went on loan to Sunderland, Kompany was given the number 4 jersey for the 2010-11 season. He continued to captain the team in the absence of striker Carlos Tevez against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on April 25, playing the full 90 minutes alongside Lescott in a crucial 1–0 win thanks to a late 75th-minute attack. Manchester City beat main rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley Stadium on April 16; City defeated the team 1–0. He and teammate Tevez were selected in the PFA Team of the Year later that day. He began and finished the match against Stoke City, which was awarded Manchester City's first major trophy in 35 years. Manager Roberto Mancini praised Kompany's "incredible" season and said the team will be one of Europe's best defenders, despite being ranked for the first time in the UEFA Champions League.

He finished the season by winning the club's Supporter of the Year and Player of the Year awards, as well as the Premier League Player of the Season for his outstanding performances throughout the year, totaling 49 games, including 37 in Premier League.

Kompany was firmly elected as the team captain for the 2011–12 season, with Tevez having voiced informally that he wanted to leave the team. Despite City holding a two-goal lead at halftime, the Community Shield was the first fixture of the season on August 7th, which resulted in a 3–2 loss to Manchester United.

Kompany won a header from a David Silva corner in the Manchester derby on April 30th; the game ended 1–0 to City, putting them in first place ahead of Manchester United on goal difference with only two games remaining. Kompany coached the team against Queens Park Rangers on Friday, securing the Premier League championship for the first time since 1968. During the game, QPR midfielder Joey Barton attempted to headbutt Kompany. Kompany signed a six-year deal with Manchester City on July 25, the longest of its kind in the club's history.

After winning the 2012 FA Community Shield 3–2 against Chelsea (Kompany winning the trophy at the new Villa Park venue), the club's 2012–13 season was something of a disappointment for the club as they finished second in the league (but far behind winners Manchester United) and lost the FA Cup Final 1–0 to Wigan Athletic. Kompany participated in the final but had to miss a portion of the league season due to injury, with Mancini blaming his absence as a key contributor to the inability to hold the trophy.

Kompany captained the Manchester City team that qualified for the League Cup Final on Saturday, beating Sunderland 3-1. Manchester City defeated West Ham United 22-0 in a 2–0 victory in the 2013–14 Premier League championship on May 11th.

Kompany made 33 appearances in all competitions between 2014 and 2015, but the team was only runner-up in the league and was barred from the domestic and continental cups at early stages, losing out in the Community Shield. He sustained a muscular injury during his Manchester derby in April 2015, putting an end to his campaign early, and it would be the start of a long line of recurring injuries (mainly muscular strains) for a player who had already suffered with a variety of physical ailments since his arrival in England.

Kompany put his calf muscles in the first weeks of the 2015--16 season and lasted just minutes into his comeback match in December after scoring in the team's first two Premier League fixtures. He was fit to participate in the League Cup Final in which City defeated Liverpool and was named man of the match; however, he was forced to withdraw from the Champions League early stages in May, finishing on 22 appearances and later missing Euro 2016 with Belgium.

He returned to the first squad in October 2016 but suffered from international service due to exhaustion on September 9th, and his knee injury was sustained on November 22nd. An analysis at the time revealed that he had sustained 37 injuries since joining Manchester City in 2008 and had missed more than two years (878 days) in the eight-year period. He had recovered and scored in a win over Tottenham Hotspur, commenting that "the most important thing is self-belief and experience." Pep Guardiola kept Kompany in the FA Cup semi-finals, and he was active throughout the game; City lost the tie to eventual winners Arsenal, finishing 2016–17 without a trophy. During the year, Kompany played just 15 times, but the fact that he would always return to the starting lineup as soon as he was fit showed his continuing importance to the team.

During the first part of 2017–18, Manchester City played in eight league games, putting further strains during the time before pulling minutes into a home game against Newcastle on December 27. Guardiola's remarks in the press conferences indicated that he was losing patience with the situation. On February 3, 2018, he returned to the team following the completion of 90 minutes of a 1–1 draw away from Burnley, but Aymeric Laporte, the club's new player signing in the same role, remained on the bench throughout. He scored Manchester City's second goal in the 2018 EFL Cup Final, the man of the match, on February 25th, after being named man of the match. As Manchester City took the trophy with a record 100 points, he got his 17 league starts.

Manchester City's only goal came from outside the box on May 6, 2019. The success put the club one point ahead of the 2018–19 Premier League table, but they retained the title by the same margin six days later. After defeating Chelsea on penalty shootout, Kompany had already lifted the EFL Cup in February 2019. He was in charge of the 2019 FA Cup Final, a 6–0 win over Watford as the club continued an historic domestic treble (plus the Community Shield).

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the city's chairman, announced plans for a statue of Kompany at the Etihad Stadium on August 17th, alongside teammates Sergio Aguero and David Silva, to commemorate his "transformational" service at the city. On August 20, 2021, the statues of Kompany and Silva were unveiled.

Kompany will leave Manchester City to become player-manager of his first club, Anderlecht, on May 19. With two losses, two goalless draws, six goals forfeited, and three goals scored, the Brussels-based club had their worst start to a league season since the 1998-1999 season. Kompany's decision on August 22nd, 2018 — Kompany's decision to shift the focus away from managerial duties to more on being a player. Now head coach Simon Davies will be in charge of tactical shifts and substitutions, while Kompany will receive the captain's arm band.

International career

On February 18, 2004, Kompany made his international debut for Belgium at the age of 17, beginning in a 2–0 home loss to France.

Kompany has been invited to the 2008 Olympics by the Royal Belgian Football Association. Initially, Hamburg decided not to let him go because the Olympics were not a FIFA tournament. Hamburg resolved to release him under the condition that he returned from Belgium's first two group games after a dispute. He was sent off in a 1–0 loss in the first round, but as a result, his tournament was over as the red card would have ruled him out of Belgium's second group game. Kompany decided against returning to Germany in the hopes of playing the last group game to help his country qualify for the knockout stages. Hamburg maintained that he should return, but the Belgian FA decided not to release him. In the first game against Bayern Munich, he came on as a replacement.

Kompany lost with Belgium boss Dick Adaat in November 2009. Kompany was allowed to attend his grandmother's funeral as long as he returned to the team hotel before 6 p.m. on Friday evening. Although Advocaat booted him out of the squad altogether on February 24, 2010, he was recalled for the friendly against Croatia on February 24.

Kompany captained Belgium for the first time in the 90th minute over a 2–1 friendly win over Bulgaria at the King Baudouin Stadium on May 19, 2010; he scored his first international goal in the 90th minute. In a collision with goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovi, Belgium's 34 minutes of victory over Serbia in June 2013 sustained concussion and facial injuries, including a broken nose and cracked eye socket, among other things. He played out the remainder of the game after receiving first aid on the touchline.

Kompany was selected in the Belgium squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on May 13th. In their first World Cup match in 12 years, he captained the Red Devils, a 2–1 triumph over Algeria in Belo Horizonte. He missed UEFA Euro 2016 due to injuries sustained during the season.

Kompany appeared in five of his country's seven matches before losing to eventual champions France in third place, their highest ever ranking in the tournament.

Managerial career

After retiring from professional football on the same day, Kompany would be the head coach at Anderlecht for the next four seasons. Mouscron's debut six days later in a 1–1 home draw, conceding the equalizer in extra time. The team reached the semi-finals in the Belgian Cup before being eliminated by Genk in March by 2–1. With qualifying for the play-offs, the league came to an end, where they finished fourth and qualified for the UEFA Europa Conference League.

By Dutch club Vitesse, Kompany's Violets were barred from the Conference League qualifiers 5–4 on aggregate in August 2021. The team did one round better in the cup than before, losing the final on penalties to Gent on April 18th and placing third in the league.

Following the club's demotion from the Premier League, Kompany was appointed manager of Burnley's EFL Championship team on a contract of undisclosed length on June 14th. He beat Huddersfield Town 1–0 on his debut on July 29th, with debutant Ian Maatsen scoring a goal.

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