Guardiola recommends Kompany for Man City
Guardiola still has a contract with Man City until the summer of 2025, after signing an extension at the end of November 2022. On March 3, during the press conference before the 26th round of the Premier League, when asked about the future, the Catalan leader mentioned his old student Kompany.
"Sooner or later Kompany will return to Man City," he said. "I think it's Kompany's destiny to lead Man City, and it's written in the stars. I don't know when, but it will happen."
According to Guardiola, Kompany possesses many suitable qualities - professional ethics, understanding of football, being respected and experienced, and a long track record of achievements. The former Belgian midfielder also understands Man City, the working environment, the fans when he has 11 years at the club.
Kompany played for Anderlecht, Hamburger, and then played for Man City in the 2008-2019 period. This is one of the most successful signings of the team, laying a solid foundation for a new era under the Arab owners' reign. Kompany scored 20 goals in 360 games, with the club winning four Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and two English Super Cups. In particular, the 36-year-old player scored many important goals to help Man City win the Premier League such as the header against Man Utd in 2012 or the super long shot in the match against Leicester in the 2019-2020 season.
In the 2019-2020 season, Kompany left Man City to return to his childhood club Anderlecht, taking on the role of player and coach. Due to his failure as a coach, after only a few games, Kompany handed over his position as a manager and only took on the role of defender and captain of Anderlecht. In the summer of 2020, he retired from his career as a player and became the coach of Anderlecht on a four-year contract, with the best achievement being the runner-up of the Belgian National Cup 2022.
In the summer of 2022, Kompany was appointed as Burnley coach, after the club was relegated from the English Premier League. He and Burnley won 22, drew 10 and lost only two matches, thereby leading the Championship with 76 points, 12 points ahead of Sheffield United. The former Belgian midfielder was twice named Coach of the Month, in October 2022 and December 2022.
Guardiola is happy with Kompany's success at Burnley and impressed with the club's consistent form. "Championship is very difficult with huge numbers. But Burnley shows unbelievable stability," the 52-year-old coach expressed. "Burnley is about to be promoted to the Premier League and I think the whole team, the fans are very happy when Kompany is back."
Guardiola will soon reunite with his former student when Man City plays Burnley in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on March 18. He said: "This is a great opportunity to once again reach the semi-finals at Wembley. We will try to compete with Kompany and his club."
Before that, Man City will focus on the Premier League with the match against Newcastle today. "Shoots" is in fifth place with 41 points, losing only two matches and owns the most solid defense in the tournament with 15 goals conceded. Guardiola praised Newcastle as an experienced club, very strong in transitions, fixing and doing well in the transfer market.
The Spain coach also revealed that John Stones, Aymeric Laporte and Stefan Ortega have returned to training and can play today. Stones injured his hamstring in the FA Cup win over Arsenal a month ago, Laporte was ill and missed the most three games, while Moreno injured his arm in the 3-0 win over Bristol City in midweek.
