I'm also going to push back on the Kompany thing a little.
Basically I think it's a swing for the fences by Bayern...necessitated by their overly dramatic front office situation which has played a large part in the seeming disfunction (CL semi's and a higher Bundesliga points total than last year, but that's besides the point)
that surrounds the club right now. I think there's a chance that Kompany is too green and is not able to handle the pressure (as Teddy alluded too). I also think there's a good chance that he can handle it and will bring some very exciting football to Munich. Even if it's a step too big at this stage in his career (age 38, 5 years in), I think he's going to be an elite manager.
Now, I'm biased towards Kompany, but here's my read as someone who has followed his career for years.
1. One of the most well respected captains and leaders in football when he played. Seems to have man-management skills in abundance, key for coaching at a top club. That could go the other way as he hasn't had to manage huge egos at a top club, but he's certainly shared enough rooms with stars and has always had a good reputation across the board
2. Recognized as one of the smartest players of his day, his tactical acumen seems apparent as a manager as he quickly transformed Anderlecht by playing very progressive and complex football.
3. He then jumped to Burnley and pulled off one of the more unexpected things I've seen which was taking a relegated Sean Dyche team and turning them into a 100 point juggernaut. I don't know how much any of you saw Burnley two years ago but I saw probably 3-4 games and they were electric- one of the most impressive Championship sides I've seen. They just held the ball and sliced teams open going forward, so much movement up front.
4. This past season Kompany refused to budge from his tactical philosophies; given a couple of key losses and a transfer window that didn't yield expected results, Burnley got overrun by more talented sides and got relegated.
5. I don't necessarily have an issue with Kompany not changing his tactics, even if they went down- in fact, I kind of think all of the braintrust at the club was okay with that. Obviously you want to stay in the premiership, but relegation isn't the worst thing if your team isn't ready to stick in the top flight. I think they probably felt like they got a bit lucky with how quickly Kompany turned them around and could afford a yo-yo while building up the club off your parachute monies.
6. I think Kompany wants (ala Pep) to play with such patterns that they need a lot of repetition...he figured better to work on his shit this year even if it wasn't going to get results. I could be way off base and he's actually super naive and that's why they got relegated, but I don't see it that way.
7. I think Bayern is rolling the dice on hitting a home run with a 38 year old that has both tactical acumen and man management skills who has been successful at two smaller clubs by playing scintilating football with other people's players. That said he's still very young and there are some questions he has not answered yet so it's a risky call. I think he absolutely can win at Bayern, but I don't know if that club is in a healthy enough spot to give him that chance.
8. Big risk for Kompany too- if he fails at Bayern, he'll carry a bit of baggage until his next success. I probably wouldn't but I guess it's probably tough to say no to Bayern Munich when you've been at Burnley (a fine club, but it's a different scale.)
