Vincent Kompany is under pressure at Bayern Munich, despite still being on course to lift the Bundesliga title.
There was shock across the sport when Bayern landed on Kompany as their next boss, despite him just having been relegated from the Premier League with Burnley.
Those raised eyebrows may have dropped slightly with Die Roten at the summit of the German top tier at the business end of the season, but that still may not be enough.
Kompany has already shattered dreams at Bayern
This year’s Champions League final is set to be held at Bayern’s home, the Allianz Arena, a fact not lost on anyone in Germany, as the powerhouse exited the competition at the hands of Inter Milan on Wednesday night.
“This puts a lot of pressure on Kompany now,” was German outlet Bild’s somewhat surprisingly understated assessment.
According to the report, Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen took a defiant tone following the defeat, saying, “We all had this dream of playing at home. That was our ultimate goal.
“The dream has been shattered. But we were a team today, we fought, we battled. It was beautiful to watch.”
Nevertheless, Bild expect that Kompany’s fate will be sealed if he doesn’t get his hands on the Bundesliga title at the end of the season.
Currently six points clear of current holders Bayer Leverkusen with five games remaining, Die Roten have just a few weeks to hold on, and potentially save Kompany’s skin.
In FourFourTwo’s view, Kompany can have expected nothing else when he signed up to take on the Bayern role. In an average year for the German giants, the Bundesliga title is a minimum requirement.
Given their turbulent couple of years in the dugout and trophyless season last year, that alone may buy Kompany another shot, but make no mistake, the Belgian’s long-term future in Munich will be decided in the Champions League, whether it’s this year or next.
