Vincent Kompany was born on April 10, 1986 in Uccle, Belgium, on the outskirts of Brussels. He learned the football craft at the Anderlecht academy, which he joined at the age of 14. It was there that he entered adult football, and made his debut for the senior team at the age of only 17. Already the first matches were of great importance, because Anderlecht played in the Champions League qualifiers and Kompany helped them to reach the group stage. The teenage defender was the team’s main player and played in almost all matches. Vincent Kompany celebrated his debut season in 2003/2004 by winning the Belgian championship. Excellent performances allowed him to play for the adult Belgian national team even before the age of majority.
The pearl of Anderlecht
Regular appearances in the Champions League and an annual game for the highest goals in the domestic backyard allowed Kompany to develop quickly. In the 2006/2007 season, he won his second national championship with Anderlecht and there were increasingly voices that the talented defender was in the crosshairs of bigger clubs. In three seasons at Anderlecht, Kompany made a total of 106 appearances, scoring 6 goals and 8 assists. In June 2006, it was announced that the Belgian centre-back would go to German HSV. By the way, if you are betting on sports and want to get a bonus code, go to melbet promo code in Nepal and collect your bonuses.
The Bundesliga club was then supposed to pay 10 million euros for him, which was a considerable amount for the purchase of a centre-back. Interestingly, Kompany was supposed to replace his more experienced teammate in Hamburg – Daniel van Buyten. It was planned from the beginning to make him a starting line-up player, but Kompany’s first season in Germany was ended in November due to a serious Achilles tendon injury.
Season at HSV and transfer to City
In the 2007/2008 season, he played much more often and became a pillar of the HSV defense. The team with Kompany in the composition improved its achievements, but rather did not count in the fight for any trophies. Ultimately, he finished 4th in the Bundesliga, and also reached the quarter-finals of the German Cup and the round of 16 of the UEFA Cup. As it turned out, this was the Belgian’s last full campaign with a German club. In total, he made 29 appearances for Hamburg, scoring 1 goal and adding 1 assist. Vincent Kompany found himself in the circle of interest of the newly-built football powerhouse – Manchester City .
The Belgium international became one of the first players to be brought in by the English team after the takeover by the new owners. In this way, he became the face of the transformation that The Cityzens underwent. Kompany changed the Bundesliga to the Premier League for 8.5 million euros, and the transfer itself turned out to be a bull’s eye. The transaction itself took place in August 2008, so after the start of the season, so he played the preparations and the first match for HSV. A few days later he was wearing a Manchester City shirt.
Manchester City legend
The defender spent 11 years at City and became a true legend of this club. Today, fans remember him as the best center back in history, and he played much more of his first season as a defensive midfielder. Kompany was the element from which the team’s strong structures began to be built, and thus the foundation of Manchester City that football fans know today. At first it was a success to finish just outside the top of the league and reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but as time went on Kompany and the whole club were hungry for trophies. By the way, if you are betting on sports and want to get a bonus code, go to https://odds2win.bet/bonuses/nepal/22bet and collect your bonuses.
The turning point was the 2010/2011 season, in which Kompany helped the team to qualify for the Champions League and triumph in the FA Cup. It was the first trophy in the club’s showcase for 35 years and the beginning of a new era for Manchester City. In the following campaign, the Belgian was named permanent captain of the team and it proved to be the right decision. The new leader led City to their first Premier League title since 1968. The following season Kompany lifted the Community Shield, and in the 2013/2014 season the league title returned to the Etihad Stadium. The Belgian stopper also added the English League Cup.
He managed to win this trophy back in 2016 and was the only trophy for the next three seasons. This period was also Kompany’s worst in terms of injury, which sidelined him for many months. Thereafter, injuries prevented him from playing as regularly as in previous years, but Manchester City continued to win and began to dominate domestically. In the 2017/2018 season, Kompany won the Premier League again and added another English League Cup.
The culmination of his career for City was the 18/19 campaign, in which Kompany and the team won a quadruple. He started with the Community Shield, then won the EFL Cup again, defended the league title and finally won the FA Cup. It was the Belgian’s last season for The Cityzens, who played for the club from the Etihad Stadium continuously for 11 years, making 360 appearances and scoring 20 goals. With Manchester City, he won the Premier League four times, the FA Cup twice, the Community Shield twice and the League Cup four times.
The only thing missing from club football was the Champions League triumph, but that didn’t stop the chairman of City Football Group from erecting a statue of Kompany at the Etihad Stadium. It stood next to the statues of David Silva and Sergio Aguero, which together commemorate the transformation of Manchester City.
Back to hometown
Numerous injuries and the impending end of his professional career meant that in the summer of 2019 Kompany decided to return to Anderlecht, where he became a player coach. The 2019/2020 season, however, was not successful in this role as the club finished at their lowest league finish since joining the Jupiler Pro League. Sam Kompany made 15 appearances, scoring 1 goal and adding an assist. He definitely ended his football career in 2020, deciding to focus on the work of the Anderlecht coach.
After two seasons, however, he failed to win anything with his club and left his post. He immediately took over from Championship side Burnley and focused on achieving his next goal of promotion to the Premier League.
Representative career
Kompany made his national debut at the age of 17, just starting his adventure with Anderlecht in 2004. The Belgian national team, however, missed the most important international tournaments, so the centre-back could only appear in friendly and qualifying matches. He also appeared at the 2008 Olympics, where Belgium eventually finished 4th. At the end of 2009, he quarreled with the then head coach Dick Advocaat, but six months later, when the Dutch coach resigned from this function, Kompany was appointed captain of the Belgium national team.
The first tournament he managed to play was the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where the Red Devils reached the quarter-finals. The biggest success, however, was the semi-final at the 2018 World Championships and the bronze medal in Russia. Interestingly, Kompany never played at the Euro, because in 2016 he did not play due to injury, and just before the next European Championships, he ended his representative career. Kompany has made 89 appearances and four goals for the national team.
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