Vincent Kompany is preparing for a Bundesliga title fight. But the Belgian has also been speaking out after the racism suffered by Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr., a cause that has been formative in his life and career.
Vincent Kompany spoke at length on the topic of racism at a recent press conferenceImage: Michael Nibel/HMB Media/picture alliance
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A win over Borussia Dortmund on Saturday would send Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich 11 points clear of their opponents and all but seal back-to-back Bundesliga titles for the Belgian coach.
While the football is his focus, Kompany’s powerful, forthright and eloquent monologue on racism and victim-blaming last week struck a chord beyond the game.
The 39-year-old condemned Benfica coach Jose Mourinho for his suggestion that the alleged racist abuse by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni that compelled Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. to walk off the pitch was provoked by Vinicius’s celebration of a goal. Kompany then went on to share his own experiences of racist abuse as both player and coach.
"I go to Club Brugge [while coaching Belgian side Anderlecht in 2021]. And I played for the national team; I was the captain for the national team. Me, my staff, we get called brown monkeys and so on. And after I complain, I see how all these politics happen again to kill the story. So, no consequences, no nothing. And I have a voice. What do you think for the people without a voice?"
Kompany's upbringing in Brussels and his father's influence
Kompany’s decision to use that voice to speak out has its roots in his parents and upbringing.
"I come from Brussels, and we speak so many different languages. Just in Brussels alone, you could be speaking French, Dutch, maybe a little bit of Arabic or Lingala from Congo, Italian, Spanish, it's all mixed," he told UEFA.com in 2024. "And you find that unless you communicate with people, nobody will do what you want them to do, and that's a big part of what we learn. I take it with me when I communicate with the group [of players]."
While a multicultural city helped Kompany develop his sense of social justice and awareness of discrimination, such notions also come from his father.
"Where I come from is my dad," he once said. "His experiences give me strength."
Vincent Kompany won 89 caps for Belgium, finishing third at the 2018 World CupImage: Reuters/T. Hanai
Pierre Kompany fled what was then the Belgian Congo (now DR Congo) in 1975 as a political refugee after serving 13 months in jail for his involvement in a student protest against the ruling regime. He was elected to the Brussels parliament in 2014 and became the country’s first Black mayor four years later.
Racism a part of Kompany's childhood
As a young man, Pierre married Vincent’s mother, Jocelyne, a white Belgian who died in 2008, something that shaped his own politics.
"My dad wasn’t accepted in the family at the beginning," explained Vincent in a 2019 Guardian interview. "My mother comes from the most rural village you can imagine and when she arrived, in the 70s, with my dad, straight from Africa, it was a shock. It was ignorance. My dad always ended up being accepted because of his personality. It was normal for us to go to youth tournaments and be called monkeys; parents shouting it. That would nearly cause a fist fight with my mother. We were taught to be stronger."
Der Klassiker: Memorable moments from Germany's biggest game
Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund is one of biggest games in German football. DW looks at the most memorable meetings.
Image: imago/Team 2
On the other side
Niko Kovac used to play for Bayern Munich, and in 2018 he was head coach for one season. Six years later, Kovac is coaching Borussia Dortmund. His first meeting was a 2-2 draw in Munich, but this season he and his Dortmund side were powerless to stop Bayern winning their seventh straight. A win four months later is a must if Kovac wants to stop Bayern from winning another league title.
Image: Uwe Kraft/IMAGO
10 year wait ended
Although both sides entered the second 'Der Klassiker' of the 2023-24 season out of the title race, with Bayer Leverkusen leading the pack, there was plenty still to play for. Karim Adeymi scored early in the first half before Julian Ryerson wrapped up all three points for Edin Turzic's team as Dortmund claimed their first victory in Munich in 3,641 days.
Image: Tom Weller/dpa/picture alliance
Glimmer of hope
The 2022-23 season was one of the most dramatic in league history. Anthony Modeste's 95th-minute equalizer in October gave Dortmund a point at home against Bayern despite having been 2-0 down. It was a sign of things to come as the two battled it out for the title throughout the season. On a dramatic final day, Dortmund could only manage a draw, handing Bayern the title on goal difference.
Image: Leon Kuegeler/REUTERS
One way street
After their home win in 2018, Dortmund have suffered since in the country's top billing. They lost the next three meetings and despite the best of Jude Bellingham, Marco Reus and Erling Haaland, Dortmund still couldn't stop the Bayern train at the start of the 2020-21 season. After the 3-2 home defeat, a 4-2 loss in Munich followed as the fixture became more and more one sided.
Image: Leon Kuegeler/Pool/REUTERS
No. 99: A true classic
The 99th Bundesliga edition of "Der Klassiker" lived up to its billing. In late 2018, Bayern twice took the lead through Robert Lewandowski, but Marco Reus twice equaled the score. In the end, Dortmund's summer signing, Paco Alcacer sent the BVB fans home with smiles on their faces as the hosts ran out 3-2 winners. It remains the last time Dortmund won the fixture in the Bundesliga.
Image: Imago Images/T. Bielefeld
No. 98: Just one side showed up
Their encounter on Matchday 28 of the 2017-18 season, was memorable only for Bayern fans. Dortmund were down by three after 23 minutes, and never pulled themselves off the canvas. By the break it was 5-0. Robert Lewandowski waited until the 87th minute to complete his hat trick for a final score of 6-0. Top of the table Bayern were running away with it, 21 points ahead of BVB in third.
Image: Getty Images/S. Widmann
All-German final at Wembley
Bayern Munich have usually had the upper hand, and not just in the Bundesliga. Germany's record champions took home the biggest prize in club football when the two teams met in the 2013 Champions League final at Wembley. Arjen Robben scored the winner as Bayern beat Dortmund 2-1 in one of the most exciting finals in the competition's history.
Image: picture alliance/augenklick
On the way to the treble
Robben also scored the winner as Bayern beat Dortmund 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the German Cup in 2013. Bayern would go on to win the competition, completing the treble – Jupp Heynckes' last hurrah, until he was called back into action for Bayern following the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Changing of the guard?
Dortmund, though, did win the 2012 German Cup final, beating Bayern 5-2 to complete the double. At the time, some thought this was a sign that BVB were about succeed Bayern as Germany's top team. But it took until 2017 for Dortmund to add to their silverware collection – with another German Cup. Not until 2018-19 did BVB mount another credible challenge for the Bundesliga title.
Image: imago sportfotodienst
Clean sheet
Jan Koller was actually a striker, but in November 2002, the Czech national team player was pressed into action between the sticks. Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann had been sent off after Dortmund had used up all of their subs. Koller kept a clean sheet, at one point stopping a powerful shot from Michael Ballack. Depite his heroics, Bayern won 2-1.
Image: imago/MIS
Meeting of minds
The rivalry between the teams has often been heated. Munich's Brazilian striker Giovane Elber (left) was usually quite laid back. However, agent provocateur Jens Lehmann managed to get even under his skin. Just before this meeting of minds, in another 2002 match, the Dortmund goalkeeper had knocked Elber to the ground.
Image: imago/WEREK
Cry me a river!
Dortmund midfielder Andreas Möller was another player who was capable of getting under an opponent's skin – sometimes with theatrical swan dives. In this 1997 contest, Bayern's Lothar Matthäus seemed to think he was nothing more than a crybaby.
Image: imago/Team 2
Kung fu
No, this isn't Jackie Chan, but Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. In this match in April 1999, "King Kahn" seemed to be close to losing it as he charged way beyond his penalty area and lunged at Dortmund striker Stephane Chapuisat with an outstretched right leg. Chapuisat managed to get out of the way in the nick of time and lived to tell the tale.
Image: imago/Team 2
Busy referee
This April 2001 match was perhaps the most heated of all the battles between two clubs. Referee Hartmut Strampe sent off two Bayern players (Bixente Lizarazu, Stefan Effenberg) and one of their Dortmund opponents (Evanilson) while issuing a total of 13 yellow cards. Between all the fouling that went on, Roque Santa Cruz and Fredi Bobic each managed to score to make it a 1-1 draw.
Image: imago/Team 2
How could he miss?
In August of 1986 Dortmund striker Frank Mill walked around Bayern keeper Jean-Marie Pfaff for what looked to be a certain goal. It remains a mystery to this day how he managed to miss the open goal, but he saw his close-range shot hit the post in a game that ended 2-2.
Image: picture-alliance/Sven Simon
Müller-fueled blowout
Gerd "Der Bomber" Müller (second from left) helped lay a beating on Dortmund in November 1971, scoring four goals as Bayern won 11-1. This remains Bayern's highest margin of victory in any Bundesliga game.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
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That family trait of standing up for their rights and beliefs is something that has been a feature of Kompany’s career. After leaving Belgian giants Anderlecht for a two-year spell as a player in Hamburg, he became the on-field leader of a routinely successful Manchester City side, winning four Premier League titles. Kompany gained admirers both within and outside City, before returning to Anderlecht to take his first steps in coaching.
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Kompany's coaching rise with help from his friends
His upbringing is even reflected in his choice of coaching staff. Childhood friend, Rodyse Munienge, is on the staff at Bayern. Floribert N'Galula, who also came through Anderlecht’s academy and played professionally in Belgium, has followed Kompany to Anderlecht, Burnley and is now with him at Bayern Munich.
Kompany was not Bayern’s first choice for the coaching role in 2024, having overseen Burnley’s relegation from the Premier League but has been a success so far. Bayern have lost just three league games since the start of last season and are on course for a league and cup double with a first Champions League title — the only thing that appears to offer any Bayern coach more job security — since 2020 very much a possibility.
After Vinicius and his teammates got the better of Benfica in their Champions League playoff on Wednesday, Real Madrid could meet Bayern at the quarterfinal stage. Among the hype such a fixture would produce would be two men, in Kompany and Vinicius, prepared to make a stand against racism regardless of the personal cost.
