By his own admission, Vincent Kompany’s form last season wasn’t good enough. If his performances since joining Manchester City from Hamburg back in 2008 have told us anything, it was that he is probably the best defender in the Premier League when fit and at the top of his game. In 2014/15, he wasn’t even close.
But there aren’t too many better professionals in the league, either. Kompany, irked by his collapse, barely had a summer holiday. He returned to City’s £150 million training base adjacent to the Etihad Stadium earlier than any other player and began preparing himself for a better campaign this time around.
“For me, to have a season like last season wasn’t acceptable, and I’ve done what I’ve always know when times were tough," he said in September, relayed by Anthony Jepson of the Manchester Evening News.
He continued:
I just got back to basics, worked even harder and I’ve come back stronger. Right now, what I see in this team which I haven’t seen—probably ever—is just a level of focus.
It’s probably because most of us have got so much to deal with in the past 12 months. Everyone knows we cannot afford ourselves a mental rest until we’ve finished the job.
So far, it would seem his hard work has paid off. His performances have been outstanding since August. City have kept seven clean sheets this season, and it’s certainly no coincidence Kompany has played in all of them.
Toward the end of last season, for the first time in his City career, Kompany was no longer first choice, with Eliaquim Mangala and Martin Demichelis comprising Manuel Pellegrini’s preferred pairing for the final weeks. He wanted to take Kompany out of the firing line, an opportunity for the Belgian to refocus and refresh himself. It was probably the right thing to do—another example of Pellegrini’s fine man-management skills.
But things have changed rapidly. Now, it’s the other defenders in City’s squad fighting for a place alongside the captain. Kompany has reasserted his authority and his ability. Right now it is new signing Nicolas Otamendi who finds himself in the side, and the two are developing an excellent understanding.
City have looked solid for much of the season, restricting their opponents to just 28 shots on target in their 12 league games.
You would be hard pushed to name a better pound-for-pound signing in City’s history than Kompany. He joined for £6 million in the summer of 2008—a rare piece of transfer brilliance from former manager Mark Hughes—and it quickly became apparent City had found themselves a magnificent footballer.
He played as a midfielder initially, but with City often looking weak at the back, Kompany was rightfully given a chance there. He excelled, and so began a rapid rise to prominence, soon becoming known as the best centre-back in English football.
It also didn’t take long for people to realise City had one of the best statesman in the game. Kompany doesn’t just lead on the pitch; he is also a wonderful orator and a man who has represented the club in the best possible way. No other Premier League side boasts a player who offered quite such a comprehensive package.
Injuries have certainly held him back and continue to do so. This season, he has already spent seven matches on the sidelines. His calves are susceptible to injury, something Pellegrini feels may well be down to his overzealous approach to training and games.
“Vincent plays with 100 per cent intensity, not just every game but every training session,” Pellegrini said prior to City’s recent match with West Ham United. “That’s the way he always works.
“It’s difficult [for him to ease off]. It is not easy for him. He tries sometimes not to be always 100 per cent intensity, but you cannot change.
“It is always important [not] to have injured players, especially the captain and especially in a moment when we didn’t concede any goals in the first five games. I think it is important to carry on playing with the same names, but I always say we have a squad.”
The 29-year-old still has plenty left to offer. Medical and dietary advancements mean players are going on longer than ever before declining. Centre-backs, in particular, seem to benefit from experience and flourish later.
And City, a club looking to nurture their own talent right across the board, will surely want him to continue his association with them after his playing career, either in a coaching capacity or a more ambassadorial role.
Everything is in place. City are no longer just a club based in east Manchester. The City Football Group (CFG) is a growing enterprise, with clubs across the world now bearing the City name and coloured sky blue.
Patrick Vieira is the most obvious case in point. The former Arsenal man, another hugely respected figure in the game, was given an ambassadorial role after his retirement from playing before being parachuted into the role of manager of City's elite development squad.
Now, with his career in need of further development Manchester City can’t offer him at this time, he has gone off to New York City, where he will be first-team manager. CFG has everything in place to help their former players progress in non-playing capacities.
Whether MLS proves to be the best place for Vieira to spread his wings remains to be seen, but City simply can’t lose. They retain his registration and get to continue monitoring his progress. Kompany, you feel, has surely been earmarked for similar treatment when he calls time on his playing career.
Kompany remains a superb athlete. He has pace, strength and plenty of technical ability. He can dribble and play from the back, and he can defend in a proactive, aggressive style. At his best, he’s probably the finest centre-half in the English top flight.
But what City also have in Kompany is perhaps an even more valuable commodity: an intelligent, articulate leader who clearly loves the game. The end of his playing days almost certainly will not be the end of his association with the club.
