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In an upcoming Sky documentary celebrating their 125th anniversary, Borussia Mönchengladbach director Roland Virkus has revealed the club nearly hired Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany.
After the club decided to part ways with the then-head coach Adi Hütter after the 2021/22 season, Gladbach tried to hire former head coach Lucien Favre. However, the Swiss decided against returning to Borussia Park. Virkus revealed what happened next:
“I met with him three times, we talked about football for three hours – an absolute expert.”
“When Favre canceled, I immediately called Vincent Kompany and said, ‘Vinc, now it’s time, we can go.’ Then he said, ‘I’m sorry, I accepted the offer at Burnley .’ And then I was left without a coach.”
Kompany’s time at Burnley would see them earn promotion back to the Premier League, before immediate relegation the following season. The Belgian would then join Bayern that summer, where he would go on to win the Bundesliga.
Gladbach, on the other hand, would hire Daniel Farke, who would be sacked after a year, before then hiring Gerardo Seoane, who is still in a job.
This is the second time that Gladbach have come close to signing a Bundesliga-winning coach. A year before die Fohlen tried to sign Kompany, the club had reportedly agreed a deal to bring Xabi Alonso to the Bundesliga.
However, the Spaniard opted to stay with Real Sociedad before ultimately joining Bayer Leverkusen in the latter half of 2022, and the rest was history…
GGFN | Jack Meenan
