FC Bayern will continue to be without head coach Vincent Kompany. The Belgian is still recovering from meningitis and is currently unable to coach his team in person. Sports director Christoph Freund has now revealed just how difficult this unaccustomed break has been for the 40-year-old.

While Kompany is sidelined, his assistant, Aaron Danks, is taking charge on the sidelines. The Englishman most recently led the Munich team to an impressive 2-0 away victory at Atlético Madrid, securing an important win in the Champions League.

But how closely is Kompany following the team during his absence? In an interview with Sky Austria, Freund offered insight into the Bayern coach’s current situation. It became clear that the club’s management, together with the medical staff, has established clear guidelines.

Freund: “It’s not easy for him.”

“It’s not easy for him to stay out of everything. Anyone who knows Vinnie knows he’s crazy about soccer,” Freund explained.

Kompany is known as a meticulous coach who is deeply involved in tactical details and his team’s day-to-day work. It’s therefore unusual for the Belgian not to be directly involved in the team’s sporting activities at the moment.

Nevertheless, Bayern has deliberately decided that their head coach should largely step back from day-to-day operations during his recovery.

“We all agreed on this together, including the doctors,” emphasized the sporting director.

According to Freund, Kompany is largely adhering to these guidelines. However, there is no complete severing of contact between the coach and the club.

“He’s largely sticking to it, even though there are, of course, occasional brief exchanges,” the Austrian revealed.

Kompany is keeping his distance – Freund praises Danks

It is apparently particularly important to club officials that Kompany does not currently have to deal with all the sporting details. “But he really isn’t involved in the details, which is very important at this stage,” Freund clarified.

In doing so, the sporting director emphasized that the head coach’s recovery is currently the top priority. Freund left open the question of when Kompany will be able to return fully to the sidelines.

This makes it all the more important for Munich that Aaron Danks is successfully leading the team in the meantime.

The 40-year-old Englishman has been in charge since Kompany’s absence and has recently drawn attention to himself, particularly with the team’s convincing performance against Atlético Madrid.

Freund expressed his satisfaction with the interim coach’s work. “Aaron is doing a really good job. He’s just a great guy,” gushed the Bayern sporting director.

CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen also expressly praised Danks after the historic away win in Madrid. In his banquet speech, he thanked him for his work and emphasized that Kompany would certainly have been pleased with his team’s performance as well.

For Bayern, the current situation remains a challenge despite their on-field successes. In addition to the numerous injured players, the team is also missing Kompany, its most important leader on the sidelines.

However, Freund’s statements make it clear that the Munich club is currently deliberately focusing on a clear division of responsibilities. While Danks takes over day-to-day operations, Kompany is to be able to focus on his full recovery without any additional pressure.

This article was translated into English by AI. You can read the original version here https://fcbinside.de/2026/11/04/er-ist-ein-fussball-verrueckter-freund-verraet-wie-schwer-kompany-seine-pause-faellt/.