Vincent Kompany

Anderlecht

Born in Uccle, Brussels, Kompany started his career at Anderlecht at the age of 17. He made his professional debut on 30 July 2003 in a UEFA Champions League second qualifying round first leg away to Rapid București, starting in a goalless draw. His first goal on 1 February 2004 came in a 3–1 win away to Sint-Truiden. Kompany won several awards including the Belgian Golden Shoe and the Belgian Ebony Shoe. Although several top European sides immediately showed interest, the player and his entourage decided to first develop a few more years at Anderlecht. "Don't you worry, I will stay here," he told Berend Scholten at UEFA.com. "At the moment the zeros in my contract are not so important. If I wanted to leave, I would have been gone already." In November 2003, still under contract until 2006, he agreed to extend his deal for two more years upon his 18th birthday in April 2004. In late 2003, Kompany was a target for Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson to cover the long-term suspension of defender Rio Ferdinand. Ferguson attended Anderlecht's trip to Celtic in the Champions League group stage so that he could watch Kompany, but was instead impressed by Celtic midfielder Liam Miller and signed him. Additionally, Kompany's mother would not let him transfer until he had finished his education.

Hamburg

On 9 June 2006 it was announced that Kompany had been acquired by Hamburger SV for a fee of €10 million, as a replacement for fellow Belgian Daniel…

Kompany made his international debut for Belgium at the age of 17 on 18 February 2004, starting in a 2–0 home loss to France. Kompany went to the Olympic football tournament in China in 2008, after his club Hamburg finally authorised his absence. In Belgium's opening game, he and Marouane Fellaini were sent off in a 1–0 loss to Brazil. Hamburg demanded that he return to Germany for the start of the Bundesliga season. He did not take the flight back, allegedly due to a lost passport, and Hamburg demanded that FIFA take action against the Royal Belgian Football Association. Kompany and Fellaini eventually did leave the tournament for their clubs in Europe. In November 2009, Kompany fell out with the Belgium manager Dick Advocaat. Before the friendly match with Qatar, Kompany received permission to attend his grandmother's funeral as long as he returned to the team hotel before 6 pm that evening. He did not return until nearly midnight and Advocaat removed him from the squad altogether, although on 24 February 2010, he was recalled for the friendly against Croatia.

On 19 May 2010, Kompany captained Belgium for the first time and scored his first international goal in the 90th minute for a 2–1 friendly win over Bulgaria at the King Baudouin Stadium. After 34 minutes of Belgium's 2–1 World Cup qualifier win against Serbia in June 2013, Kompany suffered concussion and facial injuries, including a broken nose and cracked eye-socket, in a collision with goalkeeper Vladimir…

Kompany was described as one of the most outstanding defenders in football, and in the history of the Premier League; he was recognised to be a strong centre back, with good aerial ability, mobility, and leadership qualities, as well as good technique and distribution. He was also an accurate tackler, with strong positional sense, and good at reading the game and anticipating his opponents. Kompany initially played as a central or defensive midfielder before being moved to a centre-back role. Despite his ability, he often struggled with injuries throughout his career.

Anderlecht

On 17 August 2020, it was announced that Kompany would be the head coach at Anderlecht for the next four seasons, after retiring from professional football on the same day. He made his debut six days later in a 1–1 home draw with Mouscron, conceding the equaliser in added time. In the Belgian Cup, the team reached the semi-finals before a 2–1 elimination by Genk in March. The league campaign ended with qualification for the play-offs, in which they came fourth and made the UEFA Europa Conference League. In August 2021, Kompany's Violets were eliminated from the Conference League qualifiers 5–4 on aggregate by Dutch club Vitesse. The team did one round better in the cup than before, losing the final on penalties to Gent on 18 April, and came third in the league.

Burnley

2022–23: Championship title

On 14 June 2022, Kompany was appointed manager of EFL Championship club Burnley on a deal of undisclosed length, following the club's relegation from the Premier League. On his debut on 29 July, he won 1–0 at Huddersfield Town with a goal by debutant Ian Maatsen. An impressive October, where his side picked up five wins and three draws in an unbeaten month, saw Kompany awarded the EFL Championship Manager of the Month award, finishing the month on top of the table. He won the award for a second time for December, a 100% record ensuring that Burnley finished the calendar year top of the league. He won the award for a second consecutive perfect…