Pep Guardiola expresses regret over Vincent Kompany’s injury issues ahead of emotional reunion
Pep Guardiola expresses remorse over a particular aspect of his past partnership with Vincent Kompany, as he prepares to face the Belgian defender in a forthcoming FA Cup match against Burnley.
Pep Guardiola expresses regret over not being able to play Vincent Kompany more, as the Manchester City manager prepares for an emotional reunion with his former player this weekend.
Kompany, who is now the manager of Burnley, will return to the Etihad Stadium for the first time since leaving City in 2019. Guardiola and Kompany spent three seasons together, but the Spanish coach is disappointed that he couldn’t play the “legendary” defender more during that time.
As the match approaches, Guardiola has spoken highly of his former captain’s legendary status at Manchester City. However, he has expressed disappointment about Kompany’s recurring injury problems that led to his departure from the club.
“He’s [Kompany] an incredibly important figure here. He’s one of the biggest legends I had,” said Guardiola. “Personally I have one little pity – that sometimes he was sometimes injured for a lot of time when we were together but the important thing was from day one how he helped me.
“I arrived here from another country, I didn’t know the Premier League and he used to make a step forward in the locker room in the bad moments to help the team, and personally to me say the things he believed was best for the club. He was an exceptional captain, a top human being, and I’m really pleased.
“On the other side, I’m concerned because when you start to play a game and the opponent on the touchline is a player that you had, you realise how old you are becoming. That is a little bit frustrating, but it’s nice to see him. He wants to win, we want to win, and we will take it seriously.”
During their time in Manchester, Kompany and Guardiola had a highly successful partnership, winning two Premier League titles, the FA Cup, and two League Cups together. However, due to Kompany’s recurring injury problems, he was not a guaranteed starter under Guardiola, and he made just 62 appearances in three seasons, with only 53 of those being starts in all competitions.
It has been suggested that Kompany could potentially be the man to replace Guardiola whenever he chooses to leave the Etihad Stadium but the former Anderlecht boss does not believe he should be under consideration yet.
“I think City should always have the best manager in the world nobody else and that is not me,” he said. “So focus is just Burnley getting better and we will see.
“They [Man City] have the best manager in the world today and I hope he stays for another 10 years and if not they should have the best manager in the World after Pep. From my side I am way down the ranking.”
