Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany has issued a warning to his players ahead of their crucial Champions League last-16 tie against Bayer Leverkusen.
Kompany, who took charge of Bayern last summer following a disappointing trophyless season under Thomas Tuchel, has been tasked with restoring the club’s dominance in German and European football.
His side currently sit eight points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, reaffirming their domestic superiority.
However, Bayern’s campaign has not been without setbacks. They were knocked out of the DFB-Pokal by Leverkusen, led by Xabi Alonso, and will be eager to avoid a repeat of that disappointment on the European stage.
With the Champions League now a key focus, Kompany has urged his squad to remain fully concentrated as they prepare to face a Leverkusen side that has already proven capable of beating them this season.
“Be hungry – or go somewhere else. It’s that simple,” Kompany told FIFA media.
“I can identify with many of the players I see here. There is no big difference to the groups I knew from Manchester City. That is definitely an advantage. I know what motivates them. I know what ambitions they have and what their simple worries are.
“I am lucky to have a very good group of players who enjoy spending time together. I also know how important it is to protect this dynamic. I’ve always been at clubs with high standards.
“Anderlecht had some of the best youth teams in Europe in the 1980s and 1990s. We could beat any big European team. We always had that pressure, from the age of six: to win, to play well, to behave in a certain way. When I got to top-level football, that was already a big part of me.
“That of course continued at Manchester City. When I then became coach of FC Bayern, it was something very familiar to me. I didn’t come into an environment that I didn’t know, but into an environment that I grew up in.”
