Vincent Kompany has been praised for making the ‘interesting choice’ by taking up the manager’s position at Burnley.
The former Anderlecht manager was confirmed as the Clarets new manager today, replacing Sean Dyche as the next permanent boss at Turf Moor.
The move had been in the offing for several weeks, with Kompany quickly emerging as the leading candidate to lead Burnley in their first season back in the Championship.
The job will be his first in English football, and Het Niuewsblad editor Jürgen Geril has questioned the decision today.
According to him, ‘Burnley seems like a hellhole’ compared to the other jobs Kompany might have taken, such as Wolfsburg or Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The job in the Championship, which is ‘not exactly Earth’s paradise’, is likely to be a difficult one for the Belgian, with ’24 teams fighting to the death’ in a league that is mostly ‘physical kick and rush football’.
It makes the decision from Kompany ‘remarkable, yet interesting’ as the job will be a test of whether he can be a ‘chameleon’ as a coach.
In other words, it will test his ability to adapt to different circumstances.
Geril believes that Kompany will insist on his Burnley playing ‘neatly measured football’ in the style of Pep Guardiola, but he will have to find an answer to the ‘no-nonsense teams’ he will come up against.
The journalist does at least believe it is to Kompany’s credit that he has taken the job, but he warns there will be ‘much quicker backlash’ than at Anderlecht if things don’t go well.
It seems he admires Kompany for taking the job and is impressed by the decision, but less so by the Clarets as a football club, or indeed, location.
