Vincent Kompany has mounted a stout defence of the beleaguered Erik ten Hag, claiming he is one of the best managers in the world.
Ten Hag is expected to be sacked by Manchester United at the end of the season because he has failed to meet their minimum target of Champions League football. Kompany remembers the coach who made his name at Ajax and says the Dutchman has always stood out for him.
The pair meet at Old Trafford on Saturday and Burnley boss Kompany said: “I’ve witnessed some of the best playing teams I’ve ever played against as a manager and that I’ve seen in my whole career.
“So when his team at Ajax were playing, it was something special. It wasn’t something you could attribute to a team of that age because there were really young or the financial resources, it was incredible.
“They were up there with the best teams I’ve ever seen play. You know most of those teams in recent times have been associated with Pep [Guardiola]. Of course, there were other managers as well. He was one of them, you know for sure.”
Kompany studied Ajax when they reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2019 and they would have faced Manchester City had the Blues not been edged out by Tottenham in the quarter-finals. He hailed ten Hag as a “reference coach” for other managers like him because he has learnt so much from him.
“There was that moment when we were close to playing them in the semi-final of the Champions League, there was VAR intervention and Tottenham ended up going through,” he said. He’s had some reference teams for many other coaches in the world.
"He wasn’t just about good players, he was about the ideas behind the teams and what they were doing. All of his advice was to be seen in games, what was happening in games.
“I have to be honest, it’s not like we go out for coffees or anything, but I have followed his trajectory and he’s one of those reference coaches. That’s the reality of it. It goes a little bit against the trend right now, but I’m telling the truth.”
Ten Hag has branded the criticism of him as “disgraceful” and Kompany says he learnt early in his career not to listen to anyone whose opinions he does not value. “It just doesn’t bother me,” he said. “It is what it is. It just doesn’t bother me.
“Early on in my career, if you really want the source of it, when I was 17, 18, 19, 20, I was completely written off. I was put like a meteor at the top of Belgian football, European football for a bit as well, and then I was burned to the ground like you wouldn’t believe.
“After that I became the surprise package. Like, oh, look at this guy, he’s just signed for Manchester City for less money than everybody else. Then I realised that you just need to put things into context. It’s all a question of patience.”
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