Ahead of Bayern Munich's away match in the Champions League against Viking, Kompany was interviewed by Amazon Prime. He discussed the artificial pitch, the team's Champions League objectives, Kane's performances and Ballon d'Or prospects, as well as Neuer's fitness status and goalkeeper arrangements.

Vincent Kompany, this match in Norway is very special, and it's being played on an artificial pitch. When was the last time you played on an artificial pitch?

I've never played on an artificial pitch.

So you're not familiar with the difference between artificial and natural grass? Or do you have some knowledge of it?

I once managed a team that played on an artificial pitch in the Belgian league. Of course, because it's not common, people talk about it, which is normal. But for us, we won't treat it as a major issue.

We hope to enjoy football on the pitch today and tomorrow. There is a pitch here, and there's no problem. The pitch is in the center of the stadium, and there's no problem either. So we have nothing to complain about.

Let's talk about the opponent, Viking. You always study every opponent thoroughly. What have you discovered this time? What are their strengths? What do you need to prepare for?

Norwegian teams typically run a lot. Beyond that, I think this country has done well in developing young talent and advancing football. They don't have a large population, but they have two teams in the Champions League, and the Norwegian national team also performs well. Looking at Viking's players, you can naturally understand the foundation of these achievements. They run very actively, have good tactical awareness, and their technique is also solid.

They may not all have the peak speed of players in some top leagues, but that's normal. Nevertheless, they are all very well-rounded players.

Last year we followed you throughout the Champions League campaign, and everyone had the feeling that your team would achieve great things. What gives you confidence that you can progress further this year?

I think when we started the Champions League campaign last year, we were also very optimistic. First, you have to mentally prepare for the challenges this competition brings. The nature of this tournament is that every match is difficult.

So our main objective now is to get past the group stage, which is always a basic priority. Then we'll see how everything unfolds. If we can beat these teams, we can progress further. That's our only priority at the moment.

I also want to ask about Harry Kane. The Ballon d'Or ceremony will take place on October 26. I know you're often asked this question. Incidentally, Bayern's most recent Ballon d'Or winner, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, said Kane truly deserves the award this year. What do you think?

I know there's a culture around the Ballon d'Or where people lobby and advocate for their favorite candidates. If voting is still ongoing, I could give a biased answer. But for me, what matters most right now is just the team. Harry has performed excellently throughout this year, and not just because of his goals. I've said this many times. For me, that's what's important, not the Ballon d'Or.

Looking at his goal statistics alone cannot fully explain his contributions. He defends, drops back to midfield to collect the ball, organizes and distributes play. He performs excellently in every aspect.

I genuinely haven't seen many individual performances in a season quite like this. If you add up his statistics, then it's completely natural that his name appears in discussions about various awards.

Your words are almost the strongest possible lobbying for a player. Is he the most well-rounded player you've ever coached?

That's a difficult question to answer. But he's certainly very different, no doubt about that. He has a very rich technical skill set and never stops improving. I say this not because we're working together now, but because of his mentality. You can feel it in training.

Of course, I think something that really helped us is that he won relatively few trophies before joining Bayern. This means he still has great hunger. And I think we shouldn't forget that this hunger is also one of the reasons why he can perform so excellently. He should have won more trophies, and now he wants to make up for what he missed. We're very happy to work with him during this crucial period.

One final question, regarding personnel. Max Eberl mentioned at the airport that you've considered the goalkeeper for tomorrow. Would you like to share your thoughts with us?

I'm not sure yet. Well, actually, today you'll see that Neuer won't train because he has a foot issue. So the answer to your question will naturally become clear without me having to explain much. I hope it's not a major problem. But from a medical perspective, there may be some things to consider.

So Jonas Urbig will start tomorrow?

Yes, but I don't need to announce these things before every press conference. What matters is that today you'll see he won't be training. After that, of course you can speculate as you like.

We'll do our guessing. Thank you very much, and good luck with the match.

Okay, thank you.

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