Ahead of Bayern Munich's Champions League away match against Viking, Vincent Kompany gave an interview to Amazon Prime Video. He discussed artificial turf, Bayern's Champions League objectives, Harry Kane's performance and Ballon d'Or prospects, Manuel Neuer's physical condition, and the goalkeeper situation.

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

I've never played on artificial turf.

So you don't know the difference between artificial and natural grass? Or do you have some idea of it?

I once coached a team that played on artificial turf in the Belgian league. Of course, it's a topic of discussion because it's not commonplace—that's normal. But for us, it won't be a major issue.

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

Let's talk about our opponents, Viking. You analyze every opponent very carefully. What have you found this time? What are their strengths? What preparations do you need to make?

Norwegian teams generally run a lot. I also think this country is very strong in youth development and football development. They don't have a large population, but two teams competing in the Champions League, and the Norwegian national team also plays well. When you look at Viking's players, you naturally understand the foundation of these successes. They run very actively, have good tactical understanding, and solid technique.

Not all of them may have the same top speed as players in some other leagues, but that's normal. Still, they're very well-rounded players.

Last year we followed you throughout the entire Champions League, and everyone had the feeling that your team was close to achieving something big. What gives you confidence that you could take another step further this year?

I think when we started our Champions League campaign last year, we were similarly optimistic. First of all, the most fundamental point is that you need to be mentally prepared for the challenges of this competition. And the characteristic of this competition is that every match is difficult to play.

Our primary goal, therefore, is to get through the group stage, which is always the fundamental priority. After that, we'll see what comes next. If we can beat this team, we can take another step forward. That's our only priority right now.

I'd also like to talk about Harry Kane. The Ballon d'Or award takes place on October 26th. I know you get asked this question often. By the way, the last Ballon d'Or winner from Bayern Munich was Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and he said Kane really deserves the award this year. What do you think?

I know there's a culture around the Ballon d'Or where everyone campaigns and lobbies for their preferred candidate. If the voting were happening right now, I might give a biased answer. But for me, the team is what matters most right now. Harry has shown extraordinary performances throughout the year, not just because of his goals. I've said that many times already. For me, that counts the most, not the Ballon d'Or.

His goal tally alone isn't enough to explain his contribution. He participates in defense, drops into midfield to win the ball, organize play, and distribute it. He shows extraordinarily good performances in all areas.

I really haven't often seen such an individual performance in a season. When you add his statistics to that, it's completely normal that his name comes up in discussions about various awards.

Your words are almost like a maximum campaign for a player. Could he also be the most complete player you've ever coached?

That's a difficult question to answer. But he's certainly very different, there's no doubt about that. He has a very rich technical repertoire and continually improves. I'm not saying that because we're working together now, but because of his attitude. You feel it in training.

Of course, I also think it helped that he won very few titles before joining Bayern Munich. That means he's still hungry. And I think we shouldn't forget that this hunger is also one of the reasons why he can deliver such outstanding performances. He should have won more trophies, and now he wants to make up for it. We're very happy to support him in this endeavor.

One last question regarding squad planning. Max Eberl mentioned again at the airport that you've already made a decision about which goalkeeper will play tomorrow. Would you be willing to share your thoughts with us?

I don't know. Well, actually, you'll see today that Neuer won't participate in training due to minor foot problems. The answer to that question will speak for itself—I don't need to explain much. Hopefully it's nothing serious. But from a medical standpoint, there are some situations to consider.

So Jonas Urbig will be in goal tomorrow?

Yes, but I don't need to announce these things in advance at every press conference. What's important is that you'll see today that he didn't participate in training. After that, of course, you can speculate as much as you like.

We will speculate. Thank you and good luck for the match.

Okay, thanks.

Übersetzt von KI.

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