Vincent Kompany’s board‑smashing rage resurfaces at Bayern

In the Bayern München dressing room on 13 September, a furious Vincent Kompany smashed his tactics board, echoing the same volatile moments he displayed at Anderlecht and Burnley. The outburst came at half‑time during Bayern’s Bundesliga clash with SV Elversberg, where the Belgian’s side trailed 0‑1 after Lennart Karl’s goal.

Half‑time fury at Elversberg

When the whistle signalled the break, cameras caught Kompany, dressed in black Adidas, stride past the team‑bench and rip the board into pieces. "Achter the gentleman" he shouted, revealing “a side of me that you don’t know”. The shattered board flew across the SV Elversberg locker room, leaving the Bayern squad stunned.

Bayern, visiting the promoted club from the town of Spiesen‑Elversberg – a community of 12 748 residents – eventually turned the game around to win 2‑1. Lennart Karl, who had opened the scoring, later added the winner, while the early deficit underscored the tension in the German side’s October schedule.

Players forced to confront the dark side

Wesley Hoedt, Joshua Zirkzee, Jóhan Berg Gudmundsson and Lennart Karl all witnessed the spectacle. Kompany singled out “Wes” and “Zirk” in a tirade, demanding attitude and respect. He also berated Berg and even the goal‑scorer Karl, who had provocatively covered his mouth with a finger after celebrating.

“Wes, I decide how many defenders we play and I take responsibility,” Kompany warned Hoedt. “Zirk, I don’t need a smile, I need perfect attitude,” he added to Zirkzee. The players left the room warned, aware that a difficult October lay ahead for Bayern.

Past eruptions at Anderlecht and Burnley

On 17 October 2021, Kompany’s second season as Anderlecht head coach saw a similar outburst after a loss to Sint‑Truiden. In the documentary ‘Mauve’, he is heard shouting, “Listen. No misunderstanding. There is one fucking side of me that you haven’t fucking seen, boys… It would have been better to send the U21’s.”

His most infamous clash came at Burnley, where footage from the documentary ‘Mission to Burnley’ shows him confronting Jóhan Berg Gudmundsson on the training pitch. Kompany roared, “Do not fucking test me! Enough with the fucking moaning! Play fucking football!” and later added, “Your body language is fucking shit, and I’m not accepting it.”

After the Elversberg match, Kompany told the press, “Wir wollten Respekt zeigen für dieses Spiel (…) Es ist uns nicht gelungen.” – “We wanted to show respect for this game, but we failed.” The players later admitted they were still shaken by the coach’s “dark side”.