The origins of Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany

After winning the Belgian championship twice in three seasons with Anderlecht, Kompany was courted by big Premier League clubs including Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United and Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea.

However, in 2006, aged 21, he opted instead to join German side Hamburg for a then club-record fee of about £7m.

He endured a tough start in the Bundesliga, picking up an injury straight away while the club got into a relegation battle. It was also during his time in Germany that his mother passed away and sister got cancer.

As the podcast explores, Kompany’s mother Jocelyne, who worked as a trade unionist, was an influential figure, helping to instil the socially conscious values that he exhibited during his time at City, when he worked with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to help tackle homelessness.

Kompany has previously said that his difficult spell at Hamburg taught him to, “stay humble on the way up”.

“That was maybe the best step he ever could make. Discipline. At that moment, he needed that. That was a good thing,” says Broos.

“That changed him a little bit and it was maybe that change that he needed to become the player he became.”

In 11 years at Manchester City between 2008 and 2019, eight of which were spent as club captain, Kompany won four Premier League titles, two FA Cups and four League Cups and is widely regarded as one of the top-flight’s best-ever defenders.

“We won the league and went out to the local pub, the Railway in Hale,” says former City team-mate Kyle Walker.

“He’s got a pint of Guinness and everyone’s following us around. He stood up and he did a speech. He loves talking. But to do that, and bring not just the lads together, but the fans who were joining that moment with us, that was powerful for me.”