Kompany’s Bayern look to reclaim Bundesliga crown from Leverkusen

Bayern Munich will start their Bundesliga season on Sunday against Wolfsburg, with all eyes on their new coach, Vincent Kompany, who is 38 years old. Kompany’s goal is to bring Bayern Munich back to the top of German football.

Last season, Bayern, Germany’s most successful and wealthiest club, was overshadowed by Bayer Leverkusen, who won both the league and the cup without losing a game.

Kompany, a former Belgian international who took over from Thomas Tuchel, has been working to rebuild team morale and boost the players’ confidence.

“Last year, Bayern had the same quality players, but the communication between the coach and players wasn’t ideal,” said former Bayern and Germany captain Lothar Matthaeus in a recent interview. “Bayern is like a family, and Kompany is the coach who can bring that sense of unity back.”

To strengthen their squad, Bayern spent about 100 million euros to sign winger Michael Olise from Crystal Palace and defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha from Fulham. They also brought in defender Hiroki Ito from VfB Stuttgart to improve their defense, which struggled last season.

“I have a positive feeling about this team; they seem motivated and ready to compete again,” said Bayern’s sports director Max Eberl.

However, Bayer Leverkusen, who kept most of their squad and retained coach Xabi Alonso, won’t be easy to beat. Their determination was evident on Saturday when they scored a late equalizer in the German Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and went on to win the title on penalties.

“Leverkusen has less pressure than Bayern this season,” Matthaeus explained. “Leverkusen doesn’t have to win, but Bayern, after their last two seasons, must win and perform well. That’s real pressure.”

Leverkusen will officially start the Bundesliga season on Friday with a game against Borussia Monchengladbach.

For last season’s surprise runner-up, Stuttgart, this season might be tougher. They lost Ito to Bayern and top scorer Serhou Guirassy, along with defender Waldemar Anton, to Borussia Dortmund.

Dortmund hopes the arrivals of Germany internationals Anton, Pascal Gross, and Maximilian Beier can make them title contenders again, but they’ll need Guirassy to fill the gap left by Niclas Fuellkrug, who moved to West Ham United.