Starting at Belgium’s Anderlecht, he caught the eye of renowned clubs at just 17. But, after turning down offers, he was eventually snapped up by Hamburg to play in the German league. It wasn’t until 2008 that Manchester City picked him up to bolster its defence. Vincent Kompany is now one of the main leaders in the English Premier league. He spoke about his career and plans with City. Excerpts
ManchesterCityhas many new players now. We’re looking at Jesus Navas, Stevan Jovetic, Alvaro Negredo. How will the new signings change the dynamics of your teamIJ
New signings come without any preconception. These are usually ambitious measures of a big team that is hungry for success. They need to keep shuffling their combination. If you look at the amount of competitions that are lined up for us, just 11 exceptional players won’t do anymore; we also need a strong bench to stay at the top in these competitive times.
Your former teammate Carlos Tevez had said that the main reason Manchester City failed in Europe in the last two seasons was because of the huge pressure of sky-high expectations. Do you agreeIJ
I can understand his observation. But we’ve been dealing with a lot of pressure for four or five years since this revolution started at the club. There has been a lot of competition within the team because of the world class players coming in. Getting the right composition consistently against different teams with different strengths is quite a task. Obviously, it makes it a bit harder to deal with, but hopefully we’ll get used to it and hopefully we’ll get the results that we need.
What do you look for in a new managerIJ Not just as a captain, but also as a player.
Experience and leadership are the biggest things that you need for a group. But, he needs to be a man with a lot of class and a bit of flair in approach.
ManchesterUnited has a new manager in David Moyes after 30 years. How will the players adapt to a new entity after such a long timeIJ
The only way to make it work is if you completely buy into whatever the new manager brings in. If he has different methods, different beliefs, you can’t let your feelings of the past block whatever that guy is bringing in, because then you make the job hard even before it’s started.
As captain of Manchester City and of Belgium’s National Football Team, you’ve been described as fiercely loyal. How do you defend that loyalty when a footballer goes to the highest bidderIJ
Every single footballer plays the game for one thing only — to achieve to be the greatest in the game. And whichever way it turns out, wherever you go, you do gain some loyalty for your club. You develop this connection with fans, same as the connection with people working at the club. So you can’t play football anywhere if you don’t give everything you have. We don’t need to defend anything as long as we give our best and keep our loyalty towards the fans who love us.
How are football youth development programmes in Belgium different from, say, in EnglandIJ
I think we benefited a lot from the fact that we are a small country. So, a lot of players at a very young age have had the chance to develop even outside of our borders or to play at a young age in home league.
What do you think makes a great footballerIJ Is it just about talent on the pitchIJ
There are so many great footballers and they’re all different. But the best that I’ve seen have been people who didn’t think — they were very applied to their job. And then, when you’re actually going through their lives, you realize that they’re unbelievable professionals and people who have done all the right things at the right moment. And when I’m talking about a great player, I mean a player that lasts 10 years at the top, not someone who comes in for two years and disappears.
What would you teach aspiring footballers about racismIJ How do you fight this scourgeIJ
People who you call racists, I don’t envy those guys. I wouldn’t like to be in their position. I think it’s a very sad life and I wouldn’t give them too much attention. At the same time, as much as I would advise my children to ignore such things, I hope that the governing bodies will be firm in dealing with these situations.
Does it shock you that racism in football actually existsIJ
It does shock me, but, in a weird way. It is something I’ve had to deal with when I was younger. But I remember what my parents said. They said, I was a better person than those guys who did that. And I shouldn’t really worry too much about it. As long as I fight for those who are victims of it, my conscience is clear. I don’t feel like a victim. I’m way above this in my head.
(The interview was done on CNN’s Talk Asia)