Vincent Kompany joined Manchester City in 2008 and quickly became a stalwart figure for the club. He was awarded the captain’s armband to start the 2011-12 season under Roberto Mancini and was named in the Premier League Team of the Season as City won their first league title in 44 years.
The Belgian international brings confidence, leadership, exceptional aerial ability, and an uncanny knack for anticipating the flow of play. These last two campaigns have been drastically different for the 30-year-old skipper, and now his career is at serious risk of being cut short.
Injuries have got the best of him. Last season, when fit, Kompany was much-maligned for his play on the pitch. He had made some drastic errors and his timing seemed off. The 2014-15 campaign was one of his toughest as a professional, so at the start of this season he looked to re-establish his role as leader of this team.
He arrived at the team’s training facility and started training three weeks prior to the rest of his team-mates. He returned with a renewed sense of vigour. In City’s first match of the new season his hard work paid off as he not only led the team to a clean sheet, but also found the net at the other end. It was just what the doctor ordered for the Belgian international. He had regained his form and the fans were once again chanting his name.
This form and intensity continued for the next month of the campaign. Manchester City had won five from five and were top of the table, when fate had once again dealt the captain an unlucky hand. Kompany would be out with injury for a couple months. The look of disappointment and sadness adorned the face of the skipper. He had worked so hard just to go down again.
The injury left City’s back four in disarray as Manuel Pellegrini struggled to find a centre-back pairing that worked. No matter what combination the manager tried, there was one huge piece of the puzzle missing: leadership. Kompany is a vocal leader who is very good at organizing the back line as well as the defensive midfielders. This was clearly absent from the team as they began to falter.
Kompany recovered, but picked up four more injuries in the rest of the season, the most recent of which saw the end of his season against Real Madrid. He has played just 20 of his team’s matches this season, and will miss the chance to represent his country at Euro 2016.
With new management coming to Manchester City this summer and the extensive list of injuries suffered by the skipper, one has to wonder if Kompany’s days in a City kit are numbered. He no doubt has the desire to return and succeed, but many questions need to be asked by Pep Guardiola and his staff regarding his future. Why is he so often injured? Is he too old to recover properly? With all the rumours surrounding this club at the moment about players’ comings and goings, one serious concern is how the centre-back situation can be sorted out.
