Vincent Kompany

Anderlecht

Born in Uccle, Brussels, Kompany started his career at Anderlecht at the age of 17, winning several awards including the Belgian Golden Shoe and the Belgian Ebony Shoe. Although several top European sides immediately showed interest, the player and his entourage decided to first develop a few more years at Anderlecht. "Don't you worry, I will stay here," he told Berend Scholten at UEFA.com. "At the moment the zeros in my contract are not so important. If I wanted to leave, I would have been gone already."

Hamburg

On 9 June 2006, however, it was announced that Kompany had been acquired by Hamburger SV for a fee of €10 million, as a replacement for fellow Belgian Daniel Van Buyten. In his debut season for Hamburg, he managed only six Bundesliga starts for the club before suffering an achilles injury in November that ruled him out for the rest of the season. Despite his lack of involvement in the season, he was selected in a 30-man provisional squad for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

Manchester City

On 22 August 2008, Premier League club Manchester City confirmed the transfer of Kompany from Hamburg on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £6 million.

2008–09 season

He was handed the number 33 shirt for the 2008–09 season by manager Mark Hughes. Two days later, Kompany made his Manchester City debut against West Ham United. On 28 September, Kompany scored his first goal in City's 2–1 away defeat by Wigan Athletic. On 28 December 2008, he started the game with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park as a holding midfielder and also completed the full 90 minutes in a 2–2 draw.

2009–10 season

On 19 October 2009, Kompany signed a new five-year deal with City that would keep him at the club until 2014. He scored his second league goal for the club in a 2–0 home win against Portsmouth and his third in a 6–1 away win against Burnley at Turf Moor.

2010–11 season

Kompany was handed the number 4 jersey for the 2010–11 season after previous number 4 Nedum Onuoha moved on loan to Sunderland. On 14 August 2010, he started the opening Premier League fixture and received a yellow card from referee Andre Marriner against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane and completed the full 90 minutes alongside Kolo Touré in a 0–0 draw. Kompany put in a Man of the Match performance in the 1–0 home win against Chelsea at the City of Manchester Stadium on 25 September. On 10 November, Kompany started the Manchester derby league game with Manchester United at the City of Manchester Stadium and played the full 90 minutes in a goalless draw. On 12 February 2011, he started the Premier League match against Manchester United at Old Trafford and played the full 90 minutes, partnering with Joleon Lescott in a disappointing 2–1 defeat. On 25 April, he again continued to captain the side in the absence of star striker Carlos Tevez against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, playing the full 90 minutes alongside Joleon Lescott in an important 1–0 victory courtesy of a late 75th-minute strike from Edin Džeko. On 16 April, Kompany captained Manchester City's victory over main rivals Manchester United in the 2010–11 season FA Cup Semi Final at Wembley Stadium; City won the game 1–0. Later that day, he was named in the PFA Team of the Year alongside City teammate Carlos Tevez. At the end of the 2010–11 season, team manager Roberto Mancini praised Kompany's "incredible" season and claimed that with his attitude and mentality, Kompany can become one of the best defenders in Europe.

He finished the season winning the Manchester City Official Supporter's Player of the Year, Manchester City Player's Player of the Year, and the Premier League Player of the Season for his outstanding performances throughout the season, clocking up 50 appearances in all competitions and also making 37 Premier League starts in the process. On 30 April, he scored a header from a David Silva corner against Manchester United in the Manchester derby. The game finished 1–0 to City and put them in first place ahead of United on goal difference with only two games of the season remaining. On 13 May, the final day of the Premier League season, Kompany captained the team that won the Premier League for the 2011–12 season, which ended in a 3–2 win to City, helping Manchester City win the trophy with their win against Queens Park Rangers. In the same match, QPR midfielder Joey Barton attempted to headbutt Kompany. On 25 July, Kompany signed a six-year contract with Manchester City, the longest of its kind in the club's history.

2013–14 season

On 11 May 2014, Kompany scored Manchester City's second goal in a 2–0 win against West Ham United as the club won the 2013–14 Premier League title.

International career

Kompany made his international debut aged just 17 for Belgium in February 2004 against France, as one of the youngest players ever. The Belgian Federation called up Kompany to the 2008 Olympics. Initially, Hamburg decided not to let him go as the Olympics was not an official FIFA tournament. After a dispute, Hamburg decided to release him under the condition that he returned after Belgium's first two group games. At the Beijing Olympics, Belgium's first game was against Brazil where he was sent off in a 1–0 loss, and as a consequence his tournament was over as the red card would rule him out of Belgium's second group game. Due to the turn of events, Kompany decided against returning to Germany in hope of playing the last group game to help his country qualify for the knockout stages. Hamburg maintained their stance that he had to return, and the Belgian FA decided to release him. He later came on as a substitute in the opening game for Hamburg against Bayern Munich. The rocky relationship with Hamburg and Kompany is said to be a major factor in Kompany transferring to Manchester City. In November 2009, Kompany fell out with the Belgium manager Dick Advocaat. On the Monday before the friendly match with Qatar on 18 November 2009, Kompany received permission to attend the funeral of his grandmother as long as he returned to the team hotel before 6 pm that evening. As it happened, he did not return until nearly midnight. Furious, Advocaat removed him from the squad altogether, although on 24 February 2010 he was recalled to the Belgium squad by Advocaat for the friendly against Croatia. On 19 May 2010, Kompany scored a 90th-minute goal to give Belgium a 2–1 win over Bulgaria in a friendly. On 10 November 2011, a day before the friendly against Romania, Georges Leekens named Kompany as Belgium captain, succeeding Thomas Vermaelen.

After 34 minutes of Belgium's 2–1 World Cup qualifier win against Serbia in June 2013, Kompany suffered concussion and facial injuries, including a broken nose and cracked eye-socket, in a collision with goalkeeper Vladimir Stojković. After receiving first aid on the touchline, he played out the remainder of the match.

On 13 May 2014, Kompany was named in the Belgium squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He captained the Red Devils in their first World Cup match in 12 years, a 2–1 win against Algeria in Belo Horizonte.

Injuries sustained during the season caused him to miss the UEFA Euro 2016.

Style of play

Kompany has been described as one of the best defenders in world football, and is recognised to be a physically strong centreback, with excellent aerial ability, and mobility, as well as good technique and distribution. He is also a very accurate tackler with strong positional sense and excels at anticipating his opponents.

Charity work

Kompany is an official FIFA ambassador for registered charity SOS Children. Of Congolese heritage, Kompany represents his father's native Congo, and has invested and engaged in projects which aim to provide an education and safe living accommodation for children living in poverty.

In March 2013, Kompany bought the Belgian third division club FC Bleid as a "social commitment towards the youngsters of Brussels", with the intention of offering disadvantaged youngsters the opportunity to use sport as a vehicle for self-improvement.

Personal life

Kompany's father, Pierre, is a Congolese immigrant to Belgium and serves as his agent. His mother, Jocelyne, is Belgian. His brother, François Kompany currently plays for Roeselare, having previously had spells at Germinal Beerschot and Macclesfield Town. Kompany also has an older sister. Among his friends are former Chelsea goalkeeper Yves Ma-Kalambay and former Manchester United defender Floribert N'Galula, both of whom he consulted about his move to England before joining Manchester City.

Kompany married his Mancunian girlfriend, Carla Higgs, a lifelong Manchester City supporter on 11 June 2011, and together they have a daughter, Sienna, who was born on 10 June 2010, and a son Kai, who was born in October 2013.

Kompany has a number of pastimes and interests which keep him occupied outside of football. He has an interest in politics and is also a part-time student at Manchester Business School where he is studying Business Administration. In contrast with most of his football peers, Kompany has been characterized as "erudite" and "eloquent".

In April 2014, Kompany opened two new sports bars in Belgium by the name of Good Kompany, one at the Grand Place in Brussels and the other at the Groenplaats in Antwerp. However, Kompany closed down both bars within a year of their opening. At the time of their closure, Kompany was quoted as saying "I regret this decision. We had enough customers, turnover was good, but not enough to cover the costs. So that's where it ends. Lesson 1 in business: investments are always a risk. You win some, you lose some."

Club

International

International goals

Club

Anderlecht

Hamburger SV

Manchester City

Individual