Dortmund chiefs send well wishes to Kompany and discuss pressure on coaches

Vincent Kompany is expected to remain unavailable when Bayern Munich face Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker on Saturday after suddenly collapsing last week.

The 40-year-old Bayern coach is currently hospitalised and in stable condition, with doctors still working to determine the exact cause of his collapse.

The incident has sparked debate about the immense pressure football coaches face, with Borussia Dortmund sporting managing director Lars Ricken and CEO Carsten Cramer weighing in and wishing Kompany a speedy recovery during an interview with Sport Bild.

“I wish Vincent Kompany all the best and a speedy recovery. We can see with Niko (Kovac, Dortmund’s head coach, ed. note), too, just how demanding the job is for a coach who has to prepare a match every three days,” Ricken said.

“Let me give you an example. We recently went through the figures, and Niko has to give more than 200 press conferences or interviews before and after matches each season. Not burning yourself out in those circumstances is a special skill.”

Cramer praised Bayern’s handling of the situation, with Kompany taking a complete break from his coaching duties and assistant Aaron Danks and the rest of the backroom staff taking charge until further notice.

“I echo those wishes and send Vincent Kompany my very best for a speedy recovery. I thought the way FC Bayern handled the situation was exemplary,” Cramer said.

“I would also like to build on Lars’s second point. You have to consider how many difficult conversations a coach has to have. Before every match, there are at least ten – namely, with the players who are not in the starting eleven. Managing those conversations is not always easy. The job of a head coach is an enormous challenge, and I have great respect for it.”