Bayern Club World Cup clash with PSG a 'perfect storm': Kompany

Yahoo

7 hours ago

Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said his team's Club World Cup quarter-final clash with Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday will be an enthralling encounter because of their similar "extreme" styles of play.
Both Luis Enrique's PSG and Kompany's Bayern, champions of the French and German leagues respectively, like to dominate the ball, press high and play attacking football.
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"You have teams who are able to make a lot of good use of the ball in nearly every game, against deep blocks, high presses, everything," Kompany told a news conference Friday.
"That creates a sort of, what we've seen here a lot, thunderstorm, right? It's a perfect storm. These games are always interesting, and... I would pay to watch it."
Bayern and PSG can rest easy on Saturday because of the roof at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta which means there will be no storm disruption, and Kompany said the match would be one to savour.
"If I was a neutral, I would come to see this game, for sure," he said. "Both teams have quite 'extreme' principles, which is why it's usually an interesting game."
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Despite the obvious strength of the Champions League winners, Kompany said there was no side he would rather face than the Parisians.
"There's no reason to think that they're not going to be absolutely at their best tomorrow, but I think it's the type of challenge you like," he explained.
"If I could pick one team to face, as a professional athlete, as a competitor, it's always the winners, and they are the winners, so we get a chance to play against them.
"It's tough, it's the toughest game, maybe, but that's why we're here, so I wouldn't have it any other way."
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- 'Completely over the top' -
The Belgian coach also hailed his PSG counterpart Luis Enrique, who won the treble with the French side.
In November PSG lost 1-0 against Bayern but Kompany said criticism of the Spaniard at the time was greatly overblown.
"I could follow (his press conference) on one of the big screens and all the questions that were asked to him were completely over the top," said Kompany.
"Really tough questions, big statements, everything is over, you failed in your job, you can do nothing -- all these big statements.
"But I remember watching his team before we played them, most games they should have won 5-0 but somehow it was 1-1 or they lost, so it wasn't reflective of the spirit of the team... (or) of the dominance they had in every game."
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Kompany said he was happy to see Luis Enrique's determination rewarded.
"It's nice to see that in those moments consistency paid off for him, but most importantly that he was strong enough to continue," said the coach.
"It's not a compliment I'm giving, it's just a fact... it's just interesting to do this (rematch) six months fast forward, and to see how much things can change."
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