Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer on Vincent Kompany, Eric Dier and the upcoming season
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has given an insight into life under new head coach Vincent Kompany, saying the Belgian tactician has an "English sense of humour" and is "very communicative".
Neuer, now 38, is going into his 14th season at Bayern, but has already been impressed by Kompany in the short time they have been working together.
"I think communication is the key for every coach," he told bundesliga.com. "It’s really crucial for the coach to be able to have conversations with players, get feedback, and to know how players think. That’s where he [Kompany] can quickly get an idea of what a player is like, and naturally he also wants to be able to imprint his philosophy upon us.
"It's crucial that we only follow one philosophy, and that the coach sets it out for us. We're really open, we are very attentive, highly concentrated and want to implement what the coach is asking of us."
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So what exactly is Kompany, who is also 38, asking of Neuer and his team-mates? "It's important to him that we're dominant, that we provide solutions for each other and that we are always present," the goalkeeper explained.
"That everyone shows up on the pitch and that we take up the right positions. There’s a lot of coaching and individual conversations."
Indeed, that has contributed to Neuer taking note of the former Hamburg and Manchester City defender's man management style - and liking it: "He’s very open and communicative and also has a typical English sense of humour that I like a lot. Eric Dier has that too of course; he’s a really good team player, and I think he’s very good for our team."
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Bayern have so far won two and drawn one of their pre-season friendlies under Kompany, most recently a 2-1 success over Tottenham Hotspur as part of their tour of South Korea.
Competitive action is not far away, however, despite this summer's European Championship in Germany having curtailed many players' preparations for the new campaign.
Not that Neuer is complaining. "The wait for the first Bundesliga game isn’t so long now," he said. "We still have a cup game in Ulm [on 16 August] the week before, which we have to win. Then we travel to Wolfsburg and play there on Sunday [25 August] at 3.30pm.
"You’re always looking forward to getting started, you just want to have a progress report to see where we stand and where do we fit in? How are the other teams doing?
"You can’t really see that from the first matchday though. I think after around six or seven games you know if the team is in form and if everything is going well."
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