Vincent Kompany: Burnley Chair Hopes for Long Stay

Chairman Alan Pace has compared keeping manager Vincent Kompany at Burnley to “dating the most beautiful girl in town and knowing there’s probably no chance she’ll ever marry you”. Kompany joined the Clarets this season and led them to the Championship title with 101 points, prompting the club to offer him a five-year contract. Despite this, speculation continues to link him with other clubs. Pace told BBC Radio Lancashire, “My worry is, as I’ve tried to explain to him, is it’s like dating the most beautiful girl in town, and knowing there’s probably no chance she’ll ever marry you. But, everybody else wants to marry her. So it’s like, how long can you date, how long can you stay together, how long can you stay a couple? I hope it’s for a very, very, very long time. But it’s up to ‘her’.” Pace, who is managing partner of ALK Capital and has been involved in recruitment of personnel for a long time, believes Kompany is “one of the most special people” he has ever met. He praised Kompany’s ability to communicate his desire for success, his willingness to get into the weeds and the depths of whatever it takes to dig it out and make it possible, as well as his ability to develop relationships with players and others. Pace concluded that while everyone sees Kompany’s qualities in the media, they only get a tenth of what he really is, and that only his family knows how special he really is.