Vincent Kompany has Bayern Munich looking like World Cup winners as Germany legend highlights 'best sign' ex-Man City captain has Harry Kane & Co winning with 'dominance, ease, and joy'

The Bavarians began the 2025-26 season by lifting the DFL-Supercup after beating last season's DFB-Pokal winners Stuttgart. They have won the opening six games in Bundesliga to send a clear message that they will not lose the throne they reclaimed five months ago. Convincing victories over Chelsea and Pafos further solidified their stature as one of the most frightening teams in Europe at the moment. 10 games, 10 wins, and 38 goals scored – Kompany's Bayern look like the team to beat right now.

Speaking to Sport Bild, Matthaus claimed that Kompany has been successful in making his team resemble the Bayern of old, even comparing the current side to 1990's World Cup-winning Germany squad, of which the legendary German was the captain. 

"Vincent Kompany has brought something back to Bayern that some coaches before him hadn't managed, namely a sense of solidarity, a respectful way of dealing with one another," he said. 

"He has united the team again. Similar to us at the 1990 World Cup: You get the feeling that the substitutes are just as happy when goals are scored as if they were on the pitch themselves. That's the best sign that the coach has the team under control, that the players also have good contact with one another and are giving their all for one another to achieve the greatest success.

"Kompany has further developed the team. He makes substitutions that he might not have made a year ago, so he's keeping the whole team together. Everything works, everyone enjoys being involved. They implement the coach's instructions and win their games with dominance, ease, and joy. But they also cleverly switch to management mode without losing focus, because they know which intensive weeks the players will have. There's almost no one who doesn't go to a national team."

While Matthaus admitted that the return of Musiala and Davies from their respective injuries will undoubtedly make Bayern even tougher, he emphasised on the need to "maintain this sense of togetherness and enthusiasm."

"Bayern absolutely has the potential to improve even further," he added. "When Jamal Musiala and Alphonso Davies return from their long-term injuries, it's actually inconceivable that they, with their quality, will be sidelined. With them, the squad will be even stronger in terms of quality. How that works on the pitch is another story. It's important that Bayern maintain this sense of togetherness and enthusiasm for the game, even when difficult personnel decisions have to be made more often."

Bayern and Dortmund, currently the top two teams on the Bundesliga table, will lock horns for the first time this season at the Allianz Arena on Saturday. Matthaus believes that Niko Kovac's side must prevail for the sake of the league. 

"An exciting championship run to the end would be more attractive for the Bundesliga, also in terms of interest abroad," explained Matthaus. "The Bundesliga would benefit if Dortmund, in this case the underdog, could pull off a sensation away from home against the previously unbeatable Bayern. The best result would be three points, of course. But at least they shouldn't lose if they want to stay within striking distance."

However, the 64-year-old doesn't consider Dortmund to be close to Bayern's level. "No," said Matthaus when asked if two rivals are on par. "Bayern have earned the clear favourite role over a long period of time, and after two or three years of atmospheric disruption, they've regained it. Given the quality of their squad, they would have had the opportunity to prevent this even in Leverkusen's miracle year."