Bayern Munich's Vincent Kompany: 'We work hard to become better'

· Bundesliga-Official

Vincent Kompany has opened up about his upbringing, the influence of his parents and what it was like growing up as a mixed-race child in Belgium, offering a personal insight into the journey that took him from Anderlecht to Manchester City, Burnley and the Bayern Munich dugout.

Bundesliga: Let’s take a look at your roots. Your parents used to tell you, “You have to work twice as hard.” What do those words mean to you today?

Vincent Kompany : > "Specifically, my mother told us that we had to work twice as hard. My mother, to be precise, was blonde with blue eyes. She said it as a concerned mum who was working for the Office of Employment. It was just the statistics. It wasn't something that she made up. It was the statistics and the numbers that she got through her work. > > "They showed that with a different colour of skin or a different name, you just have to work twice as hard, even with the same degree. But it's something she instilled in us. If you work twice as hard, the reality of life is that you become twice as good. That's an important aspect not to forget. Yes, we work hard, but we work hard to become better as well. We try to keep this in the family."

Bundesliga: You faced a lot of adversity growing up. How did that shape you as a person?

Kompany: > "Maybe it plays a part. I think for every individual, when you grow up, your environment shapes you, but it's not just the negativity, it's also the positive people around you. I remember the bad experiences, but I think with age you remember more of the good things you had as well. > > "One of the privileges I had that many of my friends didn't have was that I had two parents for a very long time. We didn't have money, but our parents did everything for their children. So being successful afterwards isn't just about me or just about the family. It's because the parents put in a lot of effort. These are things you maybe don't realise when you're younger, but when you're a father yourself, you realise that sometimes the biggest advantage isn't the money you start with, but the family and the people around you."

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