vinnie kompany

Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany (born 10 April 1986) is a Belgian footballer who plays for Manchester City and the Belgium national team. He is capable of playing at both centre back and defensive midfield. In the 2011–12 season he was awarded the captaincy of Manchester City.
Kompany began his professional career at Anderlecht, spending three years at the Belgian club before moving to German club Hamburger SV in 2006. In the summer of 2008, at the age of twenty-two, he completed a transfer to his current club, Premier League side Manchester City. He has since established himself as an integral part of the Manchester City squad and is one of the bargain buys of the revolutionised City era,^[3][4] blossoming into one of the Premier League's best centre backs as evidenced in his inclusion in the 2010–11 Premier League Team of the Year.

Anderlecht

Kompany started his career at Anderlecht, winning several awards including the Belgian Golden Shoe and the Belgian Ebony Shoe. Another player, Aruna Dindane, decided to wear the number 87 on his shirt upon his arrival at Lens Summer 2005, in dedication to Kompany.^{[citation needed]}

Hamburg

On 9 June 2006 it was announced however that he was acquired by Hamburg for a fee of €10 million, replacing Daniel van Buyten.^[5] In his debut season for Hamburg he managed only six Bundesliga starts for the club before suffering an achilles injury in November that ruled him out for the rest of the season,^[6] despite his lack of involvement in the season, he was selected in a 30-man provisional squad for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.^[7]

Manchester City

On 22 August 2008, Premier League club Manchester City confirmed the transfer of Kompany from Hamburg on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £6 million.^[8] He was handed the number 33 shirt for the 2008–09 season by manager Mark Hughes. Two days later, Kompany made his Manchester City debut against West Ham United.^[9] On 28 September, Kompany scored his first goal in City's 2–1 away defeat to Wigan Athletic. On 28 December 2008, he started the game with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park as a holding midfielder and also completed the full 90 minutes in a 2–2 draw.^[10] On 19 October 2009, Kompany signed a new five-year deal with City that will keep him at the club until 2014.^[11] He scored his second league goal for the club in a 2–0 home win against Portsmouth.^[12] and his third in a 6–1 away win against Burnley at Turf Moor.
Kompany was handed the number 4 jersey for the 2010–11 season after previous number 4 Nedum Onuoha moved on loan to Sunderland. On 14 August 2010, he started the opening Premier League fixture and received a yellow card from referee Andre Marriner against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane and completed the full 90 minutes alongside Kolo Touré in a 0–0 draw. Kompany put in a Man of the Match performance in the 1–0 home win against Chelsea at the City of Manchester Stadium on 25 September 2010. On 10 November 2010, Kompany started the Manchester derby league game with Manchester United at the City of Manchester Stadium and played the full 90 minutes in a goalless draw. On 16 April 2011, Kompany captained Manchester City's victory over main rivals Manchester United in the 2010–11 season FA Cup Semi Final at Wembley Stadium, City won the game 1–0. Later that day he was named in the PFA Team of the Year alongside City teammate Carlos Tevez. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Roberto Mancini praised Kompany's "incredible" season and claimed that with his attitude and mentality, Kompany can become one of the best defenders in Europe. On 12 February 2011, he started the Premier League match against Manchester United at Old Trafford and played the full 90 minutes partnering Joleon Lescott in a disappointing 2–1 defeat. On 25 April 2011, he again continued to captain the side in the absence of star striker Carlos Tevez against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, playing the full 90 minutes alongside Joleon Lescott in an important 1–0 victory courtesy of a late 75th minute strike from Edin Dzeko.^[13] He finished the season winning the Manchester City Official Supporter's Player of the Year and the Manchester City Player's Player of the Year for his outstanding performances throughout the season clocking up 50 appearances in all competitions and also making 37 Premier League starts in the process.

International career

Kompany made his international debut aged just 17 for Belgium in February 2004 against France, as one of the youngest players ever. The Belgian Federation called up Kompany to the 2008 Olympics. Initially, Hamburg decided not to let him go as the Olympics was not an official FIFA tournament. After a dispute, Hamburg decided to release him under the condition that he returns after Belgium's first two group games. At the Beijing Olympics, Belgium's first game was against Brazil where he was sent off in a 1–0 loss, and as a consequence his tournament was over as the red card would rule him out of Belgium's second group game. Due to the turn of events, Kompany decided against returning to Germany in hope of playing the last group game to help his country qualify for the knockout stages. Hamburg maintained their stance that he had to return, and the Belgian FA decided to release him. He later came on as a substitute in the opening game for Hamburg against Bayern Munich. The rocky relationship with Hamburg and Kompany is said to be a major factor in Kompany transferring to Manchester City. In November 2009, Kompany fell out with the Belgium manager Dick Advocaat. On the Monday before the friendly match with Qatar on 18 November 2009 Kompany received permission to attend the funeral of his grandmother as long as he returned to the team hotel before 6pm that evening. As it happened, he did not return until nearly midnight. Furious, Advocaat removed him from the squad altogether, although on 24 February 2010 he was recalled to the Belgium squad by Advocaat for the friendly against Croatia.^[14] On 19 May 2010, Kompany scored a 90th minute goal to give Belgium a 2–1 win over Bulgaria in a friendly. On 10 November 2011, a day before the friendly against Romania, Georges Leekens named Vincent Kompany as the Belgium captain,