Vincent Kompany misses own testimonial with injury but gets statute as consolation
ByReuters
Updated 11/09/2019 at 16:59 GMT
Former Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany was ruled out of his own testimonial with a hamstring injury on Wednesday but received some consolation after the club said it would commission a statue in his honour.
Vincent Kompany
Image credit: Getty Images
The match will kick off at City's Etihad Stadium later on Wednesday and the irony of being unable to play was not lost on the 33-year-old Belgium international, who spent a large chunk of his time in England in the treatment room.
Kompany, who was at City for 11 years, left before the start of the current season to join Anderlecht as player-coach.
"Unfortunately I won't be starting tonight or playing. It's typical of me, right?" he told reporters before the game. "I'm usually just there for the end of the season. I've got a slight hamstring injury. I couldn't risk it tonight.
"There are still plenty of awesome players to be watching and it's about the celebration and to say goodbye - I don't need to be on the pitch as such."
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Kompany was set to play for a City legends team against a team of Premier League legends, with proceeds from the match going towards a charity he set up to help combat homelessness in Manchester.
There was some consolation, however, with City announcing they would name a road at their academy after Kompany and unveil a statue at The Etihad of their most successful captain.
Kompany made 360 appearances for City, helping the club emerge as one of the dominant forces in English football and genuine title rivals to neighbours Manchester United.
He was part of the team that won the FA Cup in 2011, ending the club's 35-year trophy drought, and led City to four Premier League titles, four League Cups and two Community Shields.
"It is an incredible honour to be recognised by this special club in this way," Kompany said.
"The journey that we went on together throughout my 11 years in Manchester changed my life and I am delighted to have played my small part in altering the course of this club's history during that time."
Van Dijk in the conversation
Ruling himself out of contention, Kompany considered who should be regarded as the best centre-back of the Premier League era - sounding out current Liverpool defender and favourite for the Ballon d'Or, Virgil van Dijk.
"Players that really impressed when I played against them at central defence, I would bring it back to Virgil van Dijk," he said.
"It's a weird one because he hasn't been on the scene for as long as these names we mentioned, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, these guys were there for a long, long time.
"But the signs he's showed in this last few years just make it so obvious that if he would've been at the top, top level before that he would've been already further as well.
"From what I've seen in terms of having an impact on the team, and a defender is never about himself, it's about his communication with other guys and how you make your team more solid.
"The Liverpool before Van Dijk and the one after him it's a completely different set-up and I'll give him that one because of that."
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