Former Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given has compared Vincent Kompany to a politician and claimed he was a better captain than many top captains ahead of Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final against Burnley.
This weekend will no doubt be full of emotion for Kompany as the 36-year-old returns to the Etihad Stadium as a manager for the very first time. City's legendary captain enjoyed incredible success during his time with the Blues winning the Premier League and League Cup on four occasions each and the FA Cup twice.
But, as Burnley boss, Kompany will be plotting what could be the upset of the round. Ahead of his return to the Etihad, his former teammate Given told LeoVegas that the Belgian's captaincy approach stands him above legendary leaders including Keane and Vieira.
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He explained: "His leadership qualities were fantastic. People like that – the likes of Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira – they’re just natural born leaders.
"If you were to pick an all-time Premier League XI, I think Vincent would be in a lot of people’s teams for sure, and I think he’d even wear the armband in that side over the others. He was there the day I joined Manchester City as well, I think he arrived the year before, and was still a young guy.
"He made me feel welcome at the club – he went out of his way to speak to me and you could tell he was a real leader. Some of the lads called him a politician because he was so clever and astute, and just a really good guy.
"On the pitch as well, when he was in the team, you felt like a stronger unit. As a goalkeeper, he was a brilliant defender to play behind.
"He was a leader on the pitch and made huge demands of the players he played with. He understood the game brilliantly as well, he was a real top defender.
"He's definitely up there with the best captains I’ve played with." While Kompany may not have been born in Manchester or supported them growing up, Given says he was impressed by how well the centre-back knew City's history and what it meant to play for the team.
The ex-Newcastle 'keeper added: "When Vincent joined City, he already knew the history of the club, so he was able to tell the players what it meant to play for the side. Normally, it would be someone local from Manchester coming out with those kind of messages, but Vincent would say: 'We’re the lucky ones to play for this club, we need to build it up and compete with the other tops clubs, especially with Manchester United across the city'.
"He wanted us to make a huge dent on the Premier League and show we weren’t there to make up the numbers. He was such a strong character and a really good leader.
"I was at the game when he scored that all-important goal against Leicester, which they didn’t look like scoring up until that point. It was a brilliant way to cap off his Manchester City career – the icing on the cake. He’s a legend at the club and I’m sure he’ll get a phenomenal reception when he goes there this weekend."
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