Burnley manager Vincent Kompany says his father’s experiences as a political refugee fleeing the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1975 have helped to maintain his desire to move the Clarets out of the Premier League relegation zone.
After comfortably winning the Championship last season, second-bottom Burnley are seven points from safety ahead of their trip to a Crystal Palace side playing their first match under new manager Oliver Glasner on Saturday.
“It’s a deep answer,” Kompany replied when the Belgian was asked what drives him. “It’s about where you come from.
“Where I come from is my dad, who was a political refugee. He had to flee a country not just at war, but as a dictatorship where he was getting whipped in his 20s because he was against the regime over there.
Read our other sports news stories here:
Ten Hag: Manchester United did not aggravate Martinez injury
UEFA chief Ceferin to step down in 2027 despite support over rule change
England name unchanged starting XV for Six Nations 2024 game against Wales
“It’s fleeing from one part of the country to the other, it’s losing family members, it’s everything you’ve experienced. It’s where I come from.
“You say where does the drive and desire come from? I have so many reasons to have that fire in me every single day.
“So many reasons why I can’t ever do less. It’s bigger than one result, or a bad month, or anything like that.”
Drive and desire. ❤️🔥 pic.twitter.com/T0iMqhNJWR
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) February 22, 2024
Vincent Kompany father: Experiences ‘important’
Kompany’s father, Pierre, was a protestor against the despotic regime of Mobutu Sese Seko and later became Belgium’s first black mayor.
“Keeping perspective can be difficult, so to have my dad, my mum, our own experiences, it is important,” explained Kompany, whose side lost 5-0 at home to Arsenal last Saturday.
“It’s important to keep a steady course because you have a bad result and usually the way it works in football is it kind of defines who you are for the next week.”
“It’s the strength of a team when you are able to move past it and not let it define you.”
Kompany will be without Aaron Ramsey at Selhurst Park after the midfielder sustained a knee injury against the Gunners which will rule him out for the rest of the season.
