Vincent Kompany's deputy is a unique type of "thief," which is one of FC Bayern's main flaws
In his career, Aaron Danks has held the position of head coach twice. One 4-0 victory and one 0-4 loss make it difficult to determine whether he is a good fit for the position. Both outcomes occurred at Aston Villa in October 2022.
After that, Aston Villa hired Unai Emery, who is still in charge today. Danks continued to work with Emery for an additional month before joining Middlesbrough FC, a second-tier team, as Michael Carrick's assistant (currently at Manchester United). Danks moved from RSC Anderlecht to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2024, following former manager Vincent Kompany.
After receiving two yellow cards in the group stage against Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven, Kompany was booked in the second leg of the quarterfinal match against Real Madrid. He will serve a suspension in the first semi-final match against Paris Saint-Germain, and he is now ready to take charge for the third time. Danks has been chosen as his stand-in above other assistants Daniel Fradley (35, newly joined from Manchester City), Floribert Ngalula (39), and Rene Maric (33).
Set pieces are Danks's main area of competence as a coach, and his work in this area at Bayern has produced results that are comparable to his short time at Villa: productive on offense, leaky on defense—a 4–0 to 0–4 disparity.
FC Bayern is susceptible to set pieces from the opposition.
Munich's defense of set pieces is a clear weakness for a team that is otherwise almost perfect. Twenty of the 52 goals they have given up this season—or 38% of the total—have come from set-pieces. According to Sportschau, the Bundesliga average is about 24%.
In the fall, the issue was most noticeable. following a 4-1 victory over 1. Harry Kane bemoaned "a bit too much confusion" and stated, "We weren't really in the right positions, weren't clear on the instructions," at FC." at the end of October. Danks said, "And he kind of gave us a bit of an English talking," at halftime. To put it another way, things were heated.
Bayern's 16-game winning streak came to an end after two set-piece goals cost them a 2-2 draw with Union Berlin. In the initial loss to Arsenal, they too fell behind after a corner. After that, defensive organization improved, but the issue has recently come up again. In the crazy 4-3 match on Saturday, FSV Mainz 05 opened the score from a corner, and Arda Güler scored straight from a free kick in the return leg against Real Madrid.
In his podcast "Einfach mal Luppen," World Cup winner Toni Kroos exposed Munich's set-piece shortcomings at the end of March. "It's a fact that we're not perfect in this area," Kompany said in response to a question regarding this. But he also emphasized that his team "is one of the best in Europe when it comes to attacking set-pieces" in the same sentence.
International football and history both serve as sources of inspiration for Aaron Danks.
Bayern Munich has already scored 13 goals from corners in the Bundesliga. Borussia Mönchengladbach set the record in the 2023–2024 season with 14, the highest number since comprehensive data gathering started in 2004. In addition, 28 of Bayern's 113 Bundesliga goals to far have come from set pieces, including four goals from free kicks and eleven penalties converted by Kane.
Danks looks to the past and overseas for inspiration as he searches for new set-piece routines. Sometimes, the finest coaches must also be the best thieves. During his first season at Munich, he told Bild, "We look around a lot in Europe. We've also looked at old free-kicks and corners from Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry."
The unusual path taken by Aaron Danks to become a professional football player
From a young age, Danks was aware of his desire to become a coach and, thus, a thief. At the age of 15, he dropped out of high school to join Birmingham City. He started out in grassroots football, leading training sessions at schools and vacation camps while traveling the city with "a ball bag, bibs, and a bus ticket."
He joined the FA as a possession coach for the youth national teams following a stint with nearby rivals West Bromwich Albion. In that capacity, he won the 2017 U20 World Cup and went on to lead the U21s, collaborating with players like Jamal Musiala, Emile Smith Rowe, and Jude Bellingham. In the end, Musiala decided to represent Germany abroad.
After five years with the FA, Kompany—who had spotted Danks during his playing days at Manchester City and called him “one of England’s most talented coaches”—brought him to Anderlecht in 2021. After just two months of working together in Belgium, Danks returned to England as assistant manager at Aston Villa, where he subsequently made his first two senior head coaching appearances.
For his third attempt, UEFA rules enforce a strict ban on contact with Kompany. He is not allowed to enter the tunnel, but he can still ride the team bus to the ground. Kompany is forced to watch the game from the stands instead. Half-time exchanges are not permitted, and headset or phone communication is prohibited. Only ten minutes after the final whistle, at which point any in-game tactical chatter—also known as "English talking"—must have been settled, may he enter the changing room.