With Vincent Kompany suspended, Aaron Danks will take charge on the sidelines against Paris Saint-Germain. The assistant coach at FC Bayern is normally responsible for set pieces.
Aaron Danks has twice served as head coach in his career. It’s difficult to draw conclusions about the 42-year-old Englishman’s suitability for this role: one time 4-0, one time 0-4. This happened in October 2022 at Aston Villa.
After the dismissal of head coach Steven Gerrard, Danks, as his former assistant, took over on an interim basis. The debut was a success with a comfortable 4-0 victory against FC Brentford. ‘He was impressive,’ praised Villa player Leon Bailey afterwards. ‘He took responsibility in a very short time and communicated very clearly what he wants from us.’ As well as the first game went, the second went just as badly – a 0-4 defeat against Newcastle United.
Aston Villa then signed Unai Emery, who has been working successfully to this day. Danks remained with Emery’s coaching staff for another month before moving to second-division club FC Middlesbrough as assistant coach to Michael Carrick (now at Manchester United). In the summer of 2024, Danks finally followed Vincent Kompany, his former boss at RSC Anderlecht, to FC Bayern.
Now, his third head coach assignment awaits: Because Kompany was also cautioned in the quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid after two yellow cards in the group stage against FC Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven, he is suspended for the first semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain. As his replacement, Danks is preferred over the other assistant coaches Rene Maric (33), Floribert Ngalula (39), and Daniel Fradley (35, recently signed from Manchester City).
Danks’ primary area of expertise in the coaching team is set pieces. In this regard, FC Bayern is currently performing somewhat like Danks did during his brief tenure as head coach at Aston Villa: inconsistently. One could also say: offensive set pieces 4-0, defensive set pieces 0-4.
FC Bayern Shows Weaknesses in Opponent Set Pieces
Defending dead-ball situations is a major weakness of the otherwise almost perfectly functioning Munich team. Of the 52 goals conceded this season, 20 came from set pieces, which is 38 percent. According to Sportschau, the Bundesliga average is around 24 percent.
Set-piece goals were particularly frequent in the autumn. After a 4-1 victory against 1. FC Köln at the end of October, Harry Kane complained about ‘a bit too much confusion’ and said: ‘We weren’t really in the right positions, weren’t clear with the instructions.’ That’s why Danks spoke at halftime: ‘And he kind of gave us a bit of an English talking.’ Meaning: it probably got loud.
Shortly thereafter, two goals conceded from set pieces led to a 2-2 draw against Union Berlin and thus the first dropped points of the season after 16 consecutive wins. In the first loss against FC Arsenal, the Munich team fell behind after a corner. It then improved, before the issue flared up again in recent weeks. In the second leg against Real, Arda Güler converted a free-kick directly, and FSV Mainz 05 took the lead after a corner in the wild 4-3 match on Saturday.
At the end of March, World Cup winner Toni Kroos even addressed Munich’s set-piece weakness on his podcast Einfach mal Luppen. When asked about it, Kompany replied: ‘It’s a fact that we’re not perfect here.’ In this context, Kompany also rightly pointed out that his team ‘is one of the best teams in Europe in terms of offensive set pieces’.
Aaron Danks Draws Inspiration from the Past and Abroad
In the Bundesliga, Munich have already scored 13 goals from corners. The record since detailed data collection began in 2004 is 14, set by Borussia Mönchengladbach in the 2023/24 season. In addition, there are four goals from free kicks and eleven converted penalties, thanks to Kane. In total, 28 of FC Bayern’s 113 Bundesliga goals to date have come from set pieces.
When looking for offensive free-kick or corner variations, Danks draws inspiration equally from the past and from abroad. ‘The best coaches sometimes have to be the best thieves. We look around Europe a lot,’ he revealed during his first season in Munich in an interview with Bild, adding: ‘We also looked at old free kicks and corners from Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.’
Aaron Danks’ Special Path into Professional Football
Danks knew early on that he wanted to become a coach – and thus a thief. He started at Birmingham City at the age of 15, even dropping out of secondary school for it. Initially, Danks was also involved in grassroots sports. Equipped with ‘a bag of balls, bibs, and a bus ticket,’ he traveled around the city, according to his own account, and led training sessions at schools and holiday camps.
After a stint at City’s local rivals West Bromwich Albion, he moved to the FA as a possession coach for the U-national teams. In this role, Danks won the World Cup title with the U20 team in 2017. With the U21 team, he worked with talents such as Jude Bellingham, Emile Smith Rowe, and Jamal Musiala. Musiala ultimately chose a career in the German national team.
After five years at the FA, Kompany brought him to Anderlecht in 2021. Kompany had already noticed Danks during his playing career at Manchester City and once called him ‘one of the most talented coaches in England.’ However, the collaboration in Belgium only lasted two months. Then Danks was drawn back to England as assistant coach to Aston Villa, where he eventually experienced his first two assignments as head coach.
According to UEFA regulations, there is a strict no-contact rule with Kompany for his upcoming third attempt. While he can still travel to the stadium with the team bus, he has no access to the catacombs. Instead, Kompany must watch the game from the stands. Communication via headset or phone calls are forbidden, as is an exchange at halftime. Kompany is only allowed to enter the dressing room ten minutes after the final whistle. The players will hope that no ‘English talking’ was necessary by then.
English Translation:
With Vincent Kompany suspended, Aaron Danks will take charge on the sidelines against Paris Saint-Germain. The assistant coach at FC Bayern is normally responsible for set pieces.
Aaron Danks has twice served as head coach in his career. It’s difficult to draw conclusions about the 42-year-old Englishman’s suitability for this role: one time 4-0, one time 0-4. This happened in October 2022 at Aston Villa.
After the dismissal of head coach Steven Gerrard, Danks, as his former assistant, took over on an interim basis. The debut was a success with a comfortable 4-0 victory against FC Brentford. ‘He was impressive,’ praised Villa player Leon Bailey afterwards. ‘He took responsibility in a very short time and communicated very clearly what he wants from us.’ As well as the first game went, the second went just as badly – a 0-4 defeat against Newcastle United.
Aston Villa then signed Unai Emery, who has been working successfully to this day. Danks remained with Emery’s coaching staff for another month before moving to second-division club FC Middlesbrough as assistant coach to Michael Carrick (now at Manchester United). In the summer of 2024, Danks finally followed Vincent Kompany, his former boss at RSC Anderlecht, to FC Bayern.
Now, his third head coach assignment awaits: Because Kompany was also cautioned in the quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid after two yellow cards in the group stage against FC Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven, he is suspended for the first semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain. As his replacement, Danks is preferred over the other assistant coaches Rene Maric (33), Floribert Ngalula (39), and Daniel Fradley (35, recently signed from Manchester City).
Danks’ primary area of expertise in the coaching team is set pieces. In this regard, FC Bayern is currently performing somewhat like Danks did during his brief tenure as head coach at Aston Villa: inconsistently. One could also say: offensive set pieces 4-0, defensive set pieces 0-4.
FC Bayern Shows Weaknesses in Opponent Set Pieces
Defending dead-ball situations is a major weakness of the otherwise almost perfectly functioning Munich team. Of the 52 goals conceded this season, 20 came from set pieces, which is 38 percent. According to Sportschau, the Bundesliga average is around 24 percent.
Set-piece goals were particularly frequent in the autumn. After a 4-1 victory against 1. FC Köln at the end of October, Harry Kane complained about ‘a bit too much confusion’ and said: ‘We weren’t really in the right positions, weren’t clear with the instructions.’ That’s why Danks spoke at halftime: ‘And he kind of gave us a bit of an English talking.’ Meaning: it probably got loud.
Shortly thereafter, two goals conceded from set pieces led to a 2-2 draw against Union Berlin and thus the first dropped points of the season after 16 consecutive wins. In the first loss against FC Arsenal, the Munich team fell behind after a corner. It then improved, before the issue flared up again in recent weeks. In the second leg against Real, Arda Güler converted a free-kick directly, and FSV Mainz 05 took the lead after a corner in the wild 4-3 match on Saturday.
At the end of March, World Cup winner Toni Kroos even addressed Munich’s set-piece weakness on his podcast Einfach mal Luppen. When asked about it, Kompany replied: ‘It’s a fact that we’re not perfect here.’ In this context, Kompany also rightly pointed out that his team ‘is one of the best teams in Europe in terms of offensive set pieces’.
Aaron Danks Draws Inspiration from the Past and Abroad
In the Bundesliga, Munich have already scored 13 goals from corners. The record since detailed data collection began in 2004 is 14, set by Borussia Mönchengladbach in the 2023/24 season. In addition, there are four goals from free kicks and eleven converted penalties, thanks to Kane. In total, 28 of FC Bayern’s 113 Bundesliga goals to date have come from set pieces.
When looking for offensive free-kick or corner variations, Danks draws inspiration equally from the past and from abroad. ‘The best coaches sometimes have to be the best thieves. We look around Europe a lot,’ he revealed during his first season in Munich in an interview with Bild, adding: ‘We also looked at old free kicks and corners from Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.’
Aaron Danks’ Special Path into Professional Football
Danks knew early on that he wanted to become a coach – and thus a thief. He started at Birmingham City at the age of 15, even dropping out of secondary school for it. Initially, Danks was also involved in grassroots sports. Equipped with ‘a bag of balls, bibs, and a bus ticket,’ he traveled around the city, according to his own account, and led training sessions at schools and holiday camps.
After a stint at City’s local rivals West Bromwich Albion, he moved to the FA as a possession coach for the U-national teams. In this role, Danks won the World Cup title with the U20 team in 2017. With the U21 team, he worked with talents such as Jude Bellingham, Emile Smith Rowe, and Jamal Musiala. Musiala ultimately chose a career in the German national team.
After five years at the FA, Kompany brought him to Anderlecht in 2021. Kompany had already noticed Danks during his playing career at Manchester City and once called him ‘one of the most talented coaches in England.’ However, the collaboration in Belgium only lasted two months. Then Danks was drawn back to England as assistant coach to Aston Villa, where he eventually experienced his first two assignments as head coach.
According to UEFA regulations, there is a strict no-contact rule with Kompany for his upcoming third attempt. While he can still travel to the stadium with the team bus, he has no access to the catacombs. Instead, Kompany must watch the game from the stands. Communication via headset or phone calls are forbidden, as is an exchange at halftime. Kompany is only allowed to enter the dressing room ten minutes after the final whistle. The players will hope that no ‘English talking’ was necessary by then.