Bayern’s own search for their new head coach has been farcical.

Prime target Xabi Alonso decided to stay at Bayer Leverkusen, while Julian Nagelsmann, Hansi Flick, Ralf Rangnick and Zinedine Zidane, external all turned down the job.

Bayern were also unsuccessful in their attempts to persuade Tuchel to stay and looked to the Premier League in Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner, as well as having eyes on Manchester United’s beleaguered boss Erik ten Hag and former Brighton coach Roberto de Zerbi.

Eventually, they opted for Kompany, overlooking his dismal season at Turf Moor and being enticed by the modern and progressive football played by his Burnley and Anderlecht teams.

“It’s a real left-field shout,” European football expert Andy Brassell told BBC Sport. “Kompany has been coveted for a while by various European clubs, but the big question is why has Bayern Munich become such an unattractive job? He’s probably eighth, ninth choice for it.”

Bayern missed out on winning the Bundesliga title for the first time since 2012 – one season without a trophy is a disaster, two would be seen as a total catastrophe.

Kompany had it relatively comfortable in front of a handful of journalists for pre-match news conferences in the sanctuary of Burnley’s training ground on the banks of the River Calder, where he spoke about being a “zen master” with his cool demeanour.

Now he will need all that confidence as he takes on a totally different beast, with the glare of the world upon him as Bayern look to wrestle the Bundesliga crown back from Leverkusen and aim to add to their six European Cups.

The dressing room egos will be in complete contrast too as he seeks to command the respect of figures such as England skipper Harry Kane, and revered German trio Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller and Joshua Kimmich.

“Bayern and Pep [Guardiola] talked about what could be the ideal coach,” Guillem Balague said on the Euro Leagues podcast. “Kompany’s name came up and the report from Pep couldn’t have been more positive.”

Bayern sporting directors Max Eberl and Christoph Freund have taken a punt by staking their reputations on Kompany improving the club’s fortunes.

Now it’s time for the Belgian to show them – and the rest of Europe – he was worth the gamble.