Aaron Danks: Bayern Munich's assistant coach under Vincent Kompany
Aaron Danks serves as Vincent Kompany's assistant at Bayern Munich. The Birmingham-born coach never played professionally and built his career through academy and national-team roles, including spells with Birmingham City, West Brom, England, Anderlecht, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough. At Bayern he has helped the club win two Bundesliga titles and took charge for a Champions League semi-final second leg while Kompany was suspended.
Danks, 43, was born in Birmingham and never played professionally. He started at Birmingham City in 1999 as a community football development officer at 16, then coached in its academy and spent over a decade with West Bromwich Albion. In 2016 he joined the English FA and helped the U20 side win the 2017 World Cup.
A short NBA spell with the Golden State Warriors came before England U21 assistant work. He later assisted Kompany at Anderlecht, worked at Aston Villa—interim head coach between Dean Smith and Unai Emery—and at Middlesbrough under Michael Carrick. At Bayern he has won two Bundesliga titles and stood in for Kompany in a Champions League semi-final second leg against PSG.
Danks’s rise may reinforce the idea that coaching pathways beyond professional playing careers can broaden access to elite football for aspiring managers and academy staff. Fans and young coaches could see alternative routes through community work, national-team structures and assistant roles. His interim and deputising experiences may also shape perceptions of managerial readiness, while Bayern’s results under Kompany’s staff could influence how clubs assess non-playing backgrounds when hiring.