Kompany: The whole of Munich is behind Muller in MLS Cup showdown with Messi

Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany insisted that "the whole of Munich" will be supporting Thomas Muller and the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS Cup final.

The Whitecaps face Inter Miami in the showpiece on Saturday, with Lionel Messi's team hosting the clash at Chase Stadium, and it will not be the first time Muller has crossed paths with the Argentine.

Muller has won seven of his 10 overall meetings against Messi, the most notable of those clashes coming in the 2014 World Cup final, while he has also scored six times across those matches to the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner's three.

And like Messi, Muller needed almost no time to adapt to MLS. Only Anders Dreyer (20), Denis Bouanga (19) and Son Heung-min (18) have registered more goal contributions than the German's 14 among players from teams in the Western Conference.

The 36-year-old is Bayern's all-time record holder for appearances (756) and the most Bundesliga matches (503), while he has also recorded the most assists in the German top-flight for the club (175).

Kompany, who coached Muller during his final season with Bayern, believes it is no surprise that Muller already has the chance to achieve MLS glory.

"We hope he wins. The whole of Munich will be behind Vancouver," said Kompany.

"It still feels like Thomas is with us. It's typical Thomas to go and pick a club and then get straight to the final. It's not luck, it just happens with Thomas."

Vancouver have reached their first MLS Cup final, progressing through three rounds, eliminating FC Dallas, Los Angeles FC and San Diego FC to get there.

Prior to this year, the Whitecaps had advanced just two total times in the MLS Cup Playoffs (2017 first round, 2024 play-in round).

They finished second in the West in the regular season, though they were level on points with conference leaders San Diego (63).