The choice to leave the Union for Anderlecht: “I regret nothing”
”I am not someone who regrets my choices. With Felice, we didn't arrive at the right time in Anderlecht because the core was not as strong as this year. We finished the work of Vincent Kompany by putting the Mauves back in the group stages of a European competition after four years of waiting. It cost us points in the championship because we did not have a sufficient group to progress on all 3 tables. Unlike people, those who know football don't forget. After Felice's dismissal at Genk, Hannes Wolf did worse. At Anderlecht, Brian Riemer had a worse record with the same squad to the point of not finishing in the top 8.”
Anderlecht's core was not as strong as this year.
The Unionist years: “Even if we lose the title, I wouldn’t change this season for anything”
”It's an incredible year because we're promoted and we've shown that we're capable of competing with the big guys over time. Does the defeat at Club Bruges, three days from the end, represent my biggest regret? No, it's Dante Vanzeir's missed penalty against the Blauw en Zwart, three days before. It's the turning point but we never held it against him. I wouldn't change this season for anything in the world even if the loss of the title was difficult to digest. At first, you try to digest. You go on vacation with your family but you are mentally isolated because you suffer the backlash. Then you put things into perspective by telling yourself that you only lost “one” title. At that time, I have a 5-year-old child and I tell myself that the important thing is that he is in good health.”
The turning point for the Union in 2022? Vanzeir's missed penalty.
The 2018 World Cup: “We all have the impression that if we beat France, we are world champions”
”I was in charge of scouting the opponents. I'm filming the Brazil – Mexico match. At the end of the meeting, we realize with Kris Van Der Haeghe that we can beat the Brazilians if we have a good day. We handed over our conclusions to Roberto Martinez. The rest was his job. I went through this month in a passionate way even though we were far from the group by our missions. France – Belgium, we experience it as a finale. We all have the impression that if we beat them, we are world champions. It's a frustration but my analyst side tells me that we could have lost in the same way against Brazil. We ousted them like France eliminated us. I returned to Belgium the day before the third place match. I was happy to see my family again. I had missed my son’s first steps.”
With the 2018 World Cup, I missed my son's first steps.
