February 2013, Belgium – Slovakia (2-1) in Bruges. Charles De Ketelaere is 11 years old and is one of the ball boys for the U12s of Club Bruges during this friendly match for the Red Devils, at that time 20th in the Fifa rankings. Already cunning at that age, little Charles strategically positioned himself in front of the players’ tunnel at the final whistle from Israeli referee Yefet.
Romelu Lukaku is one of the first to leave the field. He is 19 years old and is – obviously – not very smiling, despite Mertens’ winning goal in the 90th minute: Marc Wilmots had put him on the bench in favor of Benteke and he was unable to score his 4th goal for the national team after entering the game at half-time. At West Bromwich, he has 9 goals in the Premier League, but he has not scored in three games. During his last match, he lost against Jan Vertonghen’s Tottenham (0-1) and was replaced in the 52nd.
Lukaku is not little Charles’ favorite player at this time. A big supporter of Club Bruges, De Ketelaere considers Romelu to be an Anderlechtois. But he still decides to ask her for her jersey. “He gave it to me without saying a word to me”De Ketelaere will say later in the magazine Humo. “I still have it in my cupboard.”
June 2024. For the first time since this 2-1 in 2013, Belgium faces Slovakia, this time at the Euro. The weight of the attack rests on the shoulders of Lukaku (85 national team goals, meanwhile) and one of the players who could replace him up front is Charles De Ketelaere. “Yes, I often played in attack at Atalantaexplains the man who is one of the revelations in Serie A. I’m not a real centre-forward, but I feel comfortable up front – we often played two up front – but also on the right flank or in Kevin De Bruyne’s No.10 position.”
De Ketelaere’s stats are impressive at Atalanta. He scored 14 goals and provided 11 assists and was therefore decisive on 25 occasions, in all competitions. Well, it’s the same total as that of Lukaku at AS Roma, who has 21 goals and 4 assists.
Thanks to these very good figures and Atalanta’s victory in the Europa League, De Ketelaere definitely belongs to the Bergamo club, which exercised the option agreed with AC Milan. Atalanta even managed to “scratch” a million: instead of 23 million, the last fourth in Serie A pays 22. As a reminder: Milan had paid 35 million to transfer him from Bruges in 2022.
gullI followed Club – Cercle on my phone after my match. I still make jokes at Debast.
His results, after a season in Milan: one assist and zero goals. “This high price was one of the factors in my failure, but it was not only thatsays CDK. The pace of play is higher in Serie A than in the Jupiler Pro League. I adapted to it. But I have also evolved on a physical level. I gained muscle. I feel very strong. I am ready to help the Belgian team here at the Euro.”
De Ketelaere is therefore no longer the frail kid he was in Bruges. “But I remained a supporter of the Club. Our last match of the season (3-0 against Torino), we played it at 6 p.m. Club – Cercle was played at 6:30 p.m. While we were partying in Bergamo, I followed the end of the derby on my phone. I was stressed when there was this offside phase. After the match, I sent congratulations to my friends. And here, I still sometimes make jokes at Debast (laughs).”
And this Lukaku jersey from 2013, does Romelu know that it is in his teammate’s wardrobe? “I do not believe that. And besides, it’s no longer in my closet, but in a box, because I moved (laughs).”
