Sébastien Pocognoli remains hopeful for Standard: “Like the city, the club needs new dynamism”
Former player of Standard, Genk and Union, the former left-back talks about the different fortunes of his ex-clubs.
Standard Specialist
Published on 04/27/2024 at 07:30
Modified on 04/27/2024 at 5:07 p.m.
Like all football fans, Sébastien Pocognoli is delighted with the spectacle offered in the Champions’ Playoffs where two of his former clubs, Union and Genk, are at work. His other favorite club, Standard, is going through very complicated times. The player trained in Seraing evokes the very different situations of his former clubs. During the season, Carl Hoefkens even contacted him to join his staff after the departure of Yaya Touré. “The club could have brought me back several times. If it had gone well at the end of my career, I would perhaps still be in the structure today,” says the former Standardman.
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The standard : “The situation is complicated enough to add another layer. Standard supporters need good news and not a veteran who demolishes the club even if what is happening there is not normal compared to the standing of this great club. Standard needs reconstruction, a bit like the city of Liège which has been rather battered in recent years and which is finally seeing the end of the tunnel. Like the Burning City, I hope that the club will have a new dynamism. Last season was not bad and I remain convinced that there was enough quality in the current group to secure the Top 6. When there is instability beyond the athlete, you have to know, with the staff, create a bubble so that the players are able to concentrate. Ronny Deila did it last season. Ricardo Sa Pinto was able to do it with us in 2018 but above all he had soldiers in the locker room. Today, I see that Matricule 16 wants to focus on its young people but they must be supervised. For that, it is sometimes necessary to turn to players who are less bankable but who can guarantee a certain balance in the locker room. »
Carl Hoefkens contacted Sébastien Pocognoli to become one of his deputies after the departure of Yaya Touré
The union : “I compare the Union to a young talent who is talked about a lot and for whom everything is happening very quickly. Three years ago, the club was in D1B. I know where he comes from. The house is still the same today and despite this, Union has been in the Top 3 for three years. It’s already extraordinary. The work of the sports unit is just crazy. If we are rational, taking into account their career in the classic phase, their good performances in Europe, we are entitled to say that they deserve the title. But if they don’t succeed, we can just say hats off for what they did. What I hope is that the collective will remain united until the end. Bruges and Anderlecht perhaps have more perspective due to their experience of these great moments. »
Genk: “The Limburgers had nothing left to lose after this last minute qualification for Playoffs 1. It’s easier to play liberated when you’re not the hunted. It is a role which would perhaps have suited the Union more. Genk have also changed their system and are more freewheeling. Despite the defeat in Bruges, they put on a good game. We see that the players are trying everything and have nothing left to lose. Even Wouter Vrancken seems more relaxed. »
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