Back in May 1995. Johan Boskamp has just won his third title in a row and decides to leave Sporting through the front door. Paul Courant, ex-player of Club Bruges and for a few months Verschueren’s right-hand man at Anderlecht in 1998, claims to have the dream successor for Anderlecht. His name: Herbert Neumann, former great player of FC Cologne and coach of Vitesse Arnhem in 1994-1995.
“A German? Never,” shouted Mister Michel.
At Vitesse, the German amazes his players. The club finishes in 6th place and his training methods are considered revolutionary. When Neumann’s name is mentioned in the newspapers, Verschueren shouts out loud: ‘A German? Never!’ Apart from Georg Kessler in 1971-72, Anderlecht had never hired a German, but Vanden Stock invited Neumann to his Belle-Vue brasserie for an interview anyway. To everyone’s surprise, he was charmed by his innovative speech and decided to give it a try. Neumann did not complain about Marc Degryse’s departure to Sheffield Wednesday. With the group of players he had at his disposal – De Bilde, De Boeck and Karagiannis were the newcomers – he believed that Sporting was sufficiently equipped to win a fourth title in a row.
After a catastrophic preparation (defeats against Seraing, Verona, Parma and a poor draw against Kortrijk) Anderlecht won the Supercup against Club Bruges. But the first match was dramatic: 3-1 in Aalst, with three goals from van Ankeren. Bruno Versavel: “The match was on a Friday evening and he had organised training on Friday morning. Another thing that bothered us was that he kept interrupting the training sessions to correct our positional play. It was like we were beginners, whereas Georges Grün, for example, had won the European Cup with Parma.”
Drunken evening rather than Ferencvaros scouting
Despite the 3-1, Verschueren does not panic yet. What matters is the qualification for the group stage of the Champions League, which will bring in at least 5 million euros. Neumann suggests going to scout Ferencvaros in their championship match in Debrecen (2-1 defeat). However, he will never be reported on site. During a stopover, Neumann leaves the airport and prefers to spend a drunken evening rather than continue his journey to eastern Hungary.
Summary of Anderlecht – Ferencvaros in 1995.
On August 9, the day of Anderlecht – Ferencvaros, no fan dared to imagine a defeat against a club that no one had heard of. But in the 58th minute, the stadium took a cold shower. In a very bad match with barely a few goal chances, a certain Zoran Kuntic scored the 0-1. Neumann left his striker Johnny Bosman on the bench for the entire 90 minutes, the 18,000 spectators booed their team.
Fired after 52 days
The following Saturday, it was Luka Peruzovic’s Sporting Charleroi who came to win at the Parc Astrid (0-2), De Bilde missed a penalty. The crisis was total, but Verschueren defended his coach.“It’s not about a C4!”he informed the media. But on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Vanden Stock and Verschueren held emergency meetings, notably with Raymond Goethals (the club’s technical advisor) and Jean Dockx, the T2. On Thursday afternoon, Vanden Stock made his decision: the Goethals-Dockx duo would help out the team for two matches, Neumann was fired. His mandate had lasted 52 days, a record.
Verschueren is supposed to break the news to his coach. But when Neumann picks up the phone in his coaching office, he doesn’t let Verschueren speak.I am busy”he said, and hung up. Neumann was in an interview with Foot Magazine, to whom he was giving his first interview as the new coach of Anderlecht.Me, resign? Never! he said in particular. I will heal the team. The players say that I stop training too often? What is a coach for, then? They are always looking for excuses. Nobody says that he plays below his level. And they blame me for not being communicative enough? My door is open, but nobody has come to talk to me so far.”
On Thursday evening, Verschueren called Neumann again, this time at his home in Grimbergen. He finally managed to tell him the bad news. Neumann was perplexed and disgusted. The next day, Mister Michel organised a press conference in Grandstand 1.On Saturday, I had to defend Neumann. He’s a good coach and a great guy, but things weren’t going well. The real reasons for his C4? Sorry, out of respect for the man, it’s internal cooking.” Neumann’s night of partying during his stopover in Hungary probably cost him his life.
On the return leg, Goethals failed to make up the deficit: Gilles De Bilde missed a great chance late in the game. Neumann, meanwhile, succeeded Leo Beenhakker as coach at Istanbulspor in November. He was sacked in September 1996 and remained unemployed until the end of the season. After brief spells at NAC Breda and his former club Vitesse, his career seemed over. Mentally, his situation deteriorated. But Ernie Stewart gave him a lifeline in 2005: he moved up from the Dutch second division to the first division with VVV. At the first training session of the following season, he went missing and was sacked.
Abused as a child, then an alcoholic
For Neumann, the descent into hell is inevitable. Relatives know the reason for his serious mental problems: he was allegedly abused by a relative during his childhood, a very delicate subject that no one dared to talk about 30 years ago. Traumatized by these facts, Neumann completely derails and begins to drink.
Neumann resurfaced in 2012 with a weekly editorial in the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper.Yesterday I won the title again and played in the semi-final of the Champions League.”wrote Neumann in particular.Today I am unwanted.” After a year, his contract as an editorial writer was not renewed. This time, Neumann hit rock bottom. He was living on the streets and his drinking problem was becoming unmanageable.
In 2018, when FC Cologne celebrated the 40th anniversary of their last double in 1978, the club invited all their legends, including Belgian Roger Van Gool. Former midfielder Neumann, who scored 55 goals in 253 games between 1972 and 1980 and in 1982-1983, was absent. He had problems even during his football career. He had an ulcer and had a fight with his coach Weisweiler. Neumann liked to go out to nightclubs. Without that, he would have played more than one game for the national team (2-1 against England), he would have gone to the 1978 World Cup and he would have passed his test at Arsenal.
“Toni Schumacher tried to help him, in vain”
Before the festivities at FC Cologne, Dieter Prestin, another former teammate, attacks his club. “The management is doing nothing to help its former player Herbert Neumann,” he declares.It’s shameful. Cologne would do better to follow the example of Bayern Munich, who care about their destitute former glories.”
Cologne reacts furiously.Prestin is not telling the truth. Out of respect for Neumann’s privacy, we have never communicated about it. But for months and months, we have people who have tried to get in touch with him to help him. Toni Schumacher, (Editor’s note: the legendary German goalkeeper who nearly cut Patrick Battiston in two at the 1982 World Cup)tried several times to find him in town. In vain.”
Today, Neumann is 70 years old. Local media journalists do not know where he lives and what he does.According to the latest rumors, he is still homeless.”a German colleague tells us.He sleeps on the streets or in shelters for homeless elderly people. And his serious alcohol problem is not yet resolved.”
