We were present during the presentation of the book ‘Behind the scenes at Sporting d’Anderlecht’, by Hubert Lemaire, who was a physical trainer for the Brussels club for 22 years. The legendary confidant of many champions also took a moment to share some anecdotes
At Anderlecht, a lot of work is underway to improve the club’s image, this starts at the training center. Hubert Lemairea name deeply rooted in the development of young talents, has been particularly influential. One of his most notable contributions was tackling swearing on the field.
“When I started with the youth, I heard a lot of French-speaking boys often saying ‘fuck’ when something failed. The Dutch speakers quickly picked up on that, but it didn’t suit Anderlecht,” explains Lemaire. He suggested players use words like ‘mash’ or ‘bug’ instead.
However, Lemaire did much more than promote a positive atmosphere. He helped many Anderlecht players develop and later play in the first team, such as Kompany, Lukaku, Tielemans and Doku. Even when players were temporarily excluded from the first selection, Lemaire received them and supervised them.
Hubert Lemaire talks about his rich experience at Anderlecht
He remembers how he took Adrien Trebel and Anthony Vanden Borre, who had to undergo heavy physical training. Uphill sprints for 30 meters. “After five sprints, these guys were exhausted, but I kept encouraging them,” he says.
Lemaire often went racing with Jan Verlinden or David Steegen. Nothing was too crazy. Sometimes they threw themselves into a river they came across. The image of Lemaire climbing trees to retrieve balloons is legendary. “If a ball was stuck in a tree, I went up to get it. I couldn’t let Tielemans or Praet climb,” he laughs. “Imagine if they got hurt.”
Lemaire was not only a popular figure among the young players, but also the first team. Vincent Kompany, who later became a coach at Anderlecht, often found time for conversations with Lemaire, reminiscing about memories of the past, often over a beer.
However, his working relationship with John van den Brom was problematic, especially when Lemaire prepared intensive warm-up sessions that were often interrupted by the Dutchman. “Luckily, I had a really good connection with guys like Guillaume Gillet and Olivier Deschacht at that time,” says Lemaire.
