At the start of the year, Hein Vanhaezebrouck and Franky Van der Elst took out their crystal ball to The Newspaper. They did the same a few months ago and the reality is somewhat different.
So Franky Van der Elst predicted that, for Genk, second place would already be miraculous. However, the Limburgers are at the top of the ranking. “Yes, they do better than I expected. It’s the Fink effect, right? What a phenomenon! And I’m not just talking about the beautiful game he offers, but also his humility and his simplicity as a man.
Vanhaezebrouck agrees. “However, in general, Germans are quite self-confident, but I also think he’s a fantastic guy. I would love to hear him in his mother tongue, because his English is good, but maybe- not be specific enough to explain his tactical choices in detail.
Bruges a un programme infernal
For Van der Elst, Bruges remains a candidate for the title but its program from mid-January to mid-February is hellish. For Vanhaezebrouck, this is not a problem because “the fight for the title only starts in April.”
The two men also discussed the situation in Anderlecht.
“Anderlecht should stay third but it all depends on Vertonghen and Hazard, it’s complicated. Their return will take time,” says Vanhaezebrouck who, like Van der Elst, thinks Hazard was not ready to come on against Dender. “And especially not in place of Verschaeren, who was one of the only positive points. It would have been better to remove a winger,” adds Vanhaezebrouck.
For Van der Elst, Hubert was sentimental, which is always a sin for a coach.
