We are on the eve of the Belgian Cup semi-final between Anderlecht and Antwerp. Jonas De Roeck presented himself to the press.
After having both suffered in the Beerschot sandbox for the restart, Anderlecht and Antwerp face each other in the Cup tomorrow. For the Mauves, this is undoubtedly the shortest path to winning their first trophy in eight years. But on the other hand, Antwerp has made the competition a specialty: it has played in the last two finals.
“I think the draw was often in our favor” puts things into perspective Jonas De Roeck. “In the past, you had more surprises. The difference between amateur and professional series was thinner then than it is today,” he explains, in comments relayed by Het Nieuwblad.
But when we ask him about the bad times Anderlecht went through (the Mauves remain on a record of 0 out of 9) in fact the best time to go to Lotto Park, his answer bursts out: “No, it’s not a coincidence that Anderlecht is in the semi-final and has one point more than us in the championship. They have a few injuries, but there is enough quality in the core.”
Ready to play a trick on his old colors
De Roeck knows Sporting well having coached there from 2018 to 2021 (first with the U21s then as assistant to Fred Rutten, Franky Vercauteren and Vincent Kompany): “A player like Dreyer is very dangerous. If we think that “It’s the perfect time to go to Anderlecht, underestimation awaits us. Playing there is always difficult. We have to be ready to take our chances.”
Against Beerschot, theAntwerp lined up in a three-man defense. Should Anderlecht expect such a system? De Roeck did not lift the veil: “I look at the physical form of my players and the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent.”
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