Hugo Broos about “opposite” Gille Van Binst: “He has been the common thread in my life”

The death of Gille Van Binst (73) deeply affected Hugo Broos (72). Van Binst and Broos shared joys and sorrows during and after their careers. “We were opposites and that’s why we hit it off so well.”

Hugo Broos learned of the death of his peer Gille Van Binst this morning after a message from his son. “It did reach me,” Broos responds. “I was out of my mind for a moment.”

“Gille has been a bit of a common thread in my life, so to speak. We joined the first team together, always shared a room in isolation and did our military service together.”

“So he has meant something in my life. Gille has always remained in my life and that is special.”

“In recent years, contact had faded somewhat due to my job in South Africa and his lingering illness, but we used to hear and see each other regularly.”

Broos and Van Binst, it was a successful marriage on and off the field. “We were each other’s opposites. I was calm, Gille always had an opinion about everything. He was much more extroverted than me, but that’s why we clicked so well.”

“On the other hand, he was also insecure. That always surprised us. If it had rained, he would change studs up to 3 times before the match. People who didn’t know him very well can’t believe that. Yet he was like that.”

“I laughed a lot with Gille, who was tough as a player. He didn’t look at anyone. He had to do his job as a right defender and didn’t take anything else into account.”