Will Hans Vanaken ever become a Red Devil again? “The only thing I can do is perform well at Club Brugge”

Top at Club Brugge, but persona non grata with the Red Devils for 1.5 years: why does Hans Vanaken no longer seem to be eligible for the national team? In Extra Time, the midfielder answers the question whether something has broken between him and the national coach.

At 32, Hans Vanaken is still the centerpiece of Club Brugge, but the midfielder no longer seems to have to count on a selection for the Red Devils.

In Extra Time, the 23-time international tells the story of his international career under Domenico Tedesco. “He called me when he just became national coach. That was still under Scott Parker. Things were not going so well at Club Brugge at the time,” Vanaken says about the spring of 2023.

“Things went well again in the play-offs and then I received a phone call in June that I was there. But then I didn’t play 2 games.”

I think he doesn’t see my type fitting into his system.

Hans Vanaken is looking for a reason for his non-selections

After that, Vanaken disappeared from Tedesco’s radar for good. “In September (2023, ed.) he called me to say that there was a lot of competition for my position. Since then I have not been in the preselection.”

Despite his strong performances at Club Brugge, Vanaken seems resigned to the situation. “I don’t think he sees my type fitting into his system. The only thing I can do is perform at Club Brugge. I have no control over the rest.”

Would it be to Vanaken’s advantage that former Club CEO Vincent Mannaert will soon become technical director at the KBVB? Vanaken has doubts: “Suppose I was suddenly called up in March, then it would be a bit strange. Then it would seem as if it was thanks to Mannaert.”

There are strange things going on.

Filip Joos about the position of national coach Tedesco

And is Tedesco still national coach at all? “There are strange things going on,” says Filip Joos.

“If you do not go to the draw and you are not allowed to explain this and when everyone knows that from January 1 it will be more fiscally attractive to fire someone, then one plus one seems to me to be two.”

Gert Verheyen also sees the end of the Tedesco era approaching: “It seems over to me.”