It’s a special encounter that awaits Sébastien Pocognoli. It was in fact in Genk that the current Union coach took his first steps as a professional player in 2004, before taking charge of AZ Alkmaar in 2007. A club to which he returned during of the 2022-2023 season, as U18 coach. “It’s a special match, which we mark on the calendar as soon as it comes out. It will make me happy to play against my old club, to see a lot of faces who are very familiar to me. Because there are a lot of young players who are currently in the A core and who I have had in my hands. I’m very proud to see them at this level, and happy that they are getting their chance at the highest level. In any case, it will be a special match, between two teams who play the best football in Belgium.”
Pocognoli only stayed one season as coach in Limburg, arriving at the time of… Union Saint-Gilloise where he was in charge of the Espoirs in 2021-2022. “In fact, it was during my year at USG that I learned the most. This was when the club was starting to invest in its youngsters. Everything was not “turnkey”, as it could be in Genk. I really had to be creative. I learned the profession in difficult but very rewarding conditions. I also advise all young coaches to go through it, because it was a fantastic experience. In Genk, it was the complete opposite. Everything was ready to work well. I worked with young talents that I was able to perfect in the Youth League.”
“Genk: positive football”
The Saint-Gillois T1 keeps a close eye on the performance of his former club. And he knows that his flock will have a lot to do this Sunday late in the afternoon near the Marien stadium. The Limburgers are indeed autumn champions, with a very large lead over their competitors. “They started the season sluggishly. But everything returned to normal when the transfer window ended. They had a great series of victories. Their style of play and their starting eleven took shape very quickly. They started with a back three, then moved to a back four. It’s a team that is well established, which has a lot of quality in each position and which develops positive football. For our part, we will play with our qualities and our values.”
Unionists who will be keen to regain victory in the championship, having not won since September 29, against Kortrijk (3-0). To do this, “Poco” will be able to count on his entire group, apart from his three long-term injured players. Namely Henok Teklab, Alessio Castro-Montes and Guillaume François. The latter will also have to undergo surgery. “He suffered a shock to his knee against Eupen ten days ago and we are going to do an arthroscopy to clean his knee. He’ll have it for a few weeks.”
Belgium
