Meetings in December, the flight of potential replacements: how Domenico Tedesco understood that he would not stay at the head of the Red Devils

He stopped believing it when he saw the Conceiçao news

He had been absent from the qualifying draw for the world meeting, but he forced himself to believe it. He stayed in touch with his players, had scheduled meetings. He stopped believing it when he discovered that Mannaert had discussed with Sergio Conceiçao, then other names came out (Thierry Henry and Rudi Garcia in particular). This Friday’s call was therefore only confirmation of what he assumed. In a statement relayed by the federation, the now former coach assured that he was “100% sure the team will win against Ukraine (Nations League play-off) and will qualify for the World Cup.

Does Domenico Tedesco have the worst record at the helm of the Red Devils (infographic)?

With which team? With which coach? He will follow this further, and the million in compensation will not completely alleviate his disappointment. The financial element counted, a little, in the decision of a federation with limited finances. Certain clauses indeed allowed the Belgian Union to pay less. But the sporting element necessarily counted in the decision-making, with a negative result, Euro included.

The financier counted, but not only

Tedesco, faced with the sporting deficit, put forward the identity of the opponents in the League of Nations (Italy and France) as well as the recommendation of the federation to prepare the ground for the future, in anticipation of the World Cup. The echo is not quite the same in Tubize, in the sense that the staff review was not expected in such a broad manner. The Courtois, De Bruyne and Lukaku episodes, with different circumstances depending on the case, could also have damaged his credit, and Tedesco knew that he no longer had the whole group behind him – but still a good part, he thought.

At the end of the Euro, too, one element could have left him with an impression of isolation. During his first post-Euro press conference, at the end of August, Tedesco was expected to be accompanied by Piet Vandendriessche, the CEO, and Peter Willems, then head of the sports department. But the CEO was dismissed two days before the media meeting and Willems finally withdrew.

Domenico Tedesco sacked by the Belgian Union: two months for that…

It’s a detail of history, but it reminds us that the Belgian Union is not a quiet house, having to change president, CEO and sporting director… Note that the staff of Tedesco (Andreas Hinkel , Max Urwantschky, Vladimir Cepzanovic, Umberto Tedesco and Luke Benstead) is also thanked.