The scene surprised more than one in Lille: Kompany at the edge of the field, shouting instructions, and Vercauteren, sitting with his eyes riveted on the field.
The Licensing Commission made an exit, warning the player / manager that he was not a coach but a player.
“This situation bothers me,” says Vercauteren. “What is the purpose of our work? May Anderlecht and Belgian football get better. Should we tell Kompany to shut up? I find that weird. The laws are there and we follow them. But I don’t see where the problem is with seeing a club member take responsibility. I sometimes let assistants do the same in the past. And they didn’t always have the diploma. It doesn’t matter who is along the sidelines, as long as Belgian football comes out on top. “
Internally, they did not come back to this situation that the people of Brussels consider laughable. “Why waste time with this,” Vercauteren smiles.
Some supporters took the coach’s attitude as a negative message. “He doesn’t care anymore,” some said.
Vercauteren replies: “It makes me laugh. Those who know me know that I do not give instructions in a friendly match. I observe. The players must learn to find the solutions themselves and thanks to the training given a priori. I am not in front of the PlayStation where I can guide the slightest gesture of the players. They must find ways to achieve their ends. Those who say that I am not interested in the club are wrong. I’m not in the moonlight during a match. I analyze and correct what has been done wrong. “
He confirms all the same that he will take back the controls on Sunday in Mechelen. “In an official match, the situation is different, you sometimes have to find solutions from the bench.”
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