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The decision was not entirely surprising, as there was a lot of criticism about Bölöni’s tactical direction, for example from star forward Roman Yaremtschuk. “We play like a second division team, the way we play football is just bad,” he said. As a result, the coach removed him from the team for the last league game. Now Bölöni has lost the fight for power.
The atmosphere in and around the team made further cooperation impossible, the Belgian runner-up announced Monday afternoon when the coach, who had only succeeded Jess Thorup in August, was immediately fired. Wim de Decker, 38, who only came as an assistant in the summer, was used as an interim coach. It is supported by technical director Peter Balette.
The interim solution could become a permanent solution
The duo could even become a permanent solution. “We are not necessarily looking for a new coach. Wim has a chance to prove himself. He has shown in the past that he is capable of great things and now he has the opportunity to do it again. And that with Peter Balette. I think it will work, ”said Ivan de Witte.
The Gents CEO was also self-critical about Bölöni’s quick end: “In the 20 years of my presidency I have already made many decisions. If you make a hundred decisions, there will always be one wrong ”. The 67-year-old is a great coach, but he just didn’t fit in at the club.
“I know the team pretty well by now.”
For De Decker it is the second coaching station after Royal Antwerp, where he only came as an assistant in the summer. “That is a great challenge. One advantage is that I already know the team quite well, ”said the 38-year-old. The main task is to restore peace and quiet to the team. Then sporting success should also return. “We know we have quality in the team, we want to show that now,” Decker told the route to take.
In the summer, Balette had finished his job as an assistant coach in Ghent and started as a technical director. Now, the 59-year-old is quickly returning to the field.
Rapid “does not take a sightseeing tour”
It’s open if chaos increases the chances of Belgian runner-up Rapids. The Hütteldorfer doesn’t want to push himself anyway and is pushing the role of favorites. After all, coach Didi Kühbauer’s team, like Ghent, already have the ticket for the group stage of the Europa League in their pocket. Sporting director Zoran Barisic sees this as a great opportunity. “With the necessary commitment and courage, something is possible. We will definitely not go there on a sightseeing tour, ”the 50-year-old told Radio Vienna immediately after the draw.
For Rapid it would be their third appearance in the Champions League, so far they have been in the premier category in 1996 and 2005. The club can already calculate with the nearly three million euros of entry to the Europa League. A win over Gent would even cost around five million euros, which is the amount UEFA paid last year to clubs that failed in the Champions League play-off.
Balance against Belgian clubs
The chances of promotion are not unrealistic for Rapid, especially as the knockout record against Belgian clubs is even. In 1986, the Club Brugge Cup champion (4: 3 h, 3: 3 a) was eliminated in the first round of the Cup, just as he was in the second round of the UEFA Cup in 1989 (2 : 1 a, 4: 3 h). Instead, Hütteldorfer was eliminated in the third round in 1989 against FC Lüttich (1: 0 h, 1: 3 a). In addition, in 2007 in the first round of the UEFA Cup against Anderlecht (1: 1 a, 0: 1 h) final.
The Viennese also faced Belgian teams in various group stages. In 2005 there was a 0: 1 (h) and 2: 3 (a) against Bruges in the Champions League. In 2013 he shared two points with Genk in the Europa League (1: 1 a, 2: 2 h). In the most recent match so far, Genk was the opponent again, there was a 3-2 win at home and a 0-1 loss on the road in the Europa League in 2016.
By the way, the general balance of Austria vis-à-vis Belgian representatives is negative. 20 wins are compared with eight draws and 25 losses. In knockout matches, ÖFB clubs are behind 8:12. There was one of them last season, when Bruges beat LASK in the CL play-off with 1-0 (a) and 2-1 (h). In the group stage, Red Bull Salzburg was at least a size too big for Genk, the “Bulls” won with 6: 2 (h) and 4: 1 (a).
