© Kris Van Exel
Nowadays he is involved in shrimp fishing, personal coaching and he occasionally likes to drink a glass of whiskey, but 25 years ago Mike Verstraeten was called up for the Red Devils for the first time. In our football podcast Sjotcast, de Mechelaar said that he owes his debut with the Red Devils partly to the café owner.
Brett Luijs
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Every young Belgian footballer dreams of being called up to the Red Devils. This also applies to Mike Verstraeten, who made an impression in the 90s as a rock-solid defender at KV Mechelen, Beerschot, Germinal Ekeren and Anderlecht. “The newspapers thought that I gradually deserved a selection for the Red Devils,” said Verstraeten in the Sjotcast Special. “At the time, especially the players of Club Brugge and Anderlecht were called up. However, I really deserved a selection, it was actually absurd that I wasn’t in it.”
Stopped playing football
The frustrations with ‘Iron Mike’, as he likes to call himself, ran high. “I even stopped playing football for two weeks because I was not called up again. When I was told that, I got off the training field in the middle of training and went to the locker room. In the end, the then chairman of Germinal Ekeren, Jos Verhaegen, convinced me to put on my football boots again.”
© Kris Van Exel
A few weeks later Leekens called Verstraeten to the selection, although ‘Iron Mike’ did not know that himself. “I was at a cafe when the manager suddenly got a phone call from my wife. He asked me if I knew I had been summoned. At that time I knew nothing. Apparently my wife had called and asked to turn on the TV in the cafe.” Georges Leekens had a special request there for the brand new Red Devil. ”Mike Verstraeten, if you see this, please come to Knokke as soon as possible because you have been selected.”
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Finished a pint
“I then quietly drank my beer and drove home, packed my things and called Leekens to ask if I could still come. He said my alcohol percentage would drop by the time I got to the sea. I then drove to the sea, took a shower and afterwards I talked for another hour in my room with Leekens. I was especially happy that I was called up.”
Ultimately, Verstraeten would be selected ten times for the Red Devils, with the 1998 World Cup in France as the highlight.
