RSC Anderlecht is a dovecote for trainers. The new coach will already be coach number six since 2021. Hendrik Van Crombrugge announced via Mid Mid how RSCA missed the mark by letting Vincent Kompany go in 2022. It set the club back two years in time.
Kompany’s passage as player-coach was not a success, which Van Crombrugge also mentions in the podcast. It created a strange vibe and from the moment Kompany stopped playing football and became a full-time trainer, things went very well.
With a mediocre core of players he first finished fourth and with a better core he finished third the following season and RSCA reached the cup final. However, the Purple & White lost and that was a turning point according to Van Crombrugge.
“If we win that final, I think Kompany will stay. Although I knew that there was something going on between him and the board. If Kompany stays, I am also sure that guys like Zirkzee, Kouamé and Gomez will still be there. We would stay for a year and then we played fully for the national title that season. We should not be shy about that, those players came to Anderlecht during that period thanks to Kompany’s status,” he says.
Vandenhaute en Mazzu
Van Crombrugge indicates that the current manager of Bayern Munich is by far the best trainer he has ever had. Tactically he is very strong. It did not surprise him that things immediately went very badly after the departure of Kompany, who was charismatic but strict according to HVC.
“Kompany saved Anderlecht during that period. He was the shield and took care of everything. When Kompany was gone, that shield was gone and people were exposed to that criticism, and they were not used to that,” said Van Crombrugge.
It is known that Vandenhaute and Kompany had a different vision about the future, which also turned out to be the case. With Mazzu, a completely different trainer came along with a completely different vision than Kompany. It was a horror year for Anderlecht and only since the arrival of Jesper Fredberg did things improve again in Brussels.
