After a six-month hiatus from football, Alexander Plesin returned to the training ground with a new dose of ambition. The German has to write another fairy tale with Union – for the third season in a row. The click was spot on with the board, and the brand new T1 was also impressed with the level: “This group wants to take the next step.”
his voice? Husky after the first training session.
It should be clear that Alexandre Plessin is happy to be back in Belgian football. “It was never a secret that I had a great time here,” says T1 who has made a name for himself at KV Oostende.
Based on his performances in our country, he secured a transfer to Serie A Genoa. That adventure ended in December. “Then I got a to-do list from my wife to do garden chores. I’m done with that now,” he laughs.
“I didn’t want to watch football on TV for the first few months. Then came the thinking phase. Where did it go wrong and what can I do better? Since then, I’ve had a taste of it again. And my family too said I had to go back to work.”
I see a group of hungry and talented players.
At Union, Blessin had a custom project ready. “I was convinced from the first conversations,” says the German, impressed at the first rehearsals.
“I see hungry and talented players. This group wants to take the next step and put in a new performance. The players have a great mentality. They have shown a lot of quality.”
The missed title opportunity is still fresh in the memory. But not for long, according to the new T1 “Everyone here is professional enough to turn the handle. We have new goals: to win every match. And I want to show my football style.”
“A new chapter has begun,” he responds to the fact that he is succeeding successful coaches Geerts and Mazu. “They both did a great job. Now I’m going to do everything I can to be successful.”
Click right after “strange position”
“There was an immediate click,” Federation CEO Philip Bormans also shares about the appointment of the new coach.
“Not only the way he plays, but also as someone who appealed to us greatly. We think that’s important. A coach has to be a nice person in the day-to-day operation.”
So it doesn’t put too much mathematical pressure on Placen right away. “We don’t express our ambition for the world rankings. We just want to do well on the field. Our players have to grow. We’ll see what the result will be.”
That result was third place under Karel Gerarts. After that, contract negotiations failed. “An unfortunate and strange situation,” Bormans returns.
“We cannot say a single bad word about him after 4 years of great cooperation. Unfortunately, we did not reach an agreement. We were disappointed, but at a certain point we have to make a decision and the season is about to happen.”
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