Sporza on Radio 1 digs every Sunday in the rich sports archive of our country. Archivists on duty in episode 10 were ex-motocross rider Joël Smets and sports journalist Frank Raes. The latter told about other times with the Red Devils.
Rerun episode 10 of Sporza Retro
Thys said, “Calm down boy, it’ll be all right”
“The Red Devils go to Spain, anyone who has pesetas will come along,” Will Tura sang in 1982 about that year’s World Cup. Frank Raes had pesetas and especially a journalist card. He was allowed to join Jan Wauters in his first World Cup as a sports journalist.
“I have been through a lot of World Cups in the meantime. Perhaps the best was the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. And the 1972 World Cup, which I saw as a child, was fantastic. But in 1982 I had a lot of fun. I experienced so many of them. “begins Frank Raes.
“We were allowed to do everything as a journalist at the time. We could go to the hotel of the players and swim together in the pool. Now you are not even allowed to enter their hotel anymore. After the match Belgium-Argentina I am also in the dressing room of the Belgians got into Camp Nou and interviewed (match winner) Erwin Vandenbergh. Now you would fly 4 times in jail for that. “
After the match against Argentina I got into the Belgians dressing room in Nou Camp. Now you would fly in prison four times for that.
After the opening game in the group stage against Argentina and a victory against El Salvador, Belgium could not lose in the third match against Hungary. But the Belgians fell 0-1 and the tension in that match was almost unbearable for the Belgian fans.
Alex Czerniatynski eventually provided a much needed equalizer on the instructions of Jan Ceulemans. In an atmosphere of national euphoria, Frank Raes was allowed to push his microphone under the nose of national coach Guy Thys.
“I interviewed Thys after the game, but my tape recorder suddenly turned into spaghetti. I had to do the interview all over again, but Guy Thys then said to me,” Calm down, it’ll be all right. “
“That band turned spaghetti a second time. So Thys did that interview 3 times. At such a moment: a historic match, at a World Cup, in which Eric Gerets had dropped out! Thys remained calm himself. That also characterized him . “
That it was nevertheless a nerve-racking match is a certainty. A day later, Thys said to Raes: “I have never had a more difficult match in my career.”
“Jan Wauters pushed Pfaff down, but he couldn’t swim”
The same World Cup in Spain was also the setting for the infamous “swimming pool incident” between Jean-Marie Pfaff and sports journalist Jan Wauters.
“The journalists were allowed to swim with the Red Devils in the hotel, but Jean-Marie Pfaff was not able to swim. Jan Wauters did not know that. Pfaff pushed Jan and Jan pushed Pfaff under water and he panicked.”
“Jacky Munaron, the 3rd goalkeeper, still had to take Pfaff out of the water. After that day we were no longer allowed to swim with the Devils. That was quite a hassle.”
“Pfaff also left the team after the match against Hungary. He had knocked Gerets over, which left him with a concussion. Pfaff was also not good in the group, but he recovered later and played fantastic at the World Cup in 1986. “
