Anyone who thought that Tom Saintfiet celebrated under the sun for a week after his stunt with the Gambia in the Africa Cup, is completely wrong. In our podcast De Tribune he came to talk about his African adventures, the meeting with Samuel Eto’o and his unusual career as a trainer.
Players motivated with videos from European champions Greece
The fact that Gambia reached the quarter-finals against Cameroon at the Africa Cup was a stunt and a complete surprise. In the studio of De Tribune, Tom Saintfiet said that he and his players saw it differently.
“Everyone was disappointed after the defeat against Cameroon. Players were crying on the field and I had a painful feeling from the defeat for days. In our head the tournament was really over a week early.”
Saintfiet had said beforehand that Gambia went to the tournament as a debutant at the Africa Cup to learn? “To the outside world I said that, that’s right.”
Internally, the trainer told a different story, he revealed. “Within the group we stated that we were going for the title. We knew that that ambition was actually not realistic, but in this way we have systematically built up self-confidence in the group.”
“We showed videos of the overall victories of Denmark in 1992 and Greece in 2004 at the European Championship and Zambia at the Africa Cup in 2012. All unexpected champions.”
Within the group of players we said that we were going for the main prize.
No festive reception in The Gambia
In the hours and days after the elimination, the Gambia waited impatiently for the players of the national team. A hero’s reception was planned, but never came.
Certainly not for Tom Saintfiet. Due to circumstances, he did not get to see the enthusiastic Gambian fans in the capital Banjul. His biggest fan is in his hometown of Mol.
“We thought after the shutdown on Saturday that we would fly to The Gambia on Sunday and that there would be a ceremony. That’s what we were told.”
“Only, on Sunday we were waiting for a plane and the same scenario on Monday. It seemed like waiting for Godot. I already had a plane ticket to fly to Belgium on Monday evening, but the chairman told me that I absolutely had to go to The Gambia.”
“In the end, the chairman said that it was 95 percent sure that we would fly on Tuesday morning. So I decided to wait, but there was still no flight on Tuesday afternoon and I booked a ticket to Belgium. My five-year-old daughter was waiting for that. me.”
“A few hours later on Tuesday there was a flight, but I haven’t changed my mind.”
“The players eventually arrived at night and the festivities were limited by the late hour.”
“Eto’o asked me for a photo”
There was therefore no festive reception in The Gambia for Tom Saintfiet, but he did experience something different that few people can say. Samuel Eto’o, recently president of the Cameroon Football Association, asked Saintfiet for a photo.
“Samuel Eto’o had asked for an autographed shirt from all our players. I don’t know why, but I went to hand it to him myself and then he asked for a picture with me and the shirt.”
“I am in the picture with many people in the meantime, but with a celebrity like Eto’o it is always an extra honor.”
Never a chance in Belgium
The fact that he has never been a trainer in Belgian professional football and has only tried his luck as a coach abroad, Tom Saintfiet himself calls a matter of no other choice.
“I did apply for a job at clubs such as Cercle Brugge, Beveren or STVV, but then I was often told that I did not know Belgian football well enough because I had worked abroad for too long. After which they then called a Spaniard or an Israeli who had never been to Belgium and did not speak the language.”
“That’s kind of a common thread in my career, but at the moment I’m quite satisfied with what I have achieved. Although it will always remain a blind spot if I never get that chance.”
Clubs like Cercle Brugge, Beveren or STVV told me that I didn’t know Belgian football well enough. Then a Spaniard or an Israeli was appointed.
“I have no problem with foreign trainers. Aad de Mos had worked at Ajax and ended up at KV Mechelen, but now we are getting a youth trainer from Germany (Alexander Blessin) or a trainer from women’s football from Austria (Dominik Thalhammer). then really no Belgians with a better CV?”
“Blessin did well at KVO with fun football, but when it came to it he didn’t break any pots in the play-offs and this season he didn’t have an answer to all the players who left. For me a good coach adapts his philosophy to the quality of players he has.”
“His average number of points was ultimately lower than that of Yves Vanderhaeghe at KVO and Vanderhaeghe also made it to the final of the cup (in 2017). Yet you see that Blessin is now a trainer in the Serie A and that Vanderhaeghe is unemployed at home.”
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