Felice Mazzu has written his first piece of history at Anderlecht. The trainer guided the Purple & White back into Europe after a four-year absence. Afterwards the coach was euphoric: “The players felt the pressure of qualifying.”
The number of people hugging him after the final whistle was simply unbelievable. Felice Mazzu was – next to Hendrik Van Crombrugge – the celebrated man at Anderlecht.
“This club has been waiting for this qualification for a long time,” said the trainer, explaining the many emotions afterwards. “We did make two mistakes: we conceded a goal and were not efficient ourselves. Our first half hour was not consistent, but afterwards we did good things. We actually deserved an equalizer.”
You cannot simulate the mental and emotional pressure in training.
But Mazzu saw that his young group was struggling with the circumstances. “The players felt the pressure of qualifying. It was not small, hey. We were almost obliged to qualify for the group stage. Mentally it was difficult.”
Especially during the penalty shootout. With Mario Stroeykens and Noah Sadiki, another two 17-year-old “snot noses” stepped forward. And it turns out: Mazzu had not let his team train on eleven meters.
“Sadiki asked me this week: ‘Why don’t we practice on penalties?”, Mazzu laughed. “I explained to him that you can’t simulate the mental and emotional pressure in training anyway. So I just asked who wanted to kick one. Apparently Mario and Noah wanted to do that.”
And now? A big party in the Astridpark?
“We’re going to have some fun, yes,” the coach grinned. “But only tonight, you know. Because on Sunday a good match awaits us, as you may know (against Union, the ex-team of Mazzu, ed.). Everything has been forgotten on Friday and we will prepare for it.”
Hendrik Van Crombrugge: “I drew energy from that save at the end for the penalty kick series”
Match winner Hendrik Van Crombrugge played his 100th game in Anderlecht’s shirt. He made it a special night. “This match had everything: a lot of emotions, intensity; enthusiasm and luckily for us there was also a good outcome,” he says in front of Sporza’s microphone.
Just before the end of the extra time, the goalkeeper saved his team from the elimination with a nice parade. “A deviated free kick through the wall is the horror of every keeper. I’m glad I still had a reflex to keep that ball out with some body movement. You also get energy from that for the penalty kick series.”
“Yesterday I consciously wanted to keep the pressure off a bit, but we should not minimize the importance of this qualification. This is really important for this club. For the financial aspect of course, but also for the image of Anderlecht.”
It did not surprise Van Crombrugge that Mazzu threw so many youth into the fray. “I think it was a good choice to bring them in because they are light-footed and dynamic and could force something against the stiff, somewhat tired Swiss.”
The captain now also has ambitions for the group stage. “We are not going to participate to be an extra. The Conference League was looked down a bit last year, but in the meantime it is estimated higher. And we are going to try to be the best version of ourselves.”
Noah Sadiki: “The coach asked who wanted to kick and I raised my hand”
Noah Sadiki (17) looked very calm for a few moments after the game: “My heart rate has already dropped a bit. It could have gone either way today, but I’m glad it finally went our way. We have been rewarded for our hard work. “
The young talent was one of the guys who took responsibility in the penalty shootout. “The coach asked who wanted to kick and I raised my hand.
I’ve trained a lot on it, so I do have some confidence. I just wanted to kick in that penalty to make the people in the stadium happy.”
“A youth victory? We are of course happy that so many Neerpede boys are on the field. We actually grew up together so it is very nice to play together at such a high level. moments and European the match.”
Sadiki keeps her feet firmly on the ground. “Tomorrow I will review my penalty, but now I’m just going to sleep,” he concludes.
