Abroad, it was rather quickly (and easily) pointed to Romelu Lukaku as the main culprit for the Belgian failure. For Gert Verheyen, who was also designated a scapegoat after the World Cup in 1998, it evoked all kinds of bad memories.
“A journalist asked me after my red card against Mexico: “How does it feel to be Belgium’s schlemiel?” I still remember that very well. At that moment you no longer feel like a footballer, but a person who is being humiliated .”
“You have to remember that behind every footballer there is a person. You can certainly say it if someone has played badly. We do that too, that’s our job. But not like that.”
“It is good that this does not come from our press. Lukaku has had periods when he was criticized. He would have been able to stop immediately.”
“If we had had three matches with Lukaku, we would certainly have been qualified”, Verheyen concludes firmly. “And if we hadn’t had him for the past 8 years, we wouldn’t have won half of what we’ve won now.”