Toby Alderweireld remains available for Red Devils: “Shown in Qatar that age is just a number” | Red Devils

“Gosh, those first moments after the elimination I was of course disappointed. Afterwards I took some time to think about my situation and to analyze my personal performance at the World Cup. And although the team is always the most important thing, I can be quite satisfied with my own level. With all that in mind, it’s hard to say goodbye to something you love to do. I like to play for my country and that makes me proud. So as long as I am physically able to deliver what I delivered at the World Cup, I just want to keep going. I think I should be able to continue this line until the next European Championship.”

“I consulted with the coach, and also a bit with Sven Jaecques (Antwerp CEO, ed.). The question was: can I continue to combine the national team with Antwerp? Everything depends on how I feel. I think I can say that I am fit and that I do everything I can to stay fit. As soon as I get the feeling ‘this is going to be hard’, then I have to give up something. But again: I think I can be satisfied with my first half of the season and my World Cup performance. So a choice is not forcing itself for the time being.”

“I won’t say that I asked my wife’s permission to continue, but I did ask her opinion. She said, ‘Do what you feel and I will follow you.’”

“It doesn’t creep into your cold clothes if it is always suggested months in advance that you have become too old or too slow. It was extremely frustrating to keep hammering at that age. I don’t mind if after a bad game it’s said ‘Toby wasn’t good’. But I have a problem with certain statements that are not completely correct. In the end I think I just did well in Qatar. That also applies to Jan (Vertonghen, ed.). We both showed that age is just a number.”

“That disappointment is still there. After our elimination, I hardly watched a match of the World Cup anymore. You can say: ‘Then you are not a fan’. No that’s not true. It just hurts too much. You want to stand there yourself. You have already been in a semi-final. Then try to clear your mind for a while. In that respect, I am lucky to have a family. And then I try to focus on Antwerp again. It helps that we play a cup match against Standard on Tuesday.”

“Football is a sport of moments. If one of our chances goes against Croatia, it could change completely. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen. Furthermore, we have not had the perfect preparation. Some players were also not at the right time in their career in terms of feeling. There are so many things involved that it is difficult to pinpoint one pain point.”

“We also read certain cases launched by the French press. At one point we had an internal conversation, after which we played a great game against Croatia. Perhaps we deserved to beat a later semi-finalist. The group feeling was good then.”

“You always have moments like that. Sometimes words fall during halftime. Now that happened on the field, with five hundred cameras on it. That’s in the heat of battle. We had just been under pressure for 35 minutes, which released a stress hormone in everyone. Then it may turn out like this. At the same time, that exchange of words showed that we are working on it. If we didn’t care, we would have let it all pass. It was made a bit bigger than it was. In the dressing room – hand on my heart – everything was quickly discussed. As for the group feeling in general: I also think it’s worth mentioning that you don’t suddenly see seven or eight people stop. If everyone was really tired of it, many more players would have said that they are calling it quits.”

“A decision we must respect. Everyone has their own situation, in football and at home. Eden has known a lot of injuries. Maybe he wants to focus more on his club. That’s all up to him.”

“I played under Martinez for six years and thanked him for that good time. In a few years we will really see what he has meant for Belgian football. Not only did we achieve the best result ever with Martinez, the national coach did much more than just the Red Devils. Partly thanks to him, there is a solid organization and a plan for the future. And if you see how the national training center in Tubize is doing… That is also his merit.”

“We do indeed need such a profile. Van Bommel is not only tactically strong, but he is also a people manager. This last aspect is especially important for a national team. You only see your players for a short time, so you have to try to get everyone involved in your story in the short term. But let Van Bommel himself sit with Antwerp for a while. Then I can be on the field with him every day. (laughs)”