Eleven went to Tenerife to ask Michel Preud’homme about football matters. At the suggestion of his friend Alain Darcis, father of tennis player Steve, he enjoys great golf courses and an even better climate in winter.
Still, it didn’t matter much if the former T1 of Standard and Club Brugge returned to Belgium. That to become a national coach. “There has been contact,” he says in the interview. “That went very well for me.”
“The Football Association told me they had two jobs on offer and asked if I was interested in either one.”
But Preud’homme didn’t have to think long about that. “I immediately thanked myself for becoming a national coach. I didn’t see myself becoming a trainer again, because I don’t feel like it anymore.”
The former success coach had some doubts about the position of technical director. “Peter Bossaert and Bart Verhaeghe gave me the impression that they were really interested in my know-how. And in what I could impart to a young trainer like Domenico Tedesco.”
“But Franky Vercauteren’s profile also meets that. In the end I said that I didn’t want to keep my freedom. I don’t want to give it up any time soon.”
In fact. The former goalkeeper does not think he will ever return to the football world. “A player’s career demands a lot from you. Both mentally and physically. When you become a coach, it demands even more of your mental well-being.”
“The succession of these ensures that you get exhausted. If I can’t throw myself 100% or regret it, it’s better that I don’t. Even though the craving is still slumbering somewhere,” he concludes.
