Antwerp's Unexplained Revival: Players Baffled

Antwerp seemed to have completely lost track after a disastrous start, but everything has turned around since the change of coach. Victories against top teams came in quick succession, to the surprise of even the players themselves.

Antwerp had a very bad start to the season. Nothing seemed to work, the club took 2 on 24 and was in the red zone. Things have been going a lot smoother since the departure of trainer Stef Wils.

The Great Old won against Club Brugge, knocked STVV out of the cup and subsequently recorded convincing victories against KRC Genk and KAA Gent. The momentum quickly turned around and that clearly took the players by surprise.

Antwerp revives after coach change

“I really have no words for it,” says Vincent Janssen at Het Nieuwsblad. “In recent weeks I have often thought about it: how is that possible? (laughs) The shock effect after the coaching change? During the first few days, guests who had no prospect of playing minutes trained like crazy. But I don’t do anything different than I did two months ago. Nothing.”

The change of trainer is a logical explanation. Joseph Oosting is doing fine for the time being. “He adds different accents here and there to the ‘dolls’ on the field, but in terms of formation it remains the same. Everything is now going in the right direction.”

Read also… Vincent Janssen speaks about the future at Antwerp›
“We have to remain realistic about this: we are not going to win all the matches for the rest of the season. We have to nuance the fact that we are still not where we hope to be one day, but we have to enjoy those bus rides after victories in Bruges and Ghent, just like the short parties in the dressing room. That is what we play football for,” Janssen concludes.