Fired at the same time as Nicky Hayen, video analyst Matthias Bernaert and goalkeeper coach Wouter Biebauw have already found service in D1A: they respectively join La Gantoise and Cercle de Bruges.
The dismissal of Nicky Hayen at Club Bruges triggered a real waltz among coaches in D1A. Ivan Leko took charge at Bruges, Rik de Mil was appointed to Ghent, Hans Cornelis was appointed interim at Charleroi and, in the process, Thorsten Fink was removed from Genk… where the name of Nicky Hayen is now circulating.
In Bruges, Hayen is not the only one to have paid for recent poor results: video analyst Matthias Bernaert and goalkeeper coach Wouter Biebauw were also fired last week.
Fired from Club Brugge, Wouter Biebauw becomes the new goalkeeper coach… of Cercle
However, it didn’t take long for them to bounce back. Matthias Bernaert, as mentioned this afternoon, joined the staff of La Gantoise alongside Ivan Leko, a club where he had already worked with young people in 2019.
Wouter Biebauw also quickly found a job. A former professional goalkeeper who played for Mechelen, Roeselare, Ostend and Beerschot, he has been appointed new goalkeeper coach for Cercle de Bruges, the neighboring club, which thus separates from Stefan Toonen, in post since 2022.
“I am delighted to welcome Wouter to the team. He brings experience at the highest level, great professional ethics, a modern vision and a strong personality. He will play a key role in the development of the team and our goalkeepers,” technical director Luciano Murchio said on the club’s official website.
Cercle Brugge has decided to end its collaboration with goalkeeper coach Stefan Toonen. He will be succeeded by Wouter Biebauw.
Groen-Zwart would like to expressly thank Stefan for his efforts and would like to welcome Wouter to our Association.
MORE INFO |… pic.twitter.com/EXcF7hepSo
— Cercle Brugge (@cercleofficial) December 16, 2025
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