It was a very long drive from Liège to Brussels for Besnik Hasi. The Anderlecht bus was stuck in a traffic jam after the painful loss to Standard and the coach already knew that he was expected at the board. The bus arrived at Neerpede around 7 p.m., after which the players were allowed to go home immediately.
That did not apply to Hasi. The summit with main shareholder Marc Coucke, chairman Michael Verschueren and sporting director Olivier Renard was not in Liège, but Renard was at the training complex. It was also up to CEO Kenneth Bornauw to (help) make the decision.
The interview itself was serene and respectful. The trainer was still able to defend himself – he eliminated Ghent and Genk in the cup and the players showed up for the T1 – but everyone knew what time it was. The disappointing results in the competition cost him his head. In addition, there was dissatisfaction about the failure to make optimal use of the core and the sometimes too reserved football. Anderlecht is now even in danger of missing out on Play-off 1. A shock effect was needed, because there is already the semi-final of the Croky Cup against Antwerp on Thursday.
RSCA communicated the news at 8:35 p.m. Quite secrecy and short. “Anderlecht ends its collaboration with head coach Besnik Hasi. The club would like to thank Besnik for his efforts and dedication.” Since the T1 had a contract of indefinite duration, the cost of his C4 is also not too bad.
In the same breath, the Purple & White announced that assistant Edward Still will take over as T1 for the time being. He is assisted during his interim job by Jérémy Taravel and Lucas Biglia. They will start preparing for the match against Antwerp. In the meantime, RSCA will look for a new trainer, because it does not yet have a real candidate in mind.
Already the tenth coaching shift
For that task, all eyes are on sporting director Olivier Renard. Although it is also increasingly coming under fire. He decided last summer to extend Hasi’s contract, despite a disappointing Play-off 1 last season. And the transfer policy is also increasingly questioned (by fans). The quality of the core appears to be (too) limited. More is also expected from Renard.
The longest-serving coach in 1A has therefore fallen after ten months of service. This is already the tenth coaching shift this season in the Jupiler Pro League. The question now is who will succeed Hasi and when that trainer will be presented. There are trainers available such as Thorsten Fink or Will Still, but the RSCA patrons can also tap into their network. Chairman Michael Verschueren has a telephone book with thousands of contacts in European football. It will have to be a big deal.
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COMMENTS. Crisis is complete, but Anderlecht coach Besnik Hasi does not want to hear about dismissal: “I will continue to do my job”
| Position | Team | P | GS | W | V | G | DS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 49 | 23 | 14 | 2 | 7 | +26 | |
| 2 | 45 | 23 | 14 | 6 | 3 | +7 | |
| 3 | 44 | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | +13 | |
| 4 | 36 | 23 | 10 | 7 | 6 | +2 | |
| 5 | 33 | 23 | 9 | 8 | 6 | +5 | |
| 6 | 33 | 23 | 9 | 8 | 6 | +3 | |
| 7 | 33 | 23 | 8 | 6 | 9 | +2 | |
| 8 | 30 | 23 | 9 | 11 | 3 | -9 | |
| 9 | 30 | 23 | 8 | 9 | 6 | +4 | |
| 10 | 29 | 23 | 7 | 8 | 8 | -4 | |
| 11 | 28 | 23 | 7 | 9 | 7 | -3 | |
| 12 | 26 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 8 | -4 | |
| 13 | 24 | 23 | 5 | 9 | 9 | -6 | |
| 14 | 22 | 23 | 5 | 11 | 7 | -11 | |
| 15 | 21 | 23 | 4 | 10 | 9 | -7 | |
| 16 | 17 | 23 | 3 | 12 | 8 | -18 |
