Anderlecht defeated Red Bull Salzburg in the Europa League this week, and head coach Vitor Bruno praised his squad for the victory — then immediately shifted focus to Sunday’s Belgian topper against Club Bruges, warning that his players’ quality “will not be enough” against the league leaders. The remarks, given in a postmatch press conference and reported by DHnet, set the tone for a demanding week in which Anderlecht also travels to Bruges’ Jan Breydel Stadium in the league.
Bruno’s central message was simple: talent must be matched by desire. “My players have quality, but that will not be enough at Club,” he said, according to DHnet. The team that wins, he added, will not necessarily be the one with the most quality, but the one that wants the victory more. He said he had already told his players in the dressing room that they would fight for every ball as if it were the last, and that they must not leave Bruges the kind of space the visitors exploited in their second goal against PSV Eindhoven.
An Emotional Moment With Onia Seke
The press conference also touched on the human side of the result. Bruno described consoling 17-year-old winger Onia Seke, who left the pitch in tears after picking up an injury — the first time the young player has faced this type of pain, DHnet reported. Neither Seke nor the club knows yet how long he will be out, with a timeline ranging from a day to two weeks, and it was that uncertainty that made him cry, according to the coach.
Bruno also deflected a question about whether he could savor the win. “I’m trying with all my strength, but no,” he said. He noted that defender Ludwig Augustinsson, 32, had fielded questions about a future coaching career the day before, and told him he never asks himself such questions — because from the next day, his focus is entirely on the next match, which is Bruges. “I won’t have time to rest,” DHnet quoted him as saying.
Separately, Walfoot.be reported that Anderlecht has decided not to release Onia Seke for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar, because the club does not want to lose him for several crucial weeks. Bruno referred the matter to sporting director Antoine Sibierski, saying some things “don’t depend on me.”
Bruno’s Plan for Club Bruges and Forbs
Asked whether he had already watched PSV versus Club Bruges and whether he had a plan to stop striker Igor Forbs, Bruno laughed. “Forbs? And all the other Forbs on their team!” he said, per DHnet. Stopping Bruges, he said, would have to be a collective job. He praised Bruges as a top-level team and credited their coach Ivan Leko, whose squad is rich both offensively and defensively.
The key, Bruno said, would be competing with Bruges rather than relying on superior quality, and avoiding the defensive lapses that allowed Bruges’s second goal at PSV.
Sikan’s Defensive Work Praised
Bruno also addressed why striker Kasper Sikan had not started the previous five matches. Over a season, he said, a team cannot always be at its absolute peak, and in earlier games other players or profiles matched better what he was looking for. But Sikan had done “colossal work” in the Salzburg match, and his defensive partnership with Cvetko was something Bruno found “incredible,” DHnet reported. He added that forwards not scoring does not bother him as long as they work for the collective.
A Record Start — With Caveats
The win over Salzburg capped a strong opening stretch for Bruno. According to L’Avenir, he has completed his first 20 matches as Anderlecht head coach with 12 wins and 38 points from 60 — the second-best start of the Marc Coucke era, behind only David Hubert. Bruno has won more of his first 20 games than John van den Brom, Ariël Jacobs and René Weiler, three of the four most recent coaches to guide Anderlecht to the league title.
L’Avenir cautioned that half of Bruno’s 12 wins came in Europe, five of them in qualifying rounds against Hammarby, PAOK and Kairat Almaty — a more accessible path than the Champions League or UEFA Cup fixtures his predecessors faced. The average for Anderlecht coaches this century over their first 20 matches is 37.5 points, so Bruno sits just above the mean.
Tension With the CEO
The sporting picture is not without friction at the top of the club. CEO Kenneth Bornauw had publicly criticized Bruno’s sporting choices, pointing to constant experimentation, changing lineups and a lack of clear hierarchy, and arguing for a defined core of 14 to 15 regular starters, Walfoot.be reported. Bruno declined to respond to those remarks again, saying he had already addressed them after the previous match.
Philippe Albert called Bornauw’s comments “ill-timed,” noting Anderlecht is enjoying one of its best league starts in ten years with more than 70% wins, and that no fourth-placed team in Europe’s other major leagues has 24 points. Former coach Fred Waseige called the remarks “quite offensive,” saying the club was scapegoating the coach when results were present. RTBF also raised the question of squad management, with Waseige asking whether Bruno had requested five more players in September and suggesting the coach was juggling too many options.
Salzburg’s Streak and Milan’s Defeat Exposed
Looking back at the Europa League opponent, Lalibre noted that Salzburg had lost only once in 21 matches this season — a 0-4 defeat to AC Milan — and described the Austrian side as a solid team blending experience and young talent under the Red Bull model. Bruno stayed diplomatic about that philosophy, saying it was up to Salzburg to defend its own vision, while insisting Anderlecht also has its strengths.
Walfoot.be reported that the availability of Aasgaard and Winkler was still undecided after they missed training, with Bruno saying the decision would be made on match day depending on how they felt.
Sunday’s Topper at Club Bruges
Anderlecht’s next confirmed checkpoint is the league match away to Club Bruges on Sunday, the Belgian topper that Bruno has already made his sole focus. With Salzburg beaten and the Europa League campaign progressing, the measure of this week will be whether Anderlecht can translate its quality into the collective desire for victory Bruno says the derby against Bruges will demand.
