Antoine Sibierski is one of the candidates for the position of sporting director at Anderlecht. An experienced profile with innovative ideas that could respond to the needs of Purple & White.
In haste, Anderlecht is working in reverse and is first looking for a trainer before recruiting a replacement for Olivier Renard, who was fired at the beginning of this month. While the Brussels club is trying to unblock Alfred Schreuder’s file to succeed interim coach Jérémy Taravel, Kenneth Bornauw and the recruitment agency Odgers have drawn up a list of four candidates for the position of sporting director.
There is a striking name on that list: Marc Overmars, current sporting director of Antwerp, who was targeted for inappropriate behavior during his time at Ajax. In addition to the Dutchman, the Belgians Pascal De Maesschalck and Nils Köppen, active at Strasbourg and Copenhagen respectively, are also on the list.
The fourth name on the list is less known here, as he has never worked within our country’s borders: Antoine Sibierski, the current sporting director of ESTAC Troyes. Who is he and what is his past in the football world? A short presentation.
Broke through at Lille, European with Auxerre, won trophies with Nantes and then to rival Lens
The Frenchman was born in Lille in 1974 and trained at the LOSC academy as an attacking midfielder. He made his professional debut with the club in 1992. Initially he received little playing time, but between 1994 and 1996 he completed two full seasons with almost 6,000 playing minutes, after which he switched to AJ Auxerre, at the time one of the top clubs in France and active in Europe.
He played seven times in the Champions League, against Ajax, Glasgow Rangers and Dortmund, among others. He gained European experience, playing a total of 61 games for Auxerre, scoring ten times and winning the Intertoto Cup. He then took a new step in his career at FC Nantes, where he won two French Cups and a Super Cup. In the early 2000s he moved to another Ligue 1 club: Lens.
Not an insignificant transfer, because Lens was the rival of his training club Lille. At the club from Northern France, he eventually played the most games of his career (108) and left his mark on Ligue 1 for three seasons. He then moved to England for an adventure in the Premier League.
An English adventure and a heavy family drama
In 2003, having just turned 29, Antoine Sibierski signed with Manchester City for 1.1 million euros. He became a permanent fixture and played 107 official matches, with 15 goals and 6 assists. After three seasons he left Manchester and moved to Newcastle.
He signed for one season, played 26 games, did not extend his contract and then chose Wigan, also in the English top division. There he reached the symbolic mark of 150 Premier League games, after having previously played 275 games in Ligue 1. In 2009 he ended his career after a final stint with Norwich City in the Championship.
Shortly afterwards he became a player’s agent. A year later he was hit by a serious family tragedy: his 18-year-old daughter Sybille was found hanged in her home in Altrincham, a suburb of Manchester, after an argument with her boyfriend.
Having not heard from her for several days – she worked in a nightclub in central Manchester – Sibierski himself contacted the police, who confirmed the tragic news. Two years later, the family set up a fund to “help others” as their daughter did. She was described as someone who was “deeply concerned about the well-being of those around her”. A gala dinner was also organised, with Patrick Vieira, Yohan Cabaye and Didier Drogba among those in attendance.
Ten years in the shadows, back in the foreground in 2024
Active as a football agent and advisor, he became director of football affairs at RC Lens between July 2012 and June 2013. He then remained in the background until February 2024, when he became assistant coach at La Berrichonne de Châteauroux in the National 1. Two months later, he became head coach after the dismissal of the T1, with the aim of saving the club from relegation, which failed.
In July 2024, after relegation to National 2, he left Châteauroux to become sporting director at ESTAC Troyes, currently leader in Ligue 2. Surrounded by the City Football Group, he is part of a club that focuses heavily on statistical data. For Anderlecht he could be a sporting director with experience and possibly innovative ideas.
An interesting profile for the Brussels club, but also for AS Saint-Étienne, where he was mentioned in May 2025 as a top candidate to replace Loïc Perrin, who ultimately stayed on. For Antoine Sibierski, a return to Ligue 1 as sporting director of Troyes would be a great challenge, but bringing Anderlecht back to the top also appeals to the imagination. It remains to be seen how far the contacts between him and Kenneth Bornauw will go.
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