Olivier Descht becomes assistant coach of the Belgian U-21 coach: “I am ambitious” | belgian football

So it didn’t take long before Deschacht found a new challenge in the world of football. The Anderlecht icon joins coach Jacky Mathijssen’s crew, which also includes former pros Thomas Buffel (T2) and Filip De Wilde (goalkeeper coach).

“When I heard there was a job opening as a coach at U21, I spoke to Jacky Mathijssen about it. What followed was a great conversation about football, ambitions, goals and making people better. One thing led to another, and the result was that next week I could go to field with Thomas Pavel as assistant coach,” says Deschcht.

Belgium’s under-21 team started their Euro 2023 campaign with two victories and will face Kazakhstan on Friday 8 October in Leuven. Four days later, the match came against Denmark. “Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a winner and I need goals,” Descht asserts. “He used to be a player, now he’s a coach. The 2023 European Championships and the 2024 Olympics are two great goals. I can learn from Jacky Mathijssen allowing the U21 team to play on the Roberto Martinez system. So much fun and so great that I can participate in it. I am hungry, I am ambitious and I hope to I can contribute to this beautiful project. Help and improve the players and help them achieve their goals. I want to gain experience that I can then use as an analyst and as a coach.”

Deschcht, himself a 20-times Red Devil, put an end to his rich career at the end of last season. In it, he played more than 600 matches with Anderlecht, which he left in 2018. In recent years he played with Lokeren and Zulte Waregem.